Social Work Placement

New Approaches.
New Thinking.

Endings - Finishing well
Book 7

Marguerita McGovern

Social Work Placement.

Copyright © 2016 Marguerita McGovern

Contact details: Marguerita.mcgovern@nuigalway.ie

ISBN 978-1-908358-42-4

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the author. The opinions expressed in this book are personal to the author and contributing guests.

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SECTION 1

Introduction

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Books in this series

Book 1

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Language, Professional Identity, Beginnings and Expectations

Book 2

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Assessment, Creative Supervision, Feedback

Book 3

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Home visiting, Power, The Virtual World, Cultural Competence

Book 4

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Reflective Practice influenced by Emotional Intelligence

Book 5

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Failing Forward

Book 6

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New ThinkingImaginative Groupwork

Book 7

Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking Endings, Finishing Well

Contact details: Marguerita.mcgovern@nuigalway.ie

ISBN 978-1-908358-42-4

Copyright©2016Marguerita McGovern

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The opinions expressed within this book are reflective of the author and contributors regarding their personal and professional experience.”

Glossary

Practice Placement can also mean Practicum or Field Education or Fieldwork Placement. Fieldwork Placement is the current term used in Ireland and U.K.

Practice Learning takes place within the practice placement , practicum or Field education experience.

Placement Practice Teaching refers to the teaching given by the Practice Teacher to the student while on placement.

Fieldwork Co-ordinator and Practice Learning Coordinator are interchangeable. In Ireland these are University based staff positions.

Practice Teacher or Fieldwork Supervisor is the field educator, fieldwork supervisor or assessor. In the majority of fieldwork placements this is the qualified registered social worker giving the social work student experience and supervision on placement. Practice Teachers may or may not hold Postgraduate qualifications in Practice Teaching or Supervision. It is desirable that Practice Teachers may have attended some in-service training courses in social work practice teaching and/or supervision but this is not always a requirement for taking a student on placement.

Tutor is interchangeable with the title Liaison person for some worldwide social work course placements. The Tutor may be an internal staff and/or outside senior practitioner acting as mentor to the social work student.

Tri-partite Meeting: This is the name given to the meeting which takes place within the Agency during the placement period. In Ireland and in the majority of Masters in Social Work courses in U.K. there are two Agency visits per placement (one within the first 10 days of placement and one at approximately week 8 of a 14 week placement). This is followed by a telephone conversation between all parties towards the end of the placement (approximately week 12 or a 14 week placement). Meetings are attended by the Practice Teacher, Student and Tutor and usually last one hour. At NUIGalway, Ireland, using the template in the Fieldwork Manual the written report of these meetings is taken by the student and verified by all parties. The student, practice teacher, tutor and the Fieldwork Co-ordinator all receive copies of these meetings with a copy held in the MSW student’s file.

Where possible the term individual, family, community is used to illustrate the type of groupings that social work students become involved with during their placement. These groupings are also referred to as clients, client groups or service users.

The term University is interchangeable with College, Technical Institute or other third level institution

The MA Social Work is also referred to as the MSW. In many instances examples and opinions discussed can also be transposed onto a BSW course.

Endings – Finishing well

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The importance of relationship within the placement experience has been widely acknowledged as pivotal throughout this series of multi-touch books on Social Work Placement: New Approaches. New Thinking. Fox (1989) and Siegel (1999)have also expressed their ideas on the importance of the relationship within supervision. The optimum outcome is to have good quality relationships between all placement stakeholders especially the student and practice teacher resulting in feelings of being connected, understanding process and having achievement of purpose. If the relationship has been less than amicable, then the ending can herald feelings of relief or exhaustion, frustration or liberation. How then can the student plan for positive endings and the challenge of finishing well? For all parties, attention should be focused on three common areas; evaluation, attention and closure (Germain & Gitterman, 1996; Clow, 1998; Murdin, 2000; Johnson & Yanca, 2001). Evaluation of the amount of learning which has taken place, attention to the learning needs and the achievements (totally or in part) and closure of the process and separating self from the relationship. These elements encompass the circle of learning and in turn deal with any ‘unfinished business’ (Baum, 2011; Ford & Jones, 1987).

