Social Work Education, 2014

Vol. 33, No. 7, 861873, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02615479.2014.885006

The Resilient SurvivorA Student

Social Workers Journey on Placement
Jane Smith

This paper represents the continuation of my personal and professional journey from
social work student to social work practitioner focusing on my first Practice Learning
Opportunity (PLO). Recognising the potential impact of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) in
a classroom environment is as important as the potential impact on actual practice
learning and practice. This is salient in the real world of social work practice as the
potential misuse of a painful childhood experience has greater ramifications. Utilising the
ideas and assumptions of social constructionism (including context and multivocality) the
significance of silence from social work educators shall be examined in relation to self-
disclosure as a means of aiding PLO learning and practice. This paper will also focus on
the concept of critical reflection and its significance in exploring the transferability of a
childhood experience such as CSA and personal and professional dilemmas regarding self-
disclosure. This paper concludes by highlighting areas for consideration for both students
and social work educators and conveys an important message regarding the importance of
communication between students and social work educators.

Keywords: Sexual Abuse; Practice Learning; Critical Reflection; Self-disclosure;

Communication

Introduction
This paper focuses on my learning and practice in the context of a Practice Learning
Opportunity (PLO) in relation to integrating my experience of childhood sexual abuse
(CSA). This paper does not focus on my learning and development specific to the service
user group I engaged with but integration of previous service user experience. In
documenting my experience of practice and learning I want to draw the readers
attention to the first part of my personal and professional journey. It was written before
commencing the PLO and I reflected on how my experience of CSA may be relevant and
impact on my learning and practice in the field of family and childcare (Smith, 2014).

Correspondence to: Jane Smith, c/o The School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work, Queens University Belfast,
6 College Park, Belfast BT7 1LP, UK.

q 2014 Taylor & Francis

862 J. Smith
I emphasised that, whether social work students had experienced trauma or not, they
needed to think about their own personal experiences (Smith, 2014). In this paper I will
clarify the significance of considering personal experiences in the context of a PLO in the
hope that it will be a resource for other social work students, established professionals
and social work educators. My PLO was situated within a statutory agency in Northern
Ireland (NI) where social work students undertake 225 days of practice learning of
which 185 days must be spent in direct supervised practice (Northern Ireland Social
Care Council, 2012). In NI, the social work profession is regulated by NISCC and social
work students have a license to train. The Department of Health, Social Services and
Public Safety (2003) provides the framework for students learning and development
while on PLO and outlines the responsibilities of the student and social work educators.
These are explored in more detail later in this paper.
The structure of this paper is divided into the following sections. Firstly, I review
some of the existing literature in relation to social work students and service user
expertise. Secondly, I discuss the significance of silence and my relationships with my
practice teacher and personal tutor in the context of the PLO and the university.
Thirdly, the concept of critical reflection and its significance to roles in social work
education is explored. Finally, this paper discusses the overall message which has
emerged from the integration of my experience of CSA into my qualifying training, the
importance of communication, with areas for consideration by educators and students
who bring trauma-related childhood experiences to their practice and learning.

