“she let out a burp and got rid of it!” – learning from a social worker’s stories about...
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J O M E N S I N G A
“SHE LET OUT A BURP AND GOT RID OF IT!” – LEARNING FROM A SOCIAL WORKER’S STORIES ABOUT
BODIES IN MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATIONS
LILY’S STORY OF WHY SHE STARTED YOGA…(WORKS IN A LARGE INCOME SUPPORT AGENCY, 2010)
Interview context – story felt like vomit
Student debrief – sat away and let out a burp to get rid of it
Organizational response – no one available, hurt back
In-line management – didn’t want to hear story and be traumatized
Off-site supervision – used a body technique to deal with the story
Own response – Started yoga to befriend body
WHILE THE BODY IS INARTICULATE, IT IS NOT MUTE… (FRANK, 1995, P.27)
Presented Lily’s story first to give preference to the body’s
voice and stories about bodies before other
dominant discourses begin to drown them out
Will now explore:Background/literatureLily’s place in the larger studyExploring stories as living
artifactsLearning from Lily’s narrative
(http://yogamodern.com)
LOCATING THE BODY IN THE PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATION:
‘…bodies can be seen as the foundation as well as the product of
both discourses and institutions. Discourses, in other words, are
embodied, and social institutions cannot be understood apart from the real, lived experiences and
actions of bodies.’ (Williams & Bendelow, 1998, p.66)
LOCATING THE BODY IN THE SOCIAL WORK CONVERSATION:
• Post-enlightenment and Western Christian beginnings Cartesian dualism & Suspicion of body (Saleebey 1992; Peile, 1998; Tangenberg & Kemp, 2002; Cameron & McDermott, 2007; Bell, 2012)
• Focus on ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ a social worker (Saleebey, 1992) hegemony of science and evidence based practice consumer = object
LOCATING THE BODY IN THE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION:
Social workers advocate for a more holistic approach but compete with the bio-chemical-medical discourse objectifies the consumer
Marginalization of the body’s voice in the social work conversation failure to explore the corporeal capacity of both the consumer and the social worker (Cameron & McDermott, 2007)
MY PROPOSAL … MAKE SPACE FOR THE BODY’S VOICE IN THE SOCIAL
WORK/MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION
Need to:• In a previous paper, argued that we
need to understand practitioner’s somatic map to distinguish between habit and what is to be experienced in the room (Mensinga, 2011)
• Listen to existing stories what strategies and power structures support or discourage exploring the body in the professional conversation (Frank, 2010; Plummer, 1995)
PA RT OF A LA RGE R RESEA RCH P RO JEC T UNDERTA K EN IN 2010 -11
http://www.surfinaustralia.com.au
LILY
PART OF MY PHD STUDY - LILY
• 1of 9 human service workers (6 = social workers)
• Part of a focus group of 5 women that was interviewed on 3 occasions (from regional center in North Queensland, Australia)
• 1 of 6 women (from North Queensland X 3, Central Queensland X 1, New South Wales X 1 and in the United States X 1) who were interviewed individually either once (X 3) or 3 times (Lily & 2 others)
PART OF MY PHD STUDY – LILY’S NARRATIVE
• Collected from first interview at her home• Chose her narrative as it was:• told as a whole (requiring minimal
‘tidying up’ to enhance its readability), • epitomizes many of the issues raised by
the other participants• highlights the pressures that exist in the
sites in which many professional conversations arise.
FRANK’S DIALOGICAL NARRATIVE ANALYSIS APPROACH (2012)
My interest in Lily’s narrative is to explore how the body stories within Lily’s narrative serve her and others to attend to their own, their colleagues’ and consumers’ well-being
Frank says that stories can:• Deal with and/or cause
trouble for people• Display and test people’s
character• Make a particular
perspective or orientation plausible• Teach people about what is
valuable and good as well as what should be ignored and held in contempt
FRANK SUGGESTS THE RESEARCHER IDENTIFY (2012,PP. 45-49) :
What narrative resources are available and if they can be used to tell new stories
Who the stories can be told to and why they can or can’t
Who would be accepted / prevented from being a member of a group if they
understood the storyHow the story encourages people to be who
they are and/or who they could become
How the storyteller maintains their social/ personal/ professional position by telling the
story and in the way that they do
EXPLORING AND LEARNING FROM LILY’S
NARRATIVEP LO T , C H A RAC T E R S , P O L I T I C S O F L I S T E N I N G T O BO D I E S
Story told in the form of a ‘quest’ (Booker, 2004) to rid bodies of the horrible story to:1. Relieve the consumer of his anguish 2. Ensure the wellbeing of the student 3. Regain Lily’s own equanimity
in the work place
NOT UNCOMMON IN SOCIAL WORK STORIES … except includes new material:• the impact of a burp• the use of a body technique (EMDR)
THE BODY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE PLOT
coloring.4you.com
THE INCLUSION OF ‘BODIES’ AS CHARACTERS
Characters:• Social worker – qualified, agency mandate
• Consumer – able to tell story for 1st time
• Student – observes S.W. , training
• Line manager/supervisor – ill-equipped to deal with trauma
• Off-site professional supervisor – skills to work with vicarious trauma
• Consumer’s body – ill relieved
• Lily’s body – injured, listens to another body friend
• Student’s body – burped protected
(http://yogamodern.com)
LILY FEELS AT LIBERTY TO INCLUDE THE BODY – WHY?
Leder (1990) makes the point that in general to participate in a complex world the body tends to remain invisible until something goes wrong.
Lily takes note of body when she hurts her back, but is likely she was already aware of the link between body and mind - e.g., consumer tells story for 1st time, heard student mention effect of burp; link made to her sore back; participation in EMDR
Body assumes a subjective status rather than inanimate object that can be ‘done to’
•Narrative technique?
•No!
• The the turning point in Lily’s narrative is not so much a re-storying
of what occurred, but an actual intervention used by the body to
communicate with another.
THE POLITICS OF LISTENING TO THE BODY
Just as bodies are inscribed with greater and lesser degrees of perceived power on the basis of race and ethnicity, age, gender, and (dis)ability, so the value of knowledge from the body reflects the social power associated with the individual: more powerful individuals define what knowledge is accepted and embodied by social institutions. (Tangenberg & kemp, 2002, p.15)
Lily works in income support agency, body is viewed more subjectively
Line manager not required to attend to worker’s off-site physical ailments even if related to work
Accepted that off-site supervisor provides support (AASW) and can use variety of techniques
HOW DOES LILY’S STORY SERVE US?
Frank (2012,pp. 45-49) :• Narrative resources? – new stories of the body helping to
overcome the horrible story – burp; EMDR; yoga; breathing• Who can the stories be told to and why? – income support
vs. mental health social worker; student vs. worker support; line manager vs. professional supervisor
• Who is accepted/prevented being a group member by understanding the story? – income support agency vs. mental health agency
• How does the story encourage people to be who they are? – watch where you sit; burp if you have to; take up yoga to become more body aware
• How does the story teller maintain their social standing/positioning telling the story in the way they did? – the quest story resonates it is a common story in social work