Care and consideration has to be given to how endings are executed and how they are experienced in order to have a healthy transitioning. This is the changing of environments between college and placement, placement and college or transitioning from the training environment out into the workforce. It is understandable that some students worry into the future as the placement experience draws to a close, they worry that the next placement and supervisor are not going to match up to their expectations, that the cases will not be as challenging or interesting or that they will be unsure what will be expected of them in the future.

Enjoying a good central relationship between practice teacher and student begins as aspirational and by the end of placement is hopefully consolidated into a fulfilling respect for each other. This shows itself as the establishment of an open forum for workable exchanges of knowledge and views and the ability to recognise individual styles and boundaries (Fox, 1989). In Baum’s (2011) study of Bachelor of Social Work students considering their future, of those who had a good/very good relationship with their placement supervisors 38% were nearly three times as likely to express positive thoughts about the year to come as opposed to the 13% who had a poor/fair relationship with their supervisors. Managing expectations and good pre-placement training further scaffolds relationship building and relationship endings on placement. The job of building relationships draws on the profound dynamics of attachment and it is suggested that ‘attachment theory and research provide a framework for understanding innate capacities of students and the dynamics of supervision’(Bennett & Deal, 2009 p. 101). A number of researchers have suggested that the fundamentals of attachment theory (Bowlby, 1980) are applicable to the student/supervisor relationship on placement (Bennet & Saks, 2006; Howe, 2011; White & Queener, 2003). Bennett and Deal (2009) were particularly interested in attachment and stages of development considering them the two most important variables with regard to relationships. Drawing on the work of Bowlby (1979) they saw parallels between the need for security regarding mother and baby connections mirrored in the growth of development and need for security in the relationship between practice teacher and student (p. 103). The relationship between student social worker and service user is also influenced by the quality of the relationship and this in turn is further informed by the fundamental theory of attachment (Pistole & Watkins, 1995; White & Queener, 2003). In addition, Howe (1996, 1995, 1998) suggests that by the very nature of social work interaction, trying to make sense of emotional and life-changing events, attachment recognises and influences the quality of all the fieldwork relationships.

Endings for Students and Practice Teachers

Pamela Trevithick (2012) mentions ‘ending skills’ within her eighty defined skills of social workers. On placement the student is expected to make the best of every practice opportunity presented. Throughout supervision they are expected to be able to apply theory and to reflect confidently thus constantly building rapport. Interestingly, endings for students and practice teachers begin at the start of placement as they aspire to build their relationship, contract and agree learning needs, see how these will be met and eventually evaluate the experience, leading to the ending of the assessment. It is not the sole responsibility of practice teachers to be accountable for good placement endings and students too have a role to play in the adjustment and readjustment of their environments.Where the opportunity presents itself to plan for closure, a number of elements come into play; personal style; variety of connections and the culture of the agency, team or setting. These are important to all personnel involved in the fieldwork experience and the importance of endings on placement are discussed in a number of social work leading texts (Lomax et al., 2010; Doel et al., 1996; Bogo & Vayda, 1987; Ford & Jones, 1987).

As examples of different endings consider the two scenarios and the questions which follow:

Scenario 1

Jane has been on placement in an in-patient mental health service. The placement has been busy and all tripartite meetings have gone well. The penultimate supervisory session is due. The practice teacher reflects on the placement under the assessment format provided by the university and before she begins to write, her thoughts wander to thinking about Jane. She likes the student, the supervision sessions have gone extremely well. The practice teacher begins to feel particularly sorry that the placement is coming to an end, the student reminds her of her younger sister of whom she is very fond and this actually begins to open up thoughts on her own attachment patterns and how these might have influenced her approach to the student and invariably to supervision (Bennet & Deal, 2009). Two weeks from the end of placement the practice teacher prepares to ask the student “How will we plan towards the end of placement with regard to yourself, cases, the agency etc.?”

