Violence, role reversals, and turning points : work identity at stake at a therapeutic residential institution for adolescents

• This article focuses on how one staff member at a therapeutic residential institution negotiates his work identity, exploring how he narrates a violent incident, the formation of work identity, and how the adolescent figures within these processes. Mishler argues that when speaking, we perform identity. As social actors, we select and organize language, telling stories that fit the audience, our intentions, and the occasion. The article is framed both theoretically and methodologically through the assumption that narrative is a fundamental human way of giving meaning to our experiences. Identities are understood as being produced and performed within personal narratives. Thus, in an interview situation, narratives provide an interactive space for personal subjectivities to be expressed and enacted. Drawing on Mishler, we find three essential "turning points" that shape Alex’s work identity: (1) the violent incident, (2) the adolescent’s return to the ward, and (3) Alex’s subsequent change of wards. We interpret Alex’s narrative as a "narrative of resistance" that may have practical day-to-day implications for the field of institutional care and help expand the staff’s clinical toolbox. Further, Alex’s narrative is a vital example of stories of violence, which can be incorporated into policy documents on violence management.

Ämnesord

SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP  -- Sociologi -- Socialt arbete (hsv//swe)

SOCIAL SCIENCES  -- Sociology -- Social Work (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Therapeutic residential care

work identity

turning points

staff perspective

violence

narrative

Social Work

socialt arbete

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)