Social Work: When assertiveness and Reflective Practice protects social

workers from oppressive clients and their families.

Subjective empowerment, political correctness and the need to be agency-compliant

has led to some frontline practitioners becoming victims of their own practice as
shrew, manipulative service users and their families exploit and abuse lope holes in
myriads of practice codes. How many times have reports by front line staff
mentioned incidences of clients or their families threatening to report them to their
line managers or agencies simply because these workers will not comply with their
sometimes irrational demands. So how can social workers address such difficult
clients?

Unfortunately, while textbooks, discourses, conceptualisations and theories may

seek to provide supposedly the best ways of addressing what is within all definition,
‘social workers being oppressed or disempowered, the primary constraint in applying
a one-packet-fits-all approach is that, neither the clients are a homogeneous entity
with identical problems, nor do the social workers have a holy grail to tackle client
aggressions. Additionally, the essential need to take into consideration; context, the
client’s circumstance and other factors in attempts to analyse and address staff
‘oppression’ by clients or their families make intervention increasingly problematic.
Furthermore, prevalent prejudice against social workers which readily stereotype and
label them as incompetent, bullies, baby snatchers, etc means that, in most
instances of ‘assault’, thanks to significant socialisation from the media, social
workers are predominantly presumed guilty without trial. Within this culture of; ‘do
you dam and don’t you dam’, social workers therefore need to be ethically and
legally knowledgeable to justify their practice.

Faced with difficult clients, a ‘self-reflective’ social worker who understands both the
ethical and legal requirements for effective and appropriate practice will use
‘Assertiveness Skills’ to address power-wielding (bullies) clients. Assertiveness in
front line social work practice is a way of thinking and behaving that allows the social
worker to stand up for his or her rights while respecting the rights of clients. Some
aggressions from clients or their families in social work interventions can be
explained on the fact that;

- While aggressive clients or their families are willing to defend their own rights,
some are competent and shrew-enough to exploit both ethical and legal
loopholes in relevant practice codes to infringe or abuse the rights of social
workers.

Although the appropriate assessment should give social workers a critical insight into
the presenting circumstance of the client or their families, unfortunately social
workers formation does not endow practitioners with telepathy to foresee potential
aggression from client; thus the essential need for individuality, reflective practice
and continuous assessment in intervention.

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Client empowerment versus the social worker’s assertiveness in interventions

In the course of my interactions with social workers in frontline practice, I often asked
how they would describe their profession or duties. One articulate student on
placement summed up her work experience as;

- “Social workers are like medics in a social conflict zone; expected to attend to
all casualties with minimum resources. Even in the face of attack or
aggression we are expected to wave the olive branch; employ any natural or
conventional approaches in self defence and society will vilify, judge and
sentence you for crime against humanity. You see, society expects a social
worker to be ‘JOAT’- Jack Of All Trade; Master of all and also scapegoat or
victim to all.”

Elaborating on her assertion, she went on to say;

- “During assessments and interpersonal interactions, I am like a chair person;

able to actively listen, then summarise, paraphrase to make sure that both I
and my clients understand and know decisions taken from the same
perspective. In volatile circumstances, I act as a conflict mediator with the
non-partisan but assertive ability to mediate and facilitate conflict resolution
with the limited option to evoke relevant emergency actions including;
sectioning, court orders, police interventions as deemed appropriate to the
presenting issue. Predominantly, I am like an athlete expected to perform but
with my hands tied behind my back. This is often the case when, because of
resource and other constraints my care plans do not meet the actual needs I
indentify during assessments. Similarly, unlike in order professions; like the
judiciary where people can be charged with contempt of court, or the police
where suspects can be arrested and charged with obstructing or resisting
arrest, my most effective protective tool is assertiveness and the ability to
continually risk-assess my client and context. You see, social workers are not
just ‘JOAT’ -Jacks Of All Trades, society expects us to be masters of all of
them without deserving of the praise showered on other professionals when
they excel in their practice. Assertiveness in Reflective Practice is what keeps
us ‘SAS’- Sane And Safe.”

Critical analysis of the abuse of social workers by their clients or families give plausible
reasons to suggest that, despite the myriad of debates, conceptualisations and
lectures on empowerment in social work as; ‘an enabling process that enable social
workers to work alongside clients to enable them play active part in enhancing
their life chances; some practitioners erroneously perceive empowerment as
‘giving power to clients”. It is within the latter context that social workers can
become victims of their own subjective practice. A social worker, who hands

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power to the client, looses the ability to be efficient, effective and appropriate in
interventions. Within the current social work climate where interventions are set
against the backdrop of human rights, social workers can objectively achieve
legally and ethically-compliant outcomes, even when facing difficult clients by
being reflectively assertive.

