Social work as a social construction

Some social workers think that their work within the frame of their profession has a permanent and unchangeable character. The conception of the permanent and unchangeable character of social work excludes the theory, values and methodology used from possible discussion and reflexive verification. The orientation towards only one model of values, theory and methods runs the risk of harming clients and in a wider sense risks destabilising social relations. The character of social problems and the way to solve them depends on social, economic, cultural and also political conditions. Continual reflection on these conditions and also one's own ethical, theoretical and methodological position is therefore necessary. The following text is a polemic on the myth of the unchanging character of social work and it is an attempt to explicate the meaning of social pressures which participate in the formation of character of social work. This text rises from the presupposition that social work is socially constructed. Activity which may be seen in one situation as a helping process and referred to as social work may be understood in another situation, for instance, as abetting a delict.