The practice teacher hopes the student will have an ‘Endings List’

Cases to be close

Cases to be handed on

Group work finished

Evaluation and reflection on self and the process of the work

Biscuits for the staff

Recognising and evidencing professional identity and how that has grown between Week 4 and Week 14

Being able to give examples of theory to practice

Presenting where human rights and social justice could be evidenced within the placement.

The practice teacher hopes to support the student in their learning in an uninterrupted, extended well paced supervisory session in the final week, this precedes a lunch date with the whole social work team.

The supervisory session goes well and the final week is completed without difficulties. As the last supervision is finishing Jane (the student) says “There’s just one more thing, it’s been bothering me and I just can’t leave the placement without saying something. I know this is going to sound bad and maybe I should just keep it to myself, maybe it’s not my business”…….So now the practice teacher is left with a dilemma. Will she ask for clarification or will she pretend, after such a good placement, that it is probably insignificant and desist from asking anything which might illicit trouble or more work!

Would you open up the conversation or close it down? What would you do? What would you say?

Scenarion 2

The practice teacher found his student Bill, ‘hard going’. As a busy caseworker he struggled to give the student the supervision time and attention that in hindsight he felt was necessary. The end of the placement is in two days and pressure is building. The student has to have their Portfolio finished and the University report on the student is pending, there are cases to close and others to hand over. The final supervision session opens with the practice teacher saying “So we’ve come near the end and looks like you’ve done reasonably well. Have you all the cases finished? Ok, well done, no big problems? Just leave the files on my desk I’m sure they’re ok. Did you have a good time here? Best of luck, just leave the door keys with the receptionist”.

The student is unsure which question to answer first. He is confused and begins to feel impatient (not for the first time!) and somewhat short changed by this supervisor who not necessarily holding back on praise, did hold back on guidance and mentoring. The student wonders is there any point in saying anything now and decides not. “Thanks. It was great. I’ll leave the files on your desk” says the student.

What do you think are the repercussions of endings like this? Are there risk elements? What changes would you like to see in the set-up? How should the practice teacher approach the end of placement with this student?

For students where the relationship with their practice teacher has been less than desirable there can be difficulties towards the end of placement . Equally, for practice teachers who are recommending a fail grade, there can be an awkwardness, feelings of disappointment and as suggested in one of the short videos in Social Work Placement. New Approaches. New Thinking. Book 5. Failing Forward (McGovern, 2016) the possibility of a certain sadness, heightened emotion and a sense of relief. In the final weeks it may be hard for students also to talk about their disappointment with the placement experience without feeling they are personally chastising their supervisor, casting dispersions or questioning professional practice. For students there may be further difficulties regarding the inability in deciphering boundaries and recognising differences between professional and personal relationships. In matters of unfinished business the questions here for the student are “How will I feel tomorrow if I don’t say something now?” “What language and words will I use to convey what I want to say?” It is worth remembering that the general rules of feedback with regard to human decency should apply, interactions should be clear, owned, regular, balanced and specific (Hawkins & Shohet, 1989). This is important for both parties not only on the student’s part but also for the practice teacher, as feedback at the end of placement carries a weight not just for the immediate practicum experience but for the placements to come and the careers ahead. All endings are transitions and all transitions involve relationships. In this context the breadth of relationship dynamics can expose worry, concern and heightened emotions. Consider some of the following barriers to ‘finishing well’ expressed by MSW students.

It is important towards the end of placement that these dynamics are attended to. Supervision should offer a safe space in which to bring up any of these concerns without the worry of grade depletion or being personally judged.

Endings for Tutors

The tutor’s role is that of mentor to the student. Their role within placement is integral to the working mechanism of the fieldwork experience where the tutor visits the agency as university representative and supporter of the student. This dual position can be challenging, especially if there have been difficulties on placement (Baum, 2011). Over the time-frame of their course, students can find it hard to discuss or confide in tutors but it is up to the tutor to try and build the relationship and direct the student in their professional training. With regard to the latter stages of the practicum the role of the tutor is to help the student ‘make space’ for endings. This can take the form of advising them to reflect on questions such as “How is this training affecting my life?” “How has this experienced enriched my self”, or “After the placement is over what will I miss the most or what will I be glad to leave behind?”. The following chart offers a See - Hear -Say approach for Student, Practice Teacher and Tutor.