Literature Review
While I focus on my experience of CSA, I recognise that students will bring a range of
prior personal experiences which may have been traumatic to their social work
qualifying training. Contemporary academic literature illustrates the high prevalence
of experience of, or exposure to, intimate partner violence/interpersonal violence/
family violence (Agllias, 2012; Connor, Nouer, Mackey, Banet, & Tipton, 2012; Zosky,
2013). In the United Kingdom (UK), the term domestic violence is more commonly
used. My understanding of domestic violence is the perpetration of abuse which may
be violent or non-violent against another individual. This abuse may be witnessed by
others. The context of this abuse is two individuals in a relationship which is
emotionally and/or physically intimate who may or may not be living together. The
UK government definition of domestic violence has evolved and from March 2013,
domestic violence is no longer confined to a one-off incident but:
any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour,
violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate
partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can
encompass, but is not limited to physical, psychological, sexual, financial and
emotional. (Home Office, 2013)
The Australian (Agllias, 2012) and American papers (Connor et al., 2012; Zosky, 2013)
highlight the range of terminology used, hint at the context of suffering and how this
may be experienced, but dont explicitly define these terms. This is problematic in
 Social Work Education 863
social work education if students are not offered available definitions of domestic
violence because this forms the basis for learning and challenging what a student
thinks they already know. For example, Connor et al. (2012) refer to intimate partner
violence and ask students if they have a history of personal experience with some form
of physical violence, sexual abuse, intimidation, or threats of violence in an intimate
partner relationship . . . (p. 34) and/or a history of being witness to physical violence,
sexual abuse, or psychological abuse directed toward a family member (p. 34). Zosky
(2013) refers to family violence experienced across the lifespan including child abuse,
adult domestic violence, and elder abuse (p. 242). In this paper, family violence covers
a range of terms and child abuse can refer to physical, sexual and emotional abuse and
neglect. Agllias (2012) explores interpersonal violence with a focus on sexual assault
and domestic violence (p. 260). This seems to be an umbrella term used to describe
types of violence between two individuals. The literature highlights an important
message which is that CSA may not occur in isolation. This means individuals may
have experienced and suffered a range of childhood adversities and bring this to their
social work education and practice. Connor et al. (2012) describe students bringing
personal experience of trauma to their training as having actual knowledge. While
Connor et al. (2012) provide a thorough overview of the potential impact of
possessing such insight and experience caution needs to be exercised as one
individuals knowledge is not equivalent to everyone elses experience of trauma such
as CSA. It is my opinion that an individuals practice will become dangerous if they
begin to believe they have nothing more to learn about trauma outside of their own
experience. Connor et al. (2012) explore the potential impact of students possessing
actual knowledge, including secondary trauma, vicarious traumatisation, over
generalising personal experiences regarding methods of coping and counter
transference. The study by Agllias (2012) focuses on Australian social work students
acquiring the skills and knowledge needed to work with service users in the aftermath
of violence and trauma, especially if the student has experienced previous trauma.
While this study concentrates on IPV, the strategies for safety regarding teaching IPV
are transferable to students on placement integrating the experience of previous
trauma, such as CSA, into their learning and practice. These strategies include on-
going recognition and education regarding self-care and vicarious trauma, developing
a supportive culture in the classroom, and the availability of personalised support and
debriefing. The relevance of these strategies shall be explored in more detail
throughout the paper.

