Introduction: ‘them’ and ‘us’

As a 2012 Newly Qualified Social Worker, there are a few points Jeremy touches on that pertain to my recent experience as a student social worker. In particular, Jeremy discusses Porter's notion of ‘them and us’, an apparent need within society to mark those who are different as some way separate from the whole. This resonates with my experience on placement with a London voluntary mental health agency.

I arrived on my first day of my first placement in earnest, armed with my social work codes of conduct and a smattering of mental health knowledge. I walked into the centre cafe and had an interesting conversation with a well-presented middle-aged chap about the complexities of personalisation and its impact upon mental health services. The conversation ended with my assumed colleague thanking me for all my hard work in curing his mother's cancer. I immediately froze, quickly replaying our conversation, looking for clues that I had been speaking with a service user rather than a provider. I felt a real need to separate out the room and identify who did what, who went where and, crucially, what their diagnoses were! This was when the real horror set in. Where had this need to compartmentalise and organise the room into those suffering from an enduring mental health condition and those not come from? I shamefully reflected on how this directly conflicted with the core values of social work to promote social justice, encompassing the dignity, value and worth of the individual.

Jeremy also discusses the apparent ousting of the role of social work in mental health services with No health without mental health (HM Government, 2011) containing not one single reference to social work. I am concerned that there seems to be a neglect of the crucial role that social work skills can play in mental health services. To illustrate this, I would like to share my experience of setting up a therapeutic music group while on the aforementioned placement.

Empowerment through music

The group came about following careful consultation with service users and agency staff, who agreed that a music group would be welcome. The group grew organically through my working in partnership with service users to establish a format that they felt would help them explore their illness through both performing and listening to music.