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Power and Paradox in Mental Health Social Work: Mapping the Terrain
Book chapter

Power and Paradox in Mental Health Social Work: Mapping the Terrain

Louise Whitaker, Katherine Reid, Emma Tseris, Hollie Ballingall, Ashlea Borg, Binti Jones, Alex Olsen, Aimee Pitt and Lisa Thorpy
Social Work in the Mental Health Field: From Power Analysis to Practice, pp.19-37
SpringerBriefs in Social Work Series, Springer, 1st
02/2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-08306-7_2

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Abstract

This chapter explores diverse conceptualisations of mental health social work. By referring to images, we question hegemonic ways of representing knowledge. The collection of conceptualisations is depicted as an incomplete mosaic, referred to as a ‘mosaic of possibilities’, which is not intended to be prescriptive of content. Rather, the incompleteness of the mosaic invites readers to consider how they might depict their own conceptualisation of social work practice in this field. Our images examine grounding in Country, recognising White privilege and holding ourselves accountable, understanding social work’s positioning in the capitalist system, navigating competing discourses, naming psychiatric violence, the personal is political, and recognising the beauty in acts of survivorship. Having explored various possibilities of positioning social work, this chapter concludes by highlighting that it is the influence of these practice contexts that brings complexity to social work in this field.

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