The Significance of Silence on a PLO

A significant feature of my personal and professional journey, up to and including the
PLO, was the silence I encountered attempting to integrate my experience of CSA into
my learning and practice. While students are encouraged to think carefully about what
personal information they disclose in front of their peers, there was no explicit
reference to what could not be discussed privately with tutors. I realised the
significance of my childhood experiences, recognising the positive and negative aspects
864 J. Smith
while attempting to integrate these experiences into my learning and practice.
Difficulties arose exploring the relevance of my experiences in supervision with my
practice teacher while on a PLO and in private discussion with my personal tutor.
There are no identifiable references to individuals I engaged with and there are no
identifiable references to the social work educators involved in my training. This paper
has been shared with them as it is my wish that wider learning points will be made
which will be of use to the wider social work community. These difficulties manifested
in the silence I encountered and the meaning I attached to this which evoked a number
of thoughts and feelings. Thoughts included: my practice teacher looks awkward and
uncomfortable, they are not saying anything, I feel awkward and uncomfortableI
cant explore the relevance of my personal experiences. My personal tutor is not
verbally responding to what I have written in relation to my personal experiences, it is
not ok to talk about these things. Feelings I experienced included: disappointment,
anger, rejection, dejection and loneliness which are commonly associated with loss
(no matter what form the loss takes) (Currer, 2007). As a result of sharing this paper
more positive working relationships have emerged based on openness, honesty,
listening to each other and keeping the discussion professional even though the loss I
experienced was at a professional and personal level.
An important question is raised concerning boundaries. A boundary exists because
of the nature of the relationship between student and educator. It is not therapeutic by
which the educator helps the student to heal wounds from trauma and it is not a
relationship an individual would have with a friend or family member. However, in a
relationship which is centrally focused on learning and development it is right that the
relationship is beneficial and helpful for the student. Still, the personal tutor and
practice teacher should not attempt to counsel the student in the event of a disclosure
of CSA or disclosure of old CSA abuse (Thompson as cited in Barter, 1997). The
relationship will also become inappropriate if the student continuously seeks what the
educator cannot and must not givecounselling. I agree that provision of
independent counselling services, if appropriate, should be made available to the
student (Barter, 1997). Agllias (2012) extends this point in her safety strategy in
relation to developing a supportive culture in the classroom. Students can support and
encourage each other but not provide therapeutic intervention. Thompson and Pascal
(2012) argue that considering power relations is an essential component of critical
reflection. Power (the capacity to exert influence) has been conceptualised in different
ways (Dominelli, 2002; Smith, 2010; Thompson, 2007). Rowlands (1998 as cited in
Thompson, 2007) elaborates on the feminist perspective of empowerment which is
Helping people gain greater control over their lives and circumstances (Thompson,
2007, p. 21) with the terms power with and power from within. Power with is the basis
of a partnership and collective approach where more is achieved working together
than in isolation. Power from within refers to inner/personal resources which can be
drawn upon by individuals to help themselves but can also be used to help others.
While these terms are useful for exploring the relevance of personal experiences in
supervision, in a student/educator relationship power relations are unequal because
the student is being assessed (Cooper, 2010). Thompson and Pascal (2012) state that
 Social Work Education 865
educators can use power in a manner which stops subjects being explored and/or
discussed properly. Where power is exerted negatively (intentionally or not) loss can
occur. The impact of the insufficient acknowledgement of my childhood experiences
led me to feel isolated from the professionals I should have been able to explore the
relevance of my personal experiences with. This was in an attempt to integrate these
childhood experiences in a manner which was positive and beneficial to the
individuals I engaged with. These thoughts and feelings of loss need to be understood
in the context of beginning to engage with myself at a deeper level in adulthood
regarding the significance of my experience of child sexual abuse. I had not previously
discussed my childhood experiences outside the boundaries of a therapeutic
relationship and was sharing my experience of child sexual abuse knowingly and
purposefully. I believed this was what I was doing because I knew my wish to explore
my experience of CSA was not because of wounds which were still open but this may
not be how it was received or interpreted.
I have been challenged as to why I did not push more assertively for the use of my
experience of CSA to be put on the supervision agenda. My answer is that silence is a
powerful and complex communication tool. Silence in the context of a personal and
professional journey is powerful because of the impact it can have on an individual
and the influence it can exert on a situation. Silence in the context of my personal and
professional journey is complex because of the meaning I attached to the silence
I encountered. It could be argued, based on my silence, that my educators felt it
appropriate not to say anything in return. I have reflected on this and, while it is
empowering to allow an individual to use their own words to express their experiences,
the process of empowerment can be given a helping hand by the sensitive use of
questioning by educators.

