As I discussed in my previous blog post, the language of social care is filled with words that blame people seeking and drawing on support. ‘Hard to reach’. ‘Refuses to engage’. ‘Frequent flyers’. ‘Carer breakdown’. ‘Bed blockers’. ‘Challenging behaviour’. ‘Non-compliant’. ‘Complex’. ‘Difficult’. ‘Vulnerable’. And many more. These terms don’t just feature in our conversations and … Continue reading Beyond blame
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Words that blame
The language of social care is filled with words that blame people seeking and drawing on support. Our so called ‘strengths-based’ practice drips with deficit-based terms that stigmatise people as problems. Our ‘person-centred’ approaches are infused with phrases that marginalise. In this blog post I’ll explore ten widely used blaming words and phrases, then in … Continue reading Words that blame
Missing words
“Where has the spirit gone in the social services? For too long we have suppressed words of spirit and restricted our speech to the lifeless jargon of our professions.” Gord Tulloch and Sarah Schulman [1] There’s a beautiful book called ‘The lost words’ [2]. The book was created in response to the removal of everyday … Continue reading Missing words
Words that make me go hmmm: Strengths-based
Some of the words and phrases I’ve written about in this series of blog posts literally make me cringe when I hear or read them. ‘Strengths-based’ is different though. It’s a term that genuinely does make me go hmmm, and I’ve known for some time that the only way to fully understand – and explain … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Strengths-based
Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
A series of blogs about words that make me go hmmm would not be complete (and it is far from complete!) without a post focusing on ‘the v word’. While it’s by no means a new term in the world of social work and social care, during the COVID-19 pandemic the word ‘vulnerable’ has been … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm: Vulnerable
Recruiting robots: the language of social work job adverts
“Social work is about life, treasuring humanity, building connections, sharing and promoting fairness. It is about creativity, care and love - being there to help people overcome obstacles and oppressions that hold them back. For people using our services, a social worker should be someone to trust and believe in – someone who helps you … Continue reading Recruiting robots: the language of social work job adverts
Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
The frontline. It’s a place where opposing armies face each other in war and where fighting happens. It’s the military line or part of an army that is closest to the enemy, formed by the most advanced tactical combat units. It’s an area of potential or actual conflict or struggle. [1] It’s the term we … Continue reading Words that make me go hmmm… Frontline
Identity
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures introduced to control the spread of the virus have challenged our identities. We’ve gained labels that change the way we are seen, and the way we see ourselves. Vulnerable. Shielding. Furloughed. Key worker. Carer. Hero. Isolating. Isolated. We’ve lost loved ones. Livelihoods. Connections to the people and places that … Continue reading Identity
The little things…
So today is apparently random acts of kindness day. Yesterday was national almond day. And on Saturday it’s national love your pet day. Who knew!? But I’m getting distracted now (check out awarenessdays.com for a whole calendar of these days!) I’m not sure I really believe in ‘awareness days’. I love my cat – and … Continue reading The little things…
Better together
“Just look at what we can do when we come together, THIS is England in 2020”.Marcus Rashford [1] How far we’ve come since March 2020. And how our story has changed. Back then, cohesion and solidarity dominated our narrative and shaped our behaviour. On 22 March – Mother's Day – Boris Johnson wrote that “this … Continue reading Better together
Rewriting social care 