Anti Oppressive Social Work Theory and Practice [Paperback]

While this book is much better than Neil Thompson's book, more than an introduction to the various theories of oppression (sexism, racism, sectarianism) it does suffer from the flaws of a lot of anti-oppressive texts.

On the plus side, the contents, author and subject index, bibliography and diagrams make the book very accessible for anyone engaged in training or academic essay writing.

The introduction provides an explanation of why oppressive social relations should be a concern for social workers, which is a question which deserves to be asked, the first chapter introduces the various theories of oppression, while the second chapter discusses the importance of identity "othering" and exclusionary processes and the third chapter revisits the question of anti-oppressive practice as a legitimate concern. The final chapters discuss individual working, group working, organisational change and finally discusses some more theoretical reasoning about post-modernism.

On the minus side, the chapters on identity (and later individual and group work) are useful and seek to incalcate a real consciousness and concern but they arent really that practical. There's nothing like individual case studies or example process records, instead there are a lot of references to other academic sources and outlining of debates about how much attention is paid to structural versus individual change. In this respect it resembles Neil Thompson's PCS (personal, cultural, structural) modelling of oppression, that's interesting and great to know (although I bet that it would be eschewed by the politics or cultural back drop of anyone using it) but besides awareness what does it achieve?

As other reviewers have indicated the book does not consider everything, marektisation, professionalisation, neo-liberalism and the extent to which individual social workers themselves can experience pretty nasty and oppressive behaviour or expectations from their public, the rest of the public, their managers, colleagues, other professionals or agencies isnt considered.

The role of credientials, professional and informal social work (Ivan Illich anyone?), social policy and taxation (a comprehensive professional service can be very expensive to people who wont ever use them, it also takes revenue out of their pockets that they could spend on services for themselves and their families), new regulatory authorities, professional agencies and associations, trade unions and their respective roles and impact on practice and individual workers arent addressed.

The main crux is consideration of how social workers perpetuate oppression or act as oppressors. There is not much consideration of how newly qualified, inexperienced, possibly life inexperienced and often female social workers could, far from being oppressors, be ill equipped to deal with reckless, aggressive, intimidating or violent individuals.

Similarly a lot of the time social work interventions themselves are not the most oppressive thing that abused individuals or individuals in acute need will experience. Infact the intervention could be a form of rescue and a chapter could have been incorporated which might engender some confidence in trainees or even qualified social workers. Instead insights could simply saddle any thoughtful worker with doubts about their actions paralysing them when they need to be swift and sure.

Finally the whole idea should have a health warning attached, political activists of every description have wrote about burn out, the personal expense of trail blazing, challenging oppression and living in perpetual conflict. These sources could and should qualify any reading of anti-oppressive practice and I would recommend Surplus Powerlessness: Psychodynamics of Everyday Life...and the Psychology of Individual and Social Tranformation: The Psychodynamics of Everyday Life ... of Individual and Social Transformation by Michael Lerner as one good source (even if it was written in 1986 and will therefore be omitted from any current reading lists).

I find this book very useful and as a trainee social worker i find it very difficult to see why people think social workers are hated, without these professionals the social structure of this country would suffer far more then at the moment, so in reply to a customer below my comment i think credit should be given to the people that work hard day in and day out to help people that really need it.

The book is a very tedious read that sanctimoniously bleats on about oppression and discrimination. I felt tired reading the rhetoric and quasi-concern clearly written by someone who has had great success from what harris has rightly termed the 'social work business'. Marketisation, deskilling, media assaults, severe rationing, neo-liberalism, are all such assaults beyond the researcher? Apparently all these concerns are easily overcome by the 100th book on anti-discrimination and anti-oppression that appears to completely deny the simple fact that social workers are hated by everyone and have no resources or power! We are many decades from the more idealistic 1960s and yet many of the white pearl brigade in academia appear to be still stuck in a time warp. I have news for you, the beatles have split up and we no longer have 1 pound notes!