Context
A university setting provides the context for my personal and professional journey,
and Fook and Askeland (2007) explore the place of the personal and the emotional in
learning within their model of critical reflection. It is evident that tensions and
contradictions exist between critical reflection and the cultures of objectivity and self-
disclosure. I value critical reflection as a process for checking basic beliefs, judgements
and assumptions (Lomax, Jones, Leigh, & Gay, 2010) about the individuals I engage
with and how I engage with them. Zosky (2013) states that students belief systems can
be informed by experience of trauma. I bring insight of the experience of being
powerless to my social work qualifying training. My personal and professional journey
has enabled this insight to be translated into an understanding of how power can be
used with an enabling and/or disabling effect. Critical reflection can involve personal
disclosure and acknowledging emotion so this goes against the educational experience
as being rational, objective and individualistic (Fook & Askeland, 2007). However,
to ensure I uphold the ethical principle of Striving for objectivity and self-awareness
in professional practice (British Association of Social Workers, 2012, p. 15) I need to
rationalise and objectify my experience of CSA to ensure the best use of my personal
866 J. Smith
experiences with least harm to the service user and myself. Although this type of
knowledge is not viewed as scientifically acceptable (Fook & Askeland, 2007, p. 527) it
emphasises the person (a former service user and now social work student) as a
valuable source of knowledge to be utilised (Fook & Askeland, 2007). In Social
Constructionism, multivocality is encouraged, which means encouraging different
perspectives on a topic (Witkin, 2012) to emerge. Combining service user expertise
and professional training in an educational context is allowing for a different discourse
to emerge in relation to student social workers qualifying training and in particular
those who bring experience of previous trauma.
Presented is a critical incident of a disclosure of CSA made to me. Thomas (2004,
p. 104) refers to a critical incident as meaning . . . the individual has taken some
action and whatever he or she does has important consequences for him or herself, the
service user, others involved . . . . This critical incident both reveals my own personal
experiences and shares my feelings and reactions as a social work student. While
preparation for direct contact with service users helped me to decide the best use of my
personal experiences, I was also making decisions within seconds regarding whether it
was appropriate to disclose or not and, if not, how could I use my personal
information with best effect for the benefit of the individual I was working with. This is
what I wrote as part of my personal reflection on this critical incident:
I did feel a sharp pang but it was only for a moment but I was able to focus on the
service user and just listen and I was able to see for the first time how well I would be
able to use my own personal experiences by channelling these into empathising.
I think I did really well but now I feel a bit off . There is nobody about and I will be
ok, I just didnt think I would be experiencing this given my practice. I feel a bit
better just for writing this . . . .

Deconstruction of Critical Incident

In preparation for commencing the PLO, students are introduced to a range of models of
reflection including the model developed by Donald Schon (19301997). I utilised the
reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action model of reflection in PLO practice which I
shall briefly describe. Reflection-in-action is the thinking we do while actually practising
(Thompson & Thompson, 2008). Reflection-on-action can be used to further
understand, test and develop the knowledge base (Thompson & Thompson, 2008).
Thompson and Pascal (2012), in their discussion of critically reflective practice, state that
an element Schon did not include was reflection-for-action, which is the process of
thinking and planning for what may happen and drawing on relevant knowledge.
I believe the sharp pang I felt was the start of reflecting-in-action which has been
described as reflexivity. Sheppard (as cited in DCruz, Gillingham, & Melendez, 2007)
states that reflexivity can be described as a critical approach to the generation of
knowledge that operates in the moment. DCruz et al. (2007) acknowledge and
explore different strands or meanings of reflexivity. The first strand of reflexivity
concerns . . . mastery over the forces that shape ones life can be achieved by the
application of reflexivity as a skill to process information and enhance decision
 Social Work Education 867
making (p. 77). The second strand concerns the process of how knowledge is
generated and used within practice which is taking place within a network of
relationships (where different levels of power exist) including social work educators,
service users and peers. The third strand recognises the place of emotions and feelings
in knowledge creation and I agree they are . . . inherent to professional knowledge
and professional power and to be recognised rather than avoided or repressed (p. 83).
In the context of my personal and professional journey I identify with the second and
third strands. Acknowledging the sharp pang, instinctively I knew I had to adjust my
non-verbal communication (Trevithick, 2012) to demonstrate I was focused and
listening. I do not wish to imply there was something wrong with my non-verbal
communication, but I recognised the nature of the conversation had changed.
Importantly, I needed to employ effective masking skills (Trevithick, 2012) to disguise
the personal discomfort (sharp pang) I was experiencing. At the same time, I made the
decision to channel my experiences into empathising and listening (Trevithick, 2012)
as this was what the service user required of me. Ward (2007, p. 63) emphasises that,
although critical incidents unfold quickly, . . . there is a recognizable process of
work involved . . . which requires adapting to evolving situations and skills of
communication and on-the-spot decision making (Ward, 2007). I believe this critical
incident is evidence of integrating appropriately my experience of CSA and
recognition of the delicate balance between subjectivity and objectivity (Smith, 2014).
At no stage did I consider disclosing my own experience of CSA.