Diagram 1 : Endings on Placement: What do you need to See, Hear and Say?

Student

Practice Teacher

Tutor

SEE

See the files up to date.

Cases closed/handed over/computer access closed

Groupwork completed or handover taken place.

What can I now recognise as professional identity?

Do I see any changes in myself over the course of the placement?

Check all administration has been completed.

How do you build rapport with your student?

Read the student’s body language.

What does it say to you?

See what it is you could learn from this student.

See that the structures of placement have been adhered to.

See that your student is given enough time to express their ideas and points of view.

See if there is anything you can do to help the student transition to the next stage of their development.

HEAR

Feedback from clients/service users.

Assessment points from practice teacher.Strengths & Weaknesses.

Group skills feedback from co-facilitators or group members.

Listen to other team members or agency staff in what they say about your student.

Listen to any service user/client feedback regarding your student.

Ask and listen to the comments the student may make about your style of practice teaching.

Whose voice is heard and listened to the most on placement - the student’s - the practice teacher’s - the university’s?

If there are difficulties are you confident that you have heard the student’s voice?

SAY

Talk about worry points

Talk about happy pointsHow did you know you were learning?

Learning triggers.

“I can say I learn best when…

”What can I say about professional social work?

Begin with positives

Check expectations

Recognise the work that has been achieved

Mention any difficulties

What might have made things better?

Ask if there is anyone who can give you feedback on the student’s group work performance.

Talk about what you both will do to mark the ending of this placement lunch/tea etc.

As the placement comes to an end discuss with the student if they can see a process in their own learning.

Ask the student is there anything they did not understand within the placement?

Is there any time during the placement where you thought as a student that you inspired someone?

On the final tripartite visit or telephone call, ask questions like “What do you think you have learned from each other?

Ending the tutor/student relationship after the course finishes can be seen by some tutors as either launching a boat into the water and being proud of the end result or pushing the boat away as far as possible and glad its not in your harbour anymore. The best outcome is for tutors to have time (supported by University policy) to make a connection with the student throughout the academic and fieldwork programme and to be a sounding board and guide.Endings cannot always be planned, they can happen due to breakdown in communications, key competencies not being met, students personal difficulties or risk adverse concerns. Inconclusive endings can also happen for students when a service user disengages due to possible frustration, anger or relocation. Above all the main commitment to endings is honestly and trust; honesty in that information is shared and accepted and trust that the ending is safe and there is hope for the future.

Endings with Service Users

The following service user talks about her experience of social workers and how she asks that the ‘expert’ in transitions and endings be redefined as the service user and their family.

Respectfully listening to the needs of the service user. Who sets the agenda at the end of the therapeutic relationship?

Click to Listen:  Click here.

Endings (like beginnings) for service users can be voluntary or involuntary, either way, they are part of the transactional process and have clear and appropriate cultural and personal boundaries upheld by professional ethics and values (Huntley, 2002 p. 65). For example, consider the natural ending of casework with a family in a hospice setting where the ending can be highly emotional or the reoffending of a youth on probation who gets a custodial sentence removing him away from his/her family and home. Nursten (1997) suggests to the student, that if case endings are not thought through and performed well, then any good work with service users/clients can be undone, indeed at its most extreme, a type of behavioural regression or denial of progress can occur. It is not unusual for some service users to regress or see the ending situation as reminiscent of other losses or abandonment situations they have had in their lives (p. 74). Nursten (1997) further makes the point that ‘…social workers at one in the same time, under-value their meaning to the client and fail to acknowledge the expectations clients have from contact with helpers’ (p. 74). This opinion leads to the consideration that case planning cannot be front loaded and care and attention must be given to the later stages of casework and the relationship between service user and social work service.

