This article, written by survivor artists, practitioners and academics (each moving between these... more This article, written by survivor artists, practitioners and academics (each moving between these different identities and associated voices), will explore a creative arts approach to social work (SW) education within the context of service user and carer involvement. In addition to building upon a developing literature base, the writers will draw upon their own experience and the experience of other service user and carer contributors as well as student and practitioner feedback. In doing so, this article will seek to analyse some of the ways the creative arts can be harnessed as a tool for a more radical, creative and critical approach to professional education and how this in turn can help develop more empathic, critically self-reflective and creative (in the broadest sense of the word) practitioners. In critiquing the more traditional service user and carer involvement approach, this article will attempt to show how the more innovative approach of the Survivor Arts Project can move us beyond an arguably more limiting 'expertise through experience' model. In outlining an emancipatory model which recognises the relevance of lived experience and places this within the context of survivor movements, focusing also on the skills and insights survivors bring to SW education, this article will detail the ways we can work towards developing a more vibrant and dynamic learning environment which values our life stories and recognises our strengths as well as the many different and overlapping identities which place us along a continuum that connects our lives and informs our practice.
Domestic violence and substance use are issues which pervade social work practice, yet are often ... more Domestic violence and substance use are issues which pervade social work practice, yet are often on the margins of the knowledge base for practitioners and their managers. This article provides an overview of the literature on substance use and domestic violence, ...
, since 2006, working alongside mental health service users and carers, and previously worked in ... more , since 2006, working alongside mental health service users and carers, and previously worked in the Institute of Applied Social Studies at Birmingham on evaluations of national and local government health and social care initiatives. Before that, she worked in Australia at the NSW Federation of Housing Associations and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Dawn River is a lecturer and social work admissions tutor at the University of Birmingham. Previously, she was employed as a research fellow at Warwick University; as a social worker working with children and families, with experience as a practice teacher and manager of a Duty and Assessment Team; and in the voluntary sector in the fields of domestic violence and developing services for carers. Latterly, she has been involved with the Survivor Movement as a service user. Rosemary Littlechild is a senior lecturer on the qualifying social work programmes for the BA and MA in Social Work, University of Birmingham, with a particular interest in involving service users and carers in social work education and with strategic responsibility for their involvement in the social work programmes. She is a qualified social worker and previously worked in generic and specialist teams for older people in the statutory sector. Dr Theresa Powell is a lecturer and the associate director for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of Birmingham. Research interests include neuropsychological rehabilitation of people with acquired brain injury, adjustment and coping after traumatic brain injury and stroke and health beliefs associated with acquired brain injury.
This article, written by survivor artists, practitioners and academics (each moving between these... more This article, written by survivor artists, practitioners and academics (each moving between these different identities and associated voices), will explore a creative arts approach to social work (SW) education within the context of service user and carer involvement. In addition to building upon a developing literature base, the writers will draw upon their own experience and the experience of other service user and carer contributors as well as student and practitioner feedback. In doing so, this article will seek to analyse some of the ways the creative arts can be harnessed as a tool for a more radical, creative and critical approach to professional education and how this in turn can help develop more empathic, critically self-reflective and creative (in the broadest sense of the word) practitioners. In critiquing the more traditional service user and carer involvement approach, this article will attempt to show how the more innovative approach of the Survivor Arts Project can move us beyond an arguably more limiting 'expertise through experience' model. In outlining an emancipatory model which recognises the relevance of lived experience and places this within the context of survivor movements, focusing also on the skills and insights survivors bring to SW education, this article will detail the ways we can work towards developing a more vibrant and dynamic learning environment which values our life stories and recognises our strengths as well as the many different and overlapping identities which place us along a continuum that connects our lives and informs our practice.
Domestic violence and substance use are issues which pervade social work practice, yet are often ... more Domestic violence and substance use are issues which pervade social work practice, yet are often on the margins of the knowledge base for practitioners and their managers. This article provides an overview of the literature on substance use and domestic violence, ...
, since 2006, working alongside mental health service users and carers, and previously worked in ... more , since 2006, working alongside mental health service users and carers, and previously worked in the Institute of Applied Social Studies at Birmingham on evaluations of national and local government health and social care initiatives. Before that, she worked in Australia at the NSW Federation of Housing Associations and the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research. Dawn River is a lecturer and social work admissions tutor at the University of Birmingham. Previously, she was employed as a research fellow at Warwick University; as a social worker working with children and families, with experience as a practice teacher and manager of a Duty and Assessment Team; and in the voluntary sector in the fields of domestic violence and developing services for carers. Latterly, she has been involved with the Survivor Movement as a service user. Rosemary Littlechild is a senior lecturer on the qualifying social work programmes for the BA and MA in Social Work, University of Birmingham, with a particular interest in involving service users and carers in social work education and with strategic responsibility for their involvement in the social work programmes. She is a qualified social worker and previously worked in generic and specialist teams for older people in the statutory sector. Dr Theresa Powell is a lecturer and the associate director for the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of Birmingham. Research interests include neuropsychological rehabilitation of people with acquired brain injury, adjustment and coping after traumatic brain injury and stroke and health beliefs associated with acquired brain injury.
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