Working predominantly with vulnerable people or their families, the assertive

social workers apart from believing in their own rights are committed to fighting
for, and preserving those of their clients. Indeed, as is often the case, rather than
vie for compliments, assertiveness in social work means that social workers are
able to recognise when their rights or those of clients are being violated and to
fight for them. Additionally, in inter personal inter reactions, by being assertive;
the social worker is able to consistently achieve mutual outcomes by objectively
empowering the client. While most text books may not emphasise assertive skills
as core to effective social work practice, critical analysis shows that this core skill
underpins most intervention decisions in practice.

So how can a social worker be assertive in front line practice?

Whether in proving clients with vital information to access relevant services

themselves, or directly approaching agencies, statutory organisations or other
professionals to advocate on behalf of less able clients, being assertive while
remaining reflective in practice will significantly enhance more rational and
sustainable outcomes. Let’s take a simple case study.

Mrs A; a 30 year mother of two turned up at the social service office, with her
children and with her belongings in a shopping trolley. Shortly after, a man of 32
and later identified as her husband arrived swearing and even threatening the staff
(social workers) not to interfere in his family’s or private affairs. In such a
seemingly volatile situation, it is the confidence derived from competence in one’s
profession and its associated legal and ethical procedures and processes; backed by
the assertiveness to apply them objectively and reflectively that will produce
positive outcomes.

In this particular case, the social worker was able to use assertive listening to let
both Mr and Mrs A know that she wanted to understand and help resolve their
problem mutually and impatailly rather than being partisan to ether party. Within
this context, the social workers critical skill in conflict resolution or management
enabled her to confidently, impartially and assertively cope with both difficult and
aggressive clients. While assertively listening to understand the individual
perspectives is not synonymous with agreeing, being assertive means that while the

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social worker was prepared to listen, understand and attempt to initiate procedures
that might lead to a resolution of the family’s difficulties, the social worker was
equally prepared to take emergency measures; including the option to seek the
services of the police in case of assessed physical danger to her person, other staff,
either feuding party or the public.

With Mrs A shouting; “save me and my children from this monster” and later “if
you don’t act, I will report you to your superior” a subjective and non-assertive
judgement would have led the social worker to prejudge Mr A as guilty based of
Mrs A’s manipulative ability. Indeed, overtly, Mr A’s rather shouting and
seemingly irrational and abusive attitude towards the social worker were
compelling reasons to presume his guilt or was he.

Through reflective practice and employing critical conflict management skills

(effective communication, impartiality and ... ) and using less confrontational
phrases like, ;

-look I like to help you but shout wouldn’t get us anywhere

- I like to hear and understand your views...

- I am confused by your stand, could you tell me about...

- How would you like me to help you or how would you like us to resolve this
problem

This approach actually calm down Mr A who was then able to provide a detail and
rational account of the presenting circumstance showing the Mrs A, a client with
mental difficulty had snatched the children and some belongings from theory flat
and heading for nowhere in particular. Assertive actions by the social worker
meant that while Mr A was supported to in caring for the two children at home,
Mrs A was assessed and is receiving the relevant mental health support service to
enable her to continue to live with the family. In interpersonal interaction, it is vital
to   
 

In resolving this potentially volatile situation, the social worker was not able to
combine effective communication skills (active listening) and assertiveness skills
to achieve a mutual outcome that ensured Mrs A’s action did not expose or
predispose the children in particular to the risk of significant harm or danger but
she was competent-enough to balance the clients right with her duty of care. In a
nut shell she did not allow herself to be either bullied or manipulated by any of the
parties. She was comprehensively assertive.

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Hollistcally in social work intervention, assertiveness is not necessarily
synonymous with verbal communication but may include eyes, facial expression,
personal appearance, posture and gestures. Experience of working with power-
wielding clients show that, nervous and non-assertive behaviours communicate to
cunning clients that they can both ignore the social workers directives. Where
clients are judged as bullies in social; work interventions, they are able to see
timidity as signs of weakness and at worst insincerity and jeopardizes your
credibility.

Holistically, to be assertive in social work intervention, the social worker while

respecting the rights of clients, need to be in control of the intervention agenda