Students as part of their professional training learn about adult/child development, attachment/loss and relationship building. Endings in themselves bring about possible feelings of loss and the breaking of connections. Experiencing relief, annoyance, abandonment is not uncommon with endings and is often contrasted with those who enjoy endings, experiencing greater self esteem, achievement, growth and stability. Lombard’s (2010) article ‘How to end a working relationship with a service user’ includes comment on the complexity of the social work relationship, how it differs from a ‘friendship’ interaction which in itself can be based on loose, unstructured, unclear connections. The social work relationship is a professionally structured one where successful outcomes are hoped for and safety is paramount. This professional relationship demands sound, consistent and reliable attention.

Encouragingly, in studies where the social worker/service user relationship has been explored, service users felt better about themselves at the end of the experience (Fortune et al., 1992; Quintana & Holahan, 1992). How then can the student plan for positive endings with the clients? As with the final sessions of working with groups, time, care and planning have to be considered in recognising the achievements and the processes within relationships. Here are some suggestions:

There is an obligation to recognise the value that some service users put on the relationship with their case worker. For some it may be the only stable influence in their lives and busy students may miss that fact. For other service users it may be that they have become ‘emotionally blunted’ with transitioning of so many professionals in their life that one more ending is insignificant (Chung, 2010 p. 88). The hope is to leave the service user or group in control of their situation with a plan to move ahead or consolidate what has been achieved. Endings may also reflect difficulties that need to be acknowledged and hurt recognised.

The desired outcome is that growth for the service user can be achieved as a means to an end and beyond.A type of ‘assess yourself’ quiz with regard to endings has appeared on the Social Work Blog on-line page. The Social Work Blog reports on the challenges facing Britain’s 2m-strong social care workforce: everything from pay and working conditions to stress and the latest social work conduct cases. On their web page there is an invitation to take part in a quick-fire quiz to test your skills and awareness around ending a working relationship with a service user. Go to the Endings QUIZ Available here or referenced in the Additional On-line Resources at the end of this book and see how you score.

And so to end ....

Endings can be complex, churning up feelings of loss, associated loss, abandonment, negativity or emotions associated with achievement, pleasure, creativity. One of the most interesting views of placement closure comes from the work of Danowski (2012) who considers the concept of ‘parallel processes’ (p. 92). This author suggests that at times the work that is accomplished between student and supervisor is often reflected in the service user/student social work relationship. For example at the same time the student is preparing to close a case at the end of a placement, so too is the practice teacher thinking about closing up their relationship with the student. As the student reflects with the service user on their progress and goals met, the practice teacher mirrors this in the supervisory relationship reflecting on the student’s progress throughout the placement and learning needs achieved. Endings can also mean judgements has the placement time been beneficial and to whose benefit? In conclusion, endings have a language and a narrative of their own. To make an ending is to have made a beginning.

THE UNIVERSITY’S RESPONSIBILITY

Offering student’s the opportunity of feedback to practice teachers post placement (by way of a Post-placement Practice Teacher Feedback Form) was an initiative suggested by MSW/NUIGalway practice teachers in 2009. The practice teachers felt they had written an assessment of the student for the University, the student had written their assessment portfolio evidencing learning on placement, but an evaluation of the practice teacher’s role by the student with regard to how they had practice taught had not taken place. With this in mind the post placement form filled out by the student includes questions such as:Environment: Any comments you wish to make regarding your working conditions?

Induction: What was the most useful part of the Induction and in general did you find it worthwhile?

Supervision: What comments would you like to make regarding the quality and quantity of your supervision.

What do you think your Practice Teacher could have done differently?

What specific parts of your Supervision went well?

What from your point of view could the Practice Teacher improve on?

Do you want to say something about the ‘style’ of Supervision of your Practice Teacher?

Work Load: How did you find the pace of your placement and the workload?

Is there something you would like to say about the level of organisation the Practice Teacher put into the placement?

Was there too much or too little time spent in ‘shadowing’ the Practice Teacher or S.W. Team Members at the beginning of the placement?

During your placement describe one time when the Practice Teacher helped you to learn or understand a situation which you will remember.

Do you think that the Practice Teacher supplied you with enough opportunities to evidence your skills?