Reflection and Critical Reflection

Reflection can manifest through discussion with a supervisor or peer or through
writing in a journal (Hickson, 2011). Boyd and Fales (as cited in Ching Man Lam,
Wong, & Leung, 2007)distinguish six stages of reflective learning which include: inner
discomfort, identification of the concern, openness to new information, resolution,
establishment of continuity and the decision over whether to take action. In beginning
my personal and professional journey I experienced inner discomfort at the nature of
the personal experiences I brought to my social work education, contemplating what
others would think of these experiences and how I would integrate these positively
with benefits to my own learning and practice and to other students and social work
professionals. As part of a safety strategy in relation to recognition and education
regarding self-care and vicarious trauma (Agllias, 2012) students attention was drawn
to the possibility of self-disclosure from their peers. Students were asked to consider in
great depth the positive and negative aspects of disclosure. Documenting my personal
and professional journey is an expression of an alternative to disclosing in a classroom
setting. Deeper layers of healing have occurred in the context of my social work
qualifying training through exposure to and making sense of written material and
training related to CSA. Writing has aided a more sophisticated understanding of my
experience of CSA and this paper is a partial expression of this. The concept of critical
reflection is not without its criticisms (Hickson, 2011; Thompson & Pascal, 2012).
Hickson (2011, p. 831) states: . . . there are extra steps between reflection and critical
868 J. Smith
reflection that involve more than thinking about our experiences. Thompson and
Pascal (2012) argue that critical reflection needs to embody several elements, including
the incorporation of . . . a greater understanding of the important role of power
(p. 323) and taking a greater account of the emotional dimension of reflection (p.
323). These elements of critical reflection are significant in the context of my personal
and professional journey for a number of reasons. Firstly, students are encouraged to
recognise the power they possess and are expected to exercise as developing
professionals in the work undertaken with service users, their families and other
relevant professionals. Based on my experience of practice, the power differentials
between social work educators and students and the impact (positive or negative)
(Thompson & Pascal, 2012) this can have on the students learning and practice in a
placement setting is profound. Secondly, acknowledging the emotional demands of
professional practice and acknowledging that emotion is crucial to critical reflection is
important (Fook & Askeland, 2007; Thompson & Pascal, 2012). I do not consider the
emphasis placed on emotion to be overstated as a range of emotions can be evoked in the
learning environment which includes tutorials and lectures. I believe what needs to be
acknowledged more clearly is the learning which can be derived from examining openly
what certain emotions (or a lack of emotion) can mean. This can reveal students biases,
assumptions and judgements which may impact on the individuals, families, groups
and communities they are engaging with. Fook and Askeland (2007) point to the
contradiction between learning in an academic setting, which involves withholding
emotion, and learning derived from critical reflection. This contradiction has to be
negotiated and overcome because my (and potentially others) personal and professional
journey involves critical reflection of the best use of childhood experiences.
This statement stems from the feelings of loss I experienced. A new pedagogic space
needs to be created and supported where feelings and emotions connected to the best
use of childhood experiences are recognised as integral elements of learning and
development. This is important because service users (who experience first-hand the
students learning through social work intervention) also occupy the learning
environment. In this new pedagogic space, students are recognised as having service
user experience and learning how to use this in their own unique learning and
developmental journeys. Educators need to recognise that students with experience of
trauma may experience a range of feelings and emotions during their qualifying
training and also when these cannot be contained inside the boundaries of a student/
educator working relationship. An important aspect of this is clarifying with the
student whether they have explored before the personal experiences they bring to their
social work education and practice. This will enable signposting to counselling services
(if appropriate) and give the educator an opportunity to explore boundaries and
mutual expectations with the student.

