J O M E N S I N G A

“SHE LET OUT A BURP AND GOT RID OF IT!” – LEARNING FROM A SOCIAL WORKER’S STORIES ABOUT

BODIES IN MENTAL HEALTH PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATIONS

LILY’S STORY OF WHY SHE STARTED YOGA…(WORKS IN A LARGE INCOME SUPPORT AGENCY, 2010)

Interview context – story felt like vomit

Student debrief – sat away and let out a burp to get rid of it

Organizational response – no one available, hurt back

In-line management – didn’t want to hear story and be traumatized

Off-site supervision – used a body technique to deal with the story

Own response – Started yoga to befriend body

WHILE THE BODY IS INARTICULATE, IT IS NOT MUTE… (FRANK, 1995, P.27)

Presented Lily’s story first to give preference to the body’s

voice and stories about bodies before other

dominant discourses begin to drown them out

Will now explore:Background/literatureLily’s place in the larger studyExploring stories as living

artifactsLearning from Lily’s narrative

(http://yogamodern.com)

BACKGROUNDLITERATURE REVIEW & UNDERPINNINGS

Bookriot.com

LOCATING THE BODY IN THE PROFESSIONAL CONVERSATION:

‘…bodies can be seen as the foundation as well as the product of

both discourses and institutions. Discourses, in other words, are

embodied, and social institutions cannot be understood apart from the real, lived experiences and

actions of bodies.’ (Williams & Bendelow, 1998, p.66)

LOCATING THE BODY IN THE SOCIAL WORK CONVERSATION:

• Post-enlightenment and Western Christian beginnings Cartesian dualism & Suspicion of body (Saleebey 1992; Peile, 1998; Tangenberg & Kemp, 2002; Cameron & McDermott, 2007; Bell, 2012)

• Focus on ‘doing’ rather than ‘being’ a social worker (Saleebey, 1992) hegemony of science and evidence based practice consumer = object

LOCATING THE BODY IN THE MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION:

Social workers advocate for a more holistic approach but compete with the bio-chemical-medical discourse objectifies the consumer

Marginalization of the body’s voice in the social work conversation failure to explore the corporeal capacity of both the consumer and the social worker (Cameron & McDermott, 2007)

MY PROPOSAL … MAKE SPACE FOR THE BODY’S VOICE IN THE SOCIAL

WORK/MENTAL HEALTH CONVERSATION

Need to:• In a previous paper, argued that we

need to understand practitioner’s somatic map to distinguish between habit and what is to be experienced in the room (Mensinga, 2011)

• Listen to existing stories what strategies and power structures support or discourage exploring the body in the professional conversation (Frank, 2010; Plummer, 1995)

PA RT OF A LA RGE R RESEA RCH P RO JEC T UNDERTA K EN IN 2010 -11

http://www.surfinaustralia.com.au

LILY

PART OF MY PHD STUDY - LILY

• 1of 9 human service workers (6 = social workers)

• Part of a focus group of 5 women that was interviewed on 3 occasions (from regional center in North Queensland, Australia)

• 1 of 6 women (from North Queensland X 3, Central Queensland X 1, New South Wales X 1 and in the United States X 1) who were interviewed individually either once (X 3) or 3 times (Lily & 2 others)

PART OF MY PHD STUDY – LILY’S NARRATIVE

• Collected from first interview at her home• Chose her narrative as it was:• told as a whole (requiring minimal

‘tidying up’ to enhance its readability), • epitomizes many of the issues raised by

the other participants• highlights the pressures that exist in the

sites in which many professional conversations arise.

EXPLORING STORIES AS LIVING ARTEFACTS:

ARTHUR FRANK & BODY NARRATIVES

http://www.westsidebooks.com

FRANK’S DIALOGICAL NARRATIVE ANALYSIS APPROACH (2012)

My interest in Lily’s narrative is to explore how the body stories within Lily’s narrative serve her and others to attend to their own, their colleagues’ and consumers’ well-being

Frank says that stories can:• Deal with and/or cause

trouble for people• Display and test people’s

character• Make a particular

perspective or orientation plausible• Teach people about what is

valuable and good as well as what should be ignored and held in contempt

FRANK SUGGESTS THE RESEARCHER IDENTIFY (2012,PP. 45-49) :

What narrative resources are available and if they can be used to tell new stories

Who the stories can be told to and why they can or can’t

Who would be accepted / prevented from being a member of a group if they

understood the storyHow the story encourages people to be who

they are and/or who they could become

How the storyteller maintains their social/ personal/ professional position by telling the

story and in the way that they do

EXPLORING AND LEARNING FROM LILY’S

NARRATIVEP LO T , C H A RAC T E R S , P O L I T I C S O F L I S T E N I N G T O BO D I E S

Story told in the form of a ‘quest’ (Booker, 2004) to rid bodies of the horrible story to:1. Relieve the consumer of his anguish 2. Ensure the wellbeing of the student 3. Regain Lily’s own equanimity

in the work place

NOT UNCOMMON IN SOCIAL WORK STORIES … except includes new material:• the impact of a burp• the use of a body technique (EMDR)

THE BODY’S CONTRIBUTION TO THE PLOT

coloring.4you.com

THE INCLUSION OF ‘BODIES’ AS CHARACTERS

Characters:• Social worker – qualified, agency mandate

• Consumer – able to tell story for 1st time

• Student – observes S.W. , training

• Line manager/supervisor – ill-equipped to deal with trauma

• Off-site professional supervisor – skills to work with vicarious trauma

• Consumer’s body – ill relieved

• Lily’s body – injured, listens to another body friend

• Student’s body – burped protected

(http://yogamodern.com)

LILY FEELS AT LIBERTY TO INCLUDE THE BODY – WHY?

Leder (1990) makes the point that in general to participate in a complex world the body tends to remain invisible until something goes wrong.

Lily takes note of body when she hurts her back, but is likely she was already aware of the link between body and mind - e.g., consumer tells story for 1st time, heard student mention effect of burp; link made to her sore back; participation in EMDR

Body assumes a subjective status rather than inanimate object that can be ‘done to’

•Narrative technique?

•No!

• The the turning point in Lily’s narrative is not so much a re-storying

of what occurred, but an actual intervention used by the body to

communicate with another.

THE POLITICS OF LISTENING TO THE BODY

Just as bodies are inscribed with greater and lesser degrees of perceived power on the basis of race and ethnicity, age, gender, and (dis)ability, so the value of knowledge from the body reflects the social power associated with the individual: more powerful individuals define what knowledge is accepted and embodied by social institutions. (Tangenberg & kemp, 2002, p.15)

Lily works in income support agency, body is viewed more subjectively

Line manager not required to attend to worker’s off-site physical ailments even if related to work

Accepted that off-site supervisor provides support (AASW) and can use variety of techniques

HOW DOES LILY’S STORY SERVE US?

Frank (2012,pp. 45-49) :• Narrative resources? – new stories of the body helping to

overcome the horrible story – burp; EMDR; yoga; breathing• Who can the stories be told to and why? – income support

vs. mental health social worker; student vs. worker support; line manager vs. professional supervisor

• Who is accepted/prevented being a group member by understanding the story? – income support agency vs. mental health agency

• How does the story encourage people to be who they are? – watch where you sit; burp if you have to; take up yoga to become more body aware

• How does the story teller maintain their social standing/positioning telling the story in the way they did? – the quest story resonates it is a common story in social work

‘In fact if I take a tea break or something, it is more to take a breathing break.’

(Lily, 2011)

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