All of these review and evaluation questions offer important post placement information. If the information stays within the classroom by way of placement evaluation then it does not reach its full potential to engage or improve the placement environment or personnel. Post placement practice teacher feedback lets the student enjoy some short distance from the rigours of the practicum resulting in a more honest assessment of the experience. At NUIGalway, sending feedback to practice teachers has resulted in the valuing of the student’s opinion, improving their skills and engaging in quality professional development. It is presented as an approach other Universities may wish to follow.

All pre-placement training for students, practice teachers and tutors needs to encompass the topic of endings. Especially for students and most importantly for practice teachers where the placement may be ending prematurely. Where endings occur as a result of difficulties between student and practice teacher or where there are issues of risk, recognising these differences early, promoting accurate reporting and following clear, concise procedures of the University is important and necessary. Personalities do clash, expectations can be different, boundaries may be fudged but the responsibility of the university is to have policies which are comprehensive and delivered within a timely framework.

NEW APPROACHES. NEW THINKING

Endings ....... The further consideration of service users being involved in the training of social work students is important. Extensive studies in this area by Bogo, 2015; Brown & Young, 2008; Tanner et al., (forthcoming); Duffy,2008; 2006; Duffy et al. 2010 and Levin, 2004 offer insights into a ‘following on’ concept where access by service users can educate and influence how social work students learn. This focuses on the service user being at the centre of teaching and not on the periphery. It is that they offer an experience to the student as opposed to being an experience of the student.

The Last Word on Endings is from the MSW Class of 2015-17

Click to View: https://youtu.be/3s5VOM_7NCY

QUESTIONS

The lesson may not be in the heavy language of the word ‘endings’ but in the lighter more expansive words of ‘finishing well’.

Is there a ghost of personal self-disclosure haunting endings? Discuss.With regard to endings of fieldwork placement how can you ‘differentiate attachment traits from developmental states in assessing student affect and behaviour?’ {Relevance to Bennett et al.’s (2009) research is relevant here.}

How would you recognise if an ending was not going well. What might be the verbal and non-verbal clues?

References

Baum, N. (2011) ‘Social Work Students; Feelings and Concerns about the Ending of their Fieldwork Supervision’. Social Work Education. Vol. 30 (1) pp. 83-97

Bennett, S. and Deal, H. K. (2009) ‘Beginnings and Endings in Social Work Supervision: The Interaction Between Attachment an Developmental Processes’. Journal of Teaching in Social Work. Vol. 29 (1) pp. 101-117

Bennett, S. and Saks, L. (2006) ‘A conceptual application of attachment theory and research to the social work student-field instructor supervisory relationship’. Journal of Social Work Education. Vol. 43 (3) pp. 157-169

Bogo, M. (2015) ‘Field Education for Clinical Social Work Practice: Best Practices and Contemporary Challenges’. Clinical Social Work Journal. Vol. 43 (3) pp. 317-324

Bogo, M. and Vayda, E. (1987) The Practice of Fieldwork Instruction in Social Work. Toronto. University of Toronto Press

Bowlby, J. (1980). Attachment and Loss (Vol. 3). London. Pimlico

Bowlby, J. (1979) The Making and Breaking of Affectional Bonds. London. Tavistock

Brown, K. and Young, N. (2008) ‘Building capacity for service user and carer involvement of service users in social work education’. Social Work Education. Vol. 27 (1) p. 8496

Chung, I. (2010) ‘Students’ Emotions as an Organizing Principle in the Social Work Curriculum.’ Journal of Teaching in Social Work. Vol. 30 (1) pp. 75-89

Clow, C. (1998) ‘Managing endings in practice teaching’, in Lawson, H. (Ed.) Practice Teaching Changing Social Work’ London. Jessica Kingsley

Danowski, W. A. (2012) In the Field: A Guide for the Social Work Practitioner (2nd Ed.) New Jersey. Pearson

Doel, M., Shardlow, S., Sawdon, C. and Sawdon, D. (1996). Teaching Social Work Practice. Aldershot. Arena

Duffy, J., Das, C. and Davidson, G (2012) ‘Service User and Carer Involvement in Role-plays to Assess Readiness for Practice’. Social Work Education - The International Journal. Vol. 32 (1) pp 39-55.