Roles
Northern Ireland Social Care Council (2012) outlines the responsibilities of the
practice teacher which include facilitating the learning experience for the student,
 Social Work Education 869
providing regular supervision and directly observing the students practice on three
occasions. I envisaged my practice teacher would be responsible for facilitating
exploration of any issue relating to my learning and practice through critical
reflection. Feilberg (2008) explores use of self which she describes as an umbrella
term for using empathy, critical thinking and self-reflectiveness in building
relationships. Some of these skills are essential to handling effectively emotive
disclosures from service users. Self-awareness and experiences of supervision (Feilberg,
2008) can enable the development of the practitioners own internal supervisor
(Feilberg, 2008). This is why students need to be assertive and push for their childhood
experiences to be placed on the supervision agenda so their relevance and appropriate
use (or not) can be determined by engaging in dyadic critical reflection (Thompson &
Thompson, 2008).
In the context of practice learning all parties have roles. Witkin (2012, p. 26)
discusses how Positioning Theory . . . extends this concept with one that is more
flexible and dynamic. Positioning Theory is associated with a micro context in social
construction which emphasises interpersonal interaction (Witkin, 2012). Positions
represent different discursive stances that individuals . . . adopt, or are ascribed, in
their interactions (Witkin, 2012, pp. 2627) and are concerned with rights and duties.
In the context of my personal and professional journey, educators are in a position of
authority and possess expertise to guide me in my qualifying training but they also
have a duty to provide an environment conducive to my voice being heard. Agllias
(2012) discusses the importance and limitations of the role of the lecturer as a form of
support and resource for debriefing. Agllias (2012) states in her study that
undergraduate students lecturers could not provide therapeutic intervention but
could be contacted for debriefing, which included discussing course material and
alternative forms of support. However, tensions may exist between looking after the
needs of one student or a few students versus a whole group of students, including
additional demands being made on a lecturers time. These tensions may include time
away from a busy schedule with multiple teaching and research commitments and
preparing to listen to students who believe they need additional support processing
course content in relation to their own learning, development and practice. This will
require a lecturer to use excellent time management, organisational and active
listening skills when providing additional support. In relation to my own educators
I was aware of the support they could not offer but felt sure it would be within their
remit to offer support regarding the relevance of my experience of CSA to my practice,
learning and development.
Burr (2003, p. 113) explores how individuals may . . . adopt a position by drawing
upon a particular discourse, or we may assign positions to other speakers through the
part that we give them in our account. Elaborating on this statement, in an attempt to
begin to integrate my experience of CSA into my learning and practice I gave my
educators cues (verbal and written) that I wanted to discuss the relevance of my
experiences. I interpreted their silence in a manner which invoked certain thoughts
and feelings. I didnt challenge the educators non-verbal acknowledgement and
I adopted a passive accepting stance which had a disabling effect. However, my
870 J. Smith
educators may not have intended their silence towards me to actually silence me and
stop me from discussing my experiences. In the interactions between me and my
educators there was no attempt to redefine what the silence meant which could have
offered a new opportunity to integrate my experience of CSA into my practice and
learning.
I have reflected on what, ideally, I would have liked my educators to do and why
when I disclosed my childhood experiences. I would have liked them to say Lets
explore how this is relevant to your training. With the absence of this statement I felt
my social work educators were taking a step back from me rather than towards me in
my learning and development. I want to reiterate the importance of upholding
boundaries between student and educator and maintaining a working relationship,
but the perceived distance contributed to the feelings of loss I experienced and
presented what I believed was a barrier to my learning and development.

