Journal article
Interweaving Narratives of Lived Experience in Mental Health Social Work Curriculum
Australian social work, Vol.78(2), pp.186-199
19/03/2024
Appears in Recent Faculty of Health Publications
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Abstract
This study explored the metacurriculum of an undergraduate mental health social work subject that was developed and delivered collaboratively by lived experience