Duffy, J. (2008) Looking Out from the Middle: User Involvement in Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. London. Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) Available at www.scie.org.uk/publications/reports/report18.asp (Accessed 9/2/2016)

Duffy, J (2006) Participating and Learning - Citizen Involvement in Social Work Education in a Northern Ireland Context. London. Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) Available at www.scie.org.uk/publications/misc/citizeninvolvement.pdf (Accessed 9/2/2016)

Ford. K. and Jones, A. (1987) Student Supervision. London. Macmillan Education.

Fortune, A., Pearlingi, B. and Rochelle, C. (1992) ‘Reaction to termination of individual treatment’. Social Work. Vol. 37 (2) pp. 171-178

Fox, R. (1989) ‘Relationship: The cornerstone of supervision’. Social Casework. Vol. 70 (3) pp. 146-153

Germain, C. and Gitterman, A. (1996) The Life Model of Social Work Practice. Advances in Theory and Practice. (2nd Ed). New York. Columbia University Press

Hawkins, P. and Shohet, R. (1989) Supervision in the Helping Professions. Milton Keynes. Open University Press

Howe, D. (1998) ‘Relationship-based thinking and practice in social work’. Journal of Social Work Practice. Vol. 12 (1) pp. 45-56

Howe, D. (1996) ‘Attachment theory in Child and Family Social Work’ in Howe, D. (ed) Attachment and Loss in Child and Family Social Work. Aldershot. Avebury

Howe, D. and Campling, J. (1995) Attachment theory for social work practice. London. Macmillan

Huntley, M. (2002) ‘Relationship based social work - how do endings impact on the client?’ Practice. Vol. 14 (2) pp. 59-66

Johnson, L. and Yanca. S. (2001) Social Work Practice, a Generalist Approach. (7th Ed). Boston. Allyn and Bacon

Levin, E. (2004) Involving service users and carers in social work education. London. SCIE

Lomax, R., Jones, K., Leigh, S. and Gay, C. (2010) Surviving your Social Work Placement. London. Palgrave Macmillan

Lombard, D. (2010) ‘How to end a working relationship with a service user’. Available at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2010/10/21/how-to-end-a-working-relationship-with-a-service-user/(Accessed 15/10/2010)McGovern, M. (2016) Social Work Placement. New Approaches. New Thinking’. Book 5 Failing Forward. (Forthcoming On-line Spring 2016)

Murdin, C. (2000) Handbook of Clinical Social Work Supervision. New York. The Haworth Social Work Practice Press

Nursten, J. (1997) ‘The End as a means to Growth - within the social work relationship’. Journal of Social Work Practice. Vol. 11 (2) pp. 73-80

Pistole, C. and Watkins, E. (1995) ‘Attachment theory, counselling process and supervision’. The Counseling Psychologist. Vol. 23 (3) pp. 457-478

Quintana, A. and Holahan, W. (1992) ‘Termination in short-term consoling: comparison of successful and unsuccessful cases’. Journal of Counseling Psychology. Vol. 39 (3) pp. 299-305

Siegel, D. J. (1999) The Developing Mind. New York. Guilford Press.

Tanner, D., Littlechild, R., Duffy, J and Hayes, D. (forthcoming) ‘Making it real: evaluating the impact of service user and carer involvement in social work education’. British Journal of Social Work, p.bcv121

Trevithick, P. (2012) Social Work Skills and Knowledge: A Practice Handbook (3rd Ed.) Maidenhead. Open University Press/McGraw Hill

White, V. and Queener, J. (2003) ‘Supervisor and supervised attachments and social provisions related to the supervisory working alliance’. Counselor Education and Supervision. Vol. 42 (3) pp. 203-218

Additional e-References:

Endings Quiz: Available at http://www.communitycare.co.uk/blogs/social-work-blog/2010/10/-quizzes-by-quibblocom/

Acknowledgements

Dr. Helen Cleak

Kate

MSW Class of 2015-2017

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