Studies in Clinical Social Work released its newest special issue, “Queering Clinical Social Work Praxis.” Created to bring attention to the importance of social work as a profession and for social workers individually to respond to the movement to dismantle the civil rights of queer, trans and people of color, this issue features a range of articles, some by recent alumni, that explore the limits of boundary norms in clinical social work.
The editorial team for this special issue, which includes Professor Rory Crath, former SSW professor Hannah Karpman and Leigh-Anne Frances, SSW research affiliate, writes, "As scholars committed to BIPOC and trans liberation, disability justice, decolonizing work, and social justice more broadly, we have been disturbed by a severe political backlash in the form of current proposals for local and state legislation against the advancement of civil liberties for many groups, but particularly for those who identify as LGBTQ+."
The editors explain that much of social work literature focuses on practice with individuals of specific identities, and does not address how and why practice can and should be rethought with intention to decenter cis-heteronormativity, a process known as “queering practice.”
“…When the term queer is considered as a verb, that is ‘queering,’ it becomes an approach or a way of thinking for exposing regimes of power such as the gender binaries and heteronormativity at the root of conventional ways of knowing and working with sexually and gender diverse communities.”
From decolonial eco-queer theories to queering ketamine-assisted therapy to subverting defaults of cis-heteronormativity in social work with trans clients, the issue focuses on the perspectives and innovations of clinicians, educators, scholars, and activists "who are engaged in 'queering' clinical social work praxis and various critical theories.”
One of the articles, written by five early-career alumni, challenges the often rigid ethical boundaries that they say prioritize institutions over the individuals they are treating. Frances Beroset, Michael Carney, Ford Fishman, Yuri Shane and Chungyun Seo, all 2023 alumni of the M.S.W. program wrote, “‘Something There is That doesn’t Love a Wall’: Notes on the Limits of Risk-Based Boundary Norms in Clinical Social Work.” It explores the enforcing of clinical boundaries that are taken for granted as part of social work practice. Drawing on experiences with queer, trans, and racial minority clients, this article focuses on rethinking these norms in ways that can empower clients, strengthen relationships and center care in clinical practice.
This special issue is open access until December 31, 2024 at Taylor and Francis.
