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Social Work newsletter - December 2009. Go to the newsletter archive.

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JKP Social Work Newsletter
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Social Work Newsletter

Welcome to the Jessica Kingsley Publishers Social Work Newsletter. This monthly newsletter includes interviews, articles and opinion pieces from JKP authors as well as relevant news stories and conference dates. We welcome your feedback and please do let us know of any forthcoming conferences or events that you would like us to mention.

You can find details on how to contribute or give feedback, as well as opt out of these emails, further down the newsletter.

To see a full list of our titles on Social Work please click here.

Exclusive Interview with Rhidian Hughes

Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People

Rhidian Hughes is the author of Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People: Person-Centred Approaches in Health and Social Care, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Rhidian Hughes is a Visiting Senior Lecturer at Guy's, King's and St Thomas' School of Medicine and Visiting Senior Researcher at Institute of Gerontology, King's College London.


How did you first become interested in the field of gerontology and restraint in particular?

Before going to work in palliative care I read for my Doctorate in social policy. The main focus of my work at that time was on finding ways to improve end of life care for older people.

I then went to work for the Commission for Social Care Inspection during its existence between 2004 and 2009. The focus of my work changed as it required me to take a whole system look at how care is planned and commissioned as well as how it is delivered and experienced by people using services. Many of my studies included a focus on older people, including people with dementia and complex needs. We were charged to follow up a Government Health Committee report on the neglect and abuse of older people and a specific recommendation which asked the Commission to publish its findings on restraint. Preparing this report for the Commission sparked my interest in the use of restraint and this edited volume.

Your new book, Rights Risks and Restraint-Free Care of Older People takes an international look at the topic across a range of health and care services. What do you think are the main differences between the UK in comparison with other countries in Europe or North America are in relation to restraint?

Thanks to some early pioneers, the United States was the first country to take a long hard look at the use of restraint and to develop a number of innovative restraint reduction and eradication approaches. Many of the principles underpinning these approaches remain current today. Progress in other countries has followed, although at a different pace. Arguably the UK has lagged behind other countries in the attention afforded to this topic and the lack of domestic research has been criticised, a point made in the book. What is positive however is that the UK is beginning to take seriously the need to develop our evidence base on the abuse and neglect of older people, and important studies are underway.

What do you think are the main challenges facing those working with older people?

We all need to be challenging any use of restraint. It is a practice that merely contains issues at particular points in time. Restraint does nothing to address the underlying causes of people’s behaviour. The book underlines the importance of taking a person-centred approach to enable the perspectives and needs of older people to be addressed, so that the precursors to behaviour that give rise to the use of restraint are identified and acted upon early enough. To achieve this vision requires the right complement of well trained staff, good leaders and services that put people at the centre of their care. Getting these basics right will enable us to make some important inroads to improving older people’s experiences of care.

What are you reading at the moment?

True Tales of American Life edited by Paul Auster a fascinating collection of short stories all revolving around anecdotes that were written by listeners to a radio show in the states. I am also dipping into Pennine Way because, one evening in the pub, I committed to walk it.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2009

Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People: Person-Centred Approaches in Health and Social Care

Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People: Person-Centred Approaches in Health and Social Care Edited by Rhidian Hughes is published this month.

More details of the book



JKP News


The Daily Mail have featured an extract of Telling Tales About Dementia: Experiences of Caring Edited by Lucy Whitman. Read it here.

Social work in the news - some of the articles in the media this month

Community Care have featured an article on the Government detailing next steps for failing children's services.

Children and Young People Now have published a story on how the number of children in poor working families being at its highest level.

The Guardian has featured a piece on nearly 4,000 adult social services criticised over level of care provided.

The Guardian has featured a piece on major social work reform announced.

We are pleased to announce that you can now follow us on Twitter and find us on Facebook!

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This month's author feature by JKP author Christiane Sanderson

Christiane Sanderson



Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma

Over the many years of working with survivors of interpersonal trauma I have come mindful of how transformative this clinical work is not only for the survivor but also for me as a practitioner. Being in the presence of individuals who have been repeatedly betrayed and still risk connection is something that I honour and value as a testament to both courage and hope.

The paradox of interpersonal trauma is that abuse masquerades as affection, which comprises internal and external reality and allows confusion to reign. The overwhelming nature of interpersonal trauma in which there is no escape activates a cascade of neurobiological chemicals as well primitive psychobiological defences and survival strategies such as dissociation, alterations in perception and withdrawal. Under threat of physical and psychological annihilation, the individual has to disavow basic human needs and aspects of the self. In essence abusers dehumanise their victims through their shameless brutality. In turn the survivor has no choice but to adapt to this by disallowing any human responses for fear of further abuse as they try to reconcile “Knowing what you are not supposed to know and feeling what you are not supposed to feel” (Bowlby, 1988).

In addition, the secrecy accompanying much interpersonal abuse prevents validation of the experience rendering it inchoate and ineffable. It becomes an experience that cannot be named, or legitimised, cast into an abyss of silence. In the absence of words it is impossible to generate meaning, or make sense of the trauma, and so becomes ossified as a nub of despair in which self, others and the world cannot be trusted. Thus, all relationships are seen as dangerous, suffused with terror, anxiety and anticipated re-traumatisation, making it hard to trust and connect to others, including professionals.

The pervasive fear of others makes it extremely difficult for survivors to seek professional help as to risk connection only to have their trust betrayed again becomes a major concern rendering many survivors highly suspicious, hostile and resistant to any therapeutic engagement. Practitioners need to honour survivors of interpersonal trauma who, despite repeated betrayals risk connection by engaging in a therapeutic relationship and see this as testament to hope in which the essence of the self has not been annihilated. What is critical is a genuine, sensitively attuned relationship which is predicated on authenticity and relational warmth in which the survivor can become human again.

As interpersonal trauma thrives on the distortion of perception, falsification of reality, disavowal of needs, and lack of relational authenticity, it is imperative that such dynamics are minimised in the therapeutic relationship. To undo the pervasive effects of interpersonal trauma, practitioners need to create a secure base in which to explore abuse experiences and enable the survivor to reconnect to the disavowed aspects of the self and rebuild trust in others.

To facilitate this, practitioners need to ensure they do not hide behind protocols and prescriptive techniques in order to create an authentic human relationship in which to truly understand their client and undo the dehumanisation inherent in interpersonal abuse. It is only in the ‘human to human’ relationship that intersubjectivity can be restored and the survivor can be released from the debasement of interpersonal abuse to permit post traumatic growth which allows both survivor and practitioner to access a deeper appreciation of what it is to be human and to be alive.

Copyright © Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2009

Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma

Christiane Sanderson is the author of Introduction to Counselling Survivors of Interpersonal Trauma®. See the below link for more details.

More details of the book

Content links

JKP Social Work books

Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People: Person-Centred Approaches in Health and Social Care

Rights, Risk and Restraint-Free Care of Older People
Person-Centred Approaches in Health and Social Care
Edited by Rhidian Hughes

Click for more details

The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Child and Family Social Workers: Hitting the Ground Running

The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Child and Family Social Workers
Hitting the Ground Running
Edited by Zoë van Zwanenberg

Click for more details

Leadership in Social Care

Leadership in Social Care
Edited by Zoë van Zwanenberg

Click for more details

The Child's World

The Child's World
The Comprehensive Guide to Assessing Children in Need
2nd edition
Jan Horwath

Click for more details

Young People in Love and in Hate

Young People in Love and in Hate
Nick Luxmoore

Click for more details

Learning Through Child Observation

Learning Through Child Observation
2nd edition
Mary Fawcett

Click for more details

Just Care

Just Care
Restorative Justice Approaches to Working with Children in Public Care
Belinda Hopkins

Click for more details

A Short Introduction to Attachment and Attachment Disorder

A Short Introduction to Attachment and Attachment Disorder
Colby Pearce

Click for more details

Creative Coping Skills for Children

Creative Coping Skills for Children
Emotional Support through Arts and Crafts Activities
Bonnie Thomas

Click for more details

Quality Matters in Children's Services

Quality Matters in Children's Services
Messages from Research
Mike Stein

Click for more details

Safeguarding Children in Primary Health Care

Safeguarding Children in Primary Health Care
Edited by Julie Taylor and Markus Themessl-Huber

Click for more details

Safeguarding Children Living with Trauma and Family Violence

Safeguarding Children Living with Trauma and Family Violence
Evidence-Based Assessment, Analysis and Planning Interventions
Arnon Bentovim, Antony Cox, Liza Bingley Miller and Stephen Pizzey

Click for more details

Telling Tales About Dementia

Telling Tales About Dementia
Experiences of Caring
Edited by Lucy Whitman

Click for more details

Email us with your news, events or feedback at news@jkp.com or visit our website for more on our books.

Please feel free to forward this message on to anyone who might be interested, or want to join our mailing list.

Useful Dates for your Calendar

What Where When Link
Social Work Research: A World of Possibilities San Francisco, CA, USA January 14 - 17, 2010 Conference info
Preparing for the future: a harmony of research and practice in the field of child sexual abuse University of York 9th and 10th February 2010 Conference info
2010 Power of Social Work Conference Albany, New York 12th March 2010 Conference info
Safeguarding Refugee Children University of Central Lancashire, Preston 15th April 2010 Conference info
Speaking Up for Children: The Media & LSCBs BVSC, Birmingham 10 May 2010 Conference info
2010 - Joint World Conference Hong Kong Convention and Exhibtion Centre, Hong Kong, China June 10-14 2010 Conference info
JSWEC 2010 Held at the University of Hertsfordshire, de Havilland Campus, Hatfield 30 Jun-2 Jul 2010 Conference info