Browsing by Subject "social workers"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    An exploration of the role of toxic workplaces and burnout amongst social workers in Cape Town
    (2025) Manqindi, Zodwa; Swart-Opperman, Christina
    Social Workers in Cape Town operate within high-pressure environments characterised by complex social issues, limited resources, and emotionally intense workloads. These conditions often give rise to toxic workplace dynamics, including poor leadership, lack of emotional support, excessive caseloads and organisational dysfunction (September and Dinbabo, 2008; Matlakala, 2022). The purpose of this study was to explore the role of toxic workplaces and burnout amongst Social Workers in Cape Town. The primary objective was to develop an in-depth understanding of the experiences, challenges, and coping strategies of Social Workers in workplaces where leaders behave negatively, that result in Social Workers experiencing burnout. The secondary objective was to engage practitioners' opinions as to what can be done to mitigate toxic environments in the workplace. A qualitative exploratory research design was employed to achieve these objectives. In-depth semi-structured interviews were undertaken with 18 Social Workers working in Non-profit Organisations in Cape Town. The findings revealed that Social Workers face heavy workloads, fast-paced environments, unsafe areas, inadequate resources, and lack of supervision, all of which impact their Mental Health and Well-being. Common problems included micromanagement, unmanaged caseloads, poor leadership, nepotism, gaslighting, disrespect, and lack of appreciation. Additionally, ineffective leadership characterised by a lack of transparency, unity, and ineffective styles was noted. Participants suggested that founders of private organisations should have social work experience to better support employees. The findings of the study also stressed the impact of toxic workplaces on social workers, including mental health struggles, with many coping through medication, alcohol, or smoking. High turnover rates were attributed to burnout, underperformance, absenteeism, feeling underpaid, and mistreatment. Decisions to stay or leave were influenced by personal circumstances and mental health priorities. In summary, these findings highlight the need for better leadership, support systems, and mental health resources to improve the work environment for Social Workers.
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    Education for All Week 4 - Learning support
    (2018-06-01) Sompheta, Siphokazi
    In this video, Siphokazi Sompheta discusses the learning support team (caregivers, educators, occupational therapists, speech therapists, educational psychologists, nurses, parents) with a specific focus on the role of the caregiver. The focus is on how the therapist provides access to inclusive education within their community. Siphokazi illustrates how many children with disabilities are currently not attending any form of schooling and are considered a Vulnerable Group in terms of their access to formal education. Siphokazi discusses how policies on the inclusion of children with disabilities in the education sector, exploring the barriers that prevent schools (particularly those with fewer resources). She stresses the need for the development of centres for inclusive learning to support the inclusion of all students in the classroom. Lastly, she closes with explaining the role of the learning support team in collecting appropriate information, advocating on behalf of children with disability, and linking different kinds of care and support together.
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    Exploring social worker's experiences working with child sexual abuse survivors who are intellectually disabled.
    (2025) Samuels, Leandre; Hoosain, Shanaaz
    Sexual abuse of children with intellectual disabilities is a global phenomenon. The study aimed to explore social workers' experiences working with child sexual abuse survivors with intellectual disabilities. The study employed a qualitative research design, specifically a qualitative descriptive and explorative design. The study design reflects a commitment to upholding the rights, safety, and well-being of both the social workers involved and the vulnerable populations they serve. Given the sensitive and emotionally charged nature of this study, strict ethical guidelines were followed to ensure the protection and dignity of all participants. Ethical approval was obtained from the UCT Ethics review committee, and all participants provided informed consent before participation. The study prioritized confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary participation, allowing participants to withdraw at any stage without consequence. Semi-structured face-to-face interviews were held with 14 participants across the Cape Metro who have more than 5 years of experience within the field of child sexual abuse. Through purposive and snowball sampling techniques, the sample consisted of 14 participants, 13 female and one male. The study employed a thematic analysis using Braun and Clarke's thematic analysis. The findings of the study revealed the unique challenges social workers experience with child sexual abuse survivors' intellectual disabilities. The challenges included vicarious trauma, communication difficulties, lack of available resources, and ethical and legal dilemmas, including seeking justice. Furthermore, participants often face systemic barriers such as inadequate training and a lack of intervention strategies. Practice models utilized by participants are adapted from international guidelines. Thus, participants must adapt the guidelines based on the intellectual level of the child survivor. Moreover, the current legislation and policies available are silent when addressing the needs of the child sexual abuse survivor with intellectual disabilities. The study underscores the need for alternative communication methods, tailored intervention approaches, specifically for South Africa, and comprehensive training programmes to empower social workers in the field of intellectually disabled child sexual abuse. Furthermore, the findings highlighted the need for stakeholder collaboration and policymakers to include and implement policies relating to child sexual abuse survivors with intellectual disabilities.
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    Open Access
    Will the real social worker please stand up? Defining criminal justice social work
    (Academy of Science of South Africa, 2011) Holtzhausen, Leon
    The fundamental objective of this article is to urge a change in the conventional paradigms used to define the practice of social work in the field of criminal justice, and to set in motion a conversion to a unified paradigm of criminal justice social work. A unified paradigm is used here to refer to the multidimensional and multidisciplinary practice of social work in working with both those who offend and those who are victims of crime, in order to restore harm done and prevent further offending. This text is essentially nomenclatorial in nature, meaning, it deals with the naming and defining the specialisation of criminal justice social work as distinctly different from social work in general.