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# 2 Working and learning together with people who use social work services

The engagement of people using services in social work has changed over the years. Terminology has evolved and so has the role of people with lived experience. In Activity 2 you will hear from Peter and Raj, who are members of the team that produced this OpenLearn course.

Becoming a critical practitioner is often done with help from others

As people with lived experience of social work, their discussion touches on different features of critical practice. You will note that much of what is said by Peter and Raj links with Barnett’s domain of critical action. They talk about challenging the power of social workers and social work academics, and you might want to note some of these points down as you listen. Try to take a critical approach yourself as you listen to the discussion, thinking about what is said with a questioning and evaluating stance.

## Activity 2 Learning from and evaluating the views of people who use social work services

Allow about 1 hour

#### Part 1

Listen to Audio 1.

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Audio 1 Raj Mehta and Peter Latchford on critical practice
Transcript

#### Part 2

After listening to Audio 1, consider the following questions:

1. Raj and Peter refer to different ways in which people using social work services are described. Which do you prefer and why?
2. As discussed in Audio 1, critical practice is about addressing power and challenging the status quo. To what extent do you think the evolution of terms to describe people using social work services has shifted power away from social workers? If so, how, and why has this happened?
3. What do you think Raj means when he says he feels disconnected from the term ‘service participant’?
4. Peter highlights how the involvement of people with lived experience can promote more positive relationships. What have you learned from your interactions with people who use services and carers? Where do you think you could improve your skills as you approach qualified social worker status?
5. What might be some of the barriers to collaborative working with people with lived experience?

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### Discussion

Remember that there is no right answer when talking about your own past experience.

Terminology is always evolving, and an important part of critical practice involves thinking about meanings of language for everyone involved.

There are likely to be different views about the impact language has had on changing the power social workers have. It’s likely that many of you will have identified that while language is important, other factors in society have a huge influence on social workers’ authority and the ability of people using services to challenge it. Challenging the different kinds of barriers to collaborative working aligns particularly with the idea of ‘critical action’ in Barnett’s model.

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OpenLearn - Exploring critical social work practice
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