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Caring, Mutuality and Reciprocity in Social Worker—Client Relationships

Rethinking Principles of Practice

University of Calgary, Canada, cealexan{at}ucalgary.ca

Grant Charles

University of British Columbia, Canada, gcharles{at}interchange.ubc.ca

• Summary: In this article we report the findings of a qualitative study of social workers' experiences of receiving care from their clients to present a case for a re-examination of the social worker—client relationship.

• Findings: Participating social workers describe their awareness of the mutuality within their relationships with clients, including an awareness of the care their clients have and express towards them. However, participants report that this openness to mutuality and reciprocity in their relationships with clients is subversive of social work practice norms, which warn against dual relationships. These findings indicate that there is a serious disconnection between social work training and standards, and the ways social workers practice in the field. This puts workers in a potentially untenable position caught between ideals of professional behaviour and their relationships with their clients.

• Application: The findings of this study suggest the need for potentially radical shifts in how we conceptualize worker—client relationships within social work practice. We suggest that the accommodation of a theoretical orientation that incorporates an understanding of mutuality of care and the interdependency of identity and human development within all interpersonal relationships provides a significant opportunity to our profession to reexamine how we interact with our clients.

Key Words: bi-directional relationship • mutuality • practitioner—client relationship • reciprocity • social work practice

Journal of Social Work, Vol. 9, No. 1, 5-22 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1468017308098420


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