The Debate

THE QUESTION: 'Is it ever okay to sweat in front of a client?'

"Yes of course it is, in the right context and with the right person,” said Lucie Lou on the Social Work News FB page.

"I work in adult mental health, and our service users are grown ups!

“They are often in touch with our service at a very difficult time in their life. Communication is key in any form of social work, but in adult mental health is it particularly pertinent due to issues around engagement and service users’ understanding and perception of situations. We can easily be seen as the enemy.

“Service users look for honesty and transparency, and that should be reflected in our communication with them. A service user may comment to me about something in their life being particularly difficult, or “shit.” I don’t feel there is any need to mince my words, and would be more than comfortable to reply, “yes I agree, this situation is really shit for you.”

“I WOULD NEVER SWEAR AT OR ABOUT A PERSON, BUT I WOULD SWEAR IN THE CONTEXT OF A CONVERSATION."

“Swearing is a form of expression, and it conveys certain feelings and emotions. Of course I would always judge the person and the situation before I swore, and would usually only swear in a conversation where the service user has used the same word. This is a common approach in counselling, repeating what the person has said, using their language.

“Of course it might be appropriate in front of some service users but not others, and it is up to the individual social worker to make a judgement on that. What works for one person doesn’t work for everyone. It is about what feels appropriate at that time, and with that person.”

@Kes_t1D: “Yes. If it is a shit situation, reaffirming in the person’s own language is not unprofessional at all, it’s human. I’m not talking about having a rant and offloading with families and going too far, but we aren’t robots and we are human.

“I think professionalism can go too far. Whether it’s the way we dress, the way we talk, whether we share (not in detail) our own experiences - that’s all important stuff. IMO it’s important to be reachable and on a level to build relationships to empower sustainable change.”

Chrystal Roll: ‘Yep...for some it establishes rapport. Can’t change my mind.”

@cathryn_jani: “No! Why would this ever be necessary?”

Greg Warwick: “From a counselling and psychologist perspective we would match the client’s language. So if they’re swearing, we would use their swear words to connect, show understanding, and empathise.”

Matthew Sickler, a child protection social worker from Minnesota, said: “Absolutely, in the context of connecting with that individual, using their language and to close the gap of “us” (social workers) vs Them.”

@SWBohemians: “We spoke about this within a team a little while ago and the answer was no. Best to remain professional and use language that is courteous and polite wherever possible to put forward a respectful and calm approach.”

Geraldine Harris: “No.Very unprofessional.”

Sarah, a clinical social worker from Baltimore, said: “Always. Obviously I read the room, but be a human. Not some stuffy professional.”

Valerie: “I had a client tell me to stop using my proper “social worker voice” and act like a person. I am flexible.”

Vince Baart, of Belgium, said: “Of course it is. We’re just humans. Humans swear.”

@SociableSocial: “Depends on the level of swear word and context.”

@MattBeeWrites: “When I first qualified, I'd never dream of swearing in front of a client, but sometimes, honestly, there's no other words."

@colinjdinnie: “Generally the answer is no, but most social workers will remember a time when they did and it was the right thing at the time. Sometimes it breaks down a barrier, sometimes it underlines a point.”

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