Conclusion
It is hoped that this account of my experience of PLO will continue to bridge the gap
between the literature on the service user perspective, essential to social work training,
and the personal and sometimes painful experiences students may bring to their social
work education. A number of important areas for consideration have arisen for both
students and educators where students bring trauma-related childhood experiences to
their practice and learning. I hope both students and educators will give both time and
thought to these. These areas for consideration are specific to private one-to-one
sessions between students and educators.

1. Social work educators need to verbally acknowledge a disclosure, whether this is

communicated verbally or non-verbally by a student. Silence is a powerful
communication tool which can be misinterpreted.
2. Social work educators should question any personal or professional awkwardness
(actual or perceived) on their part regarding a disclosure made by a student.
3. Students need to overcome any barriers to their personal and professional
development (actual or perceived) by discussing concerns with the relevant social
work educator.
4. Students must share the responsibility for placing critical reflection regarding the use
of a childhood experience such as CSA on the supervision agenda.
5. Students must exercise caution and judgement when disclosing a childhood
experience: what purpose does it serve? The student needs to consider carefully
whether disclosing really aids learning and practice and do so knowingly and
purposively.

I believe it is possible to measure if a disclosure actually aids a students learning and

practice. A tool to measure this is the process of supervision. For example, the impact
of a disclosure on a students learning and practice could be measured through the
development of self-awareness. The ability to utilise self-care skills to achieve
and maintain emotional and physical well-being is linked to the development of
 Social Work Education 871
self-awareness and this could be measured in supervision throughout the length of
placement. This could be evidenced in supervision minutes, critical incident
analyses and abstracts from the students personal professional development
workbook.
While these areas for consideration are not intended to be purely instrumental, they
do have limits. I do not include the actual views/comments of the educators involved
or other students on the PLO. Such viewpoints would form an important part of a
larger-scale study with a carefully researched methodology including how data could
be gathered and analysed. However, these areas for consideration which have arisen
from my own PLO experience do have an important ethical grounding, including the
rights and responsibilities of both the educator and student. Educators have a duty of
care to students and are partially responsible for their learning, practice and
development. Students must also accept responsibility for their part in developing into
safe and effective practitioners.
All students should consider whether social work can ever be conflict free given the
contestable nature of social works role, task and purpose (Trevithick, 2008). In the
course of a students qualifying training, educators seek to ensure that students not
only understand these elements of their chosen profession but also how these elements
may be perceived and experienced by those who use services voluntarily or
involuntarily. This paper demonstrates that conflict and conflict management is part
of the reality of day-to-day social work practice and social work education. This paper
provides an example of potential conflict where a student may disclose their personal
experiences knowingly and purposely but the educator may not agree with the
relevance or importance. I believed in the relevance of my childhood experience of
CSA and challenged (constructively) my personal tutor and practice teacher. While
this was not easy, an open conversation where both parties listened to each other
helped more positive working relationships to emerge.
Overall, in documenting my personal and professional journey I am putting
forward a different perspective of what it is to be sexually abused and how this
experience is being integrated into my developing professional identity. From the
above a message emerges about the importance of effective communication between
students and educators engaging in critical reflection and being self-aware of their
roles. Commencing my qualifying training in a university setting has provided
the context for exploring my experience of CSA outside of a therapeutic relationship.
Educators who were once directly engaged with service users/carers are no
longer working in a therapeutic-orientated manner. They are primarily concerned
with their role as educators and essentially wear a different pair of lenses and
therefore may not be consciously tuned in to students wishing to explore painful
personal experiences which the student believes are relevant to their
qualifying training. This paper serves as a reminder to educators that they
must be able to wear different pairs of lenses to manage and uphold personal and
professional boundaries between the educator/student, and to help the student
manage and uphold personal and professional boundaries between the student and
service user.
872 J. Smith
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