Social Work with Adults
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Social Work with Adults
- Jim Rogers
- Lucy Bright
- Helen Davies
Learning Matters
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2015 Jim Rogers, Lucy Bright, Helen Davies
First published in 2015
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2015946649
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ISBN 978-1-4739-0755-3 (pbk)
ISBN 978-1-4739-0754-6
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About the Authors
Jim Rogersis a senior lecturer in health and social care at the University of Lincoln. He completed professional training as a mental health nurse and worked in that capacity for over twelve years in a range of hospital and community settings. He now co-ordinates the institution's training programmes for approved mental health professionals and best interests assessors. He has conducted research on the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards with care homes in the region and has a strong interest in issues relating to mental health and mental capacity. Jim co-wrote a text for Learning Matters
Social Work in a Digital Society and has also published academic work relating to complementary therapies, social work and gambling problems, and personal health budgets.Lucy Brightcompleted her Masters/Diploma in Social Work in 1993. Since then she has worked in a wide variety of social work settings with adults, as well as spending four years working for a solicitor and specialising in mental health law. Lucy currently works as a best interests assessor and has a particular interest in the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and how these have been working in practice since their implementation in 2009.Helen Daviesqualified as a social worker in 1986 and has taught social work students since 1999, while continuing in practice in statutory and voluntary services with adults with learning disabilities. As one of four social work co-ordinators at the Independent Living Fund, she led its work in Wales and Northern Ireland. Helen's current role as senior lecturer at the University of Lincoln includes supporting students to make constructive links between theory and practice.
Acknowledgements
Authorship is often perceived as a solitary endeavour, but it is rarely so. In the case of a co-authored book such as this, debates, discussions and critique of material throughout the gestation period have helped the three of us arrive at something we hope is greater than the sum of three individual parts.
We are grateful to each other for the support during the challenges this process involved. We also wish to express gratitude to colleagues in the worlds of both education and practice who have discussed issues and cases, and stimulated our thinking in relation to the issues in the text. Equally, we are grateful to the many students, on both our undergraduate and post graduate courses, who have engaged with, discussed, and written about these issues.
Helen would like to dedicate this book to Bill and Elsie Davies, appreciatively; Lucy to the service users who have informed and inspired her; and Jim to his family for support and wise guidance.
Chapter 1 Introduction
Whether you are a student in an educational setting or on placement, a newly qualified practitioner, or an experienced practitioner in adult social care, you will no doubt be well aware of the prominence of debates about best interests, about vulnerability and about safeguarding. It is likely that you will have experienced some level of training and debate about these issues and on the subject of mental capacity. You may have also had recent training in relation to the new Care Act 2014 and your workplace may be in the process of beginning to implement that Act and understanding all of the ramifications of it.
The themes noted above are often highlighted as the most important in current adult social care. They were highlighted in the new Knowledge and Skills Statement (KSS) for Adult Social Work which was published in 2015, and local authorities have stated that these are the key areas of skills and knowledge which they consider when recruiting adult social care practitioners.
Tensions and challenges in relation to balancing the need to protect those who are vulnerable in society with the impetus to empower and promote independence have been a constant feature in the history of social work. The current debates and complexities which can arise in relation to safeguarding vulnerable adults and those who lack capacity to make decisions for themselves, while promoting their best interests, can be seen as a new variation on this recurring theme.
Our aim in producing this text was to find a way of elucidating, linking and clarifying these issues in a way that might help those who need to navigate the messy difficulties of practice.
