1. Thinking Critically About the Person-in-Society: Towards a Model of Reflexivity in Social Work
Stan Houston

2. Reflecting on Reflexivity
Reflect on this scenario:
‘A middle aged, white, male social worker undertakes a piece of life-history work with a young, black, female child from an emotionally insecure and socially deprived background’
How might the actors’ very different personal and social characteristics affect their interaction?

3. What is Reflexivity?
Reflexivity is the process by which we reflect on our own and other people’s personal and social characteristics, how they differ and coalesce, and shape the social interaction between us

4. Reflexivity and Modernity
Reflexivity is also a tool for reflecting on how people’s private troubles are linked to wider socio-economic processes under modernity

5. Overview of the Presentation
How the model was developed
What the model comprises

6. How the Model was Developed
NISCC/ Degree Partnership Conference – 2011
Tender to evaluate the model
Focus group research
Reaching an agreed iteration of the model

7. Key Sources
Houston, S. (2015). Enabling others in social work: Reflexivity and the Theory of Social Domains. Critical and Radical Social Work, 3(2),
Houston, S. (2015). Enabling others in social work: A review of the reflexive framework. Critical and Radical Social Work (published on line).
Houston, S. (2015). Reflective Practice: A model for supervision and practice in social work. (monograph) Belfast: NISCC.

8. Applications Practice learning Supervision Coaching Mentoring
Consultation

9. The Domains Relationship Power Power Power Power Psycho-Biography
Organisation
Politics/
Economy
Culture
Power
Power
Power
Power

10. The Domain of Psycho-Biography
The life-course
Emotion
Narratives
Identity

11. Connections

12. The Domain of Relationship
Attachment
Recognition
Identity
Stability/Security
Projection/
Transference

13. Connections

14. The Domain of Culture The material The symbolic Morality
Culture and power
Xenophobia
Scapegoating

15. Connections

16. The Domain of Organizations
Bureaucracy
Management
Risk
Regulation
McDonaldization

17. Connections

18. The Domain of Politics/Economy
Neo-liberalism, the State and Modernity
Commodification
Inequality
Individualism
Psychological reductionism

19. Connections

20. Power Power circulates through all of the domains
Power comes from the ‘top-down’, ‘bottom-up’ and ‘horizontally out’
Power operates symbolically
Power affects knowledge and ideology
Power is enabling and constraining
Power leads to the unequal distribution of resources (monetary, status, symbolic, educational)

21. To summarise so far…. Psycho-Biography Relationship Culture
Organisations
Politics/Economy

22. Themes within Domains Psycho-biography Relationship Culture
Organization
Politico-Economy
Narrative
Identity
Emotion
Life-course
Attachment
Family
Recognition
Stability/Security
Projection/
Transference
Symbols
Meaning
Difference
Xenophobia
Scapegoating
Bureaucracy
Management
Regulation
Risk
McDonaldization
Neoliberalism
Globalization
Commodification
Individualism
Psychological
reductionism

23. Application within Supervision
Supervisor and supervisee apply the domains to themselves outside of supervision
Supervisor and supervisee consider how the domains shape interaction during supervision
Supervisor and supervisee apply the domains to tune into the service user’s needs and plan the social work process before intervention commences
Supervisor and supervisee apply the domains to reflect on the supervisee’s engagement with the service user following supervision
Supervisor and supervisee review the learning from this process

24. Anti-Oppressive Practice
Summary
Reflexivity
Accurate Empathy
Anti-Oppressive Practice