The Toxic Duo
The Neglected Practitioner and a Parent Who Fails to Meet the Needs of Their Child
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 10896404 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jan Horwath (University of Sheffield, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2016 |
| Volume | 46 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 1602-1616 |
| Publication date | 2016-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The British Journal of Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-3102 • E-ISSN: 1468-263X |
| Publisher | Oxford University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1093/bjsw/bcv086 |
| OpenAlex | W2172399290 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 40 |
Practitioners, irrespective of the service users they work with, have educational, emotional and supervisory needs. In addition, they require appropriate physical space and a safe work environment. Social workers are most likely to develop effective relationships with families if these needs are met. Therefore, it is important that managers create an organisational culture that not only recognises, but also meets, practitioners' needs. In this paper, the various needs of social workers are considered in detail with a particular focus on those of child and family practitioners. Agency responses to meeting these various needs are also explored. An argument is made that the agency approach to work environment, staff development, supervision and managing the emotional demands of the job all influence practitioners' commitment and ability to engage with families and improve outcomes for children. Drawing on a framework of different types of practitioner engagement with carers, the negative effects on practitioners of working in a ‘neglectful organisation’ are considered. An argument is made that the neglected practitioner, working with a parent who is not meeting the needs of their child, leads to an unhealthy alliance and in effect a ‘Toxic Duo’ is created. The paper concludes by considering the work culture and climate that promote meaningful engagement and questions are raised as to how managers can create this culture when services are subject to year-on-year cuts, marketisation and increased service demand.
Child Abuse and Trauma · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Child Welfare and Adoption · Psychology
The social work team post-Covid
Dynamics of professional parental status disclosure in child protection work
The team as a secure base revisited
Risk and protective factors among child protection social workers
Supervision as a Dispersed Practice
The Development of Professional Decision-Making
Understanding the importance of the physical environment in meetings between children and child welfare workers at the social services – A scoping review
Practitioner perspectives on implementing an alternative response in statutory child protection
Seeking Solitude and Distance from Others
Hybrid Working
Care Order Decisions—in the Domain of Social Work or the Courts? Social Workers’ Frontline Views
The Emotionally Intelligent Social Worker
Child Protection Practice
Assessing the Organizational Social Context (OSC) of child welfare systems
Research summary on the therapeutic relationship and psychotherapy outcome.
Organizational Culture and Climate
Organizational climate, services, and outcomes in child welfare systems
Re-imagining child protection
The Managed Heart
Investing in Interagency Training to Safeguard Children
The emotional labour of caring about looked‐after children
Parental resistance and social worker skills
Improving the working environment for workers in children's welfare agencies
Sinking, swimming and sailing
Understanding parental engagement with child welfare services
In the Firing Line
Exploring the relationship among teachers' emotional intelligence, emotional labor strategies and teaching satisfaction
Performing 'Initial Assessment
Reflective Practice in Contemporary Child-care Social Work
Workplace Violence towards Social Workers
Emotional Intelligence, Emotion and Social Work
Social Work with Children and Families
Social Work Reclaimed
Critical Commentary
Locating Emotional Intelligence at the Heart of Social Work Practice
Violence and Social Care Staff
The Best of Times, the Worst of Times
Do Organisational Culture and Climate Really Matter for Employee Turnover in Child Welfare Agencies
Social Work beyond the VDU
Building Resilient Practitioners
| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,38 |
| Citation span | 2018 - 2025 (8) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |