![]() ![]() Every parent has a story and wants to be heard and active listening helps the ISW to experience the parent’s perspective. In these very complex circumstances active listening and being fully present with parents cannot be underestimated. This power imbalance only adds to the level of a parent’s anxiety. The Independent Social Worker is perceived by parents to be someone in a position of power someone who contributes to the course of their future and the futures of their children, leaving parents powerless and at the mercy of the recommendations made within the assessment, that the Court have asked for, to assist them to determine the most appropriate disposal of the case. The power of active listening in reducing the power imbalance Recognising and acknowledging those anxieties has to be the starting point of any effective working relationship but that can only happen if the parent is given a voice. It is however, those Social Work principles that will drive an Independent Social Worker to approach assessments sensitively and in a person centred way. Intervention and Care Proceedings can merely perpetuate a lifetime of negative experiences for some parents and despite those principles of non-judgemental practice and working together, parents will perceive assessments to be a powerful contradiction of both. ![]() These parents will be experiencing one of the worst moments of their lives and the fear of losing their child will undoubtedly shape their approach to assessment. ![]() There is, nearly always, an inevitable anxiety at that first meeting and it is the skill of the ISW that will steer the path of assessment from that point. An Independent Social Work Assessment can often be the final lifeline for a parent to continue to fulfil their parenting role or achieve rehabilitation of their child to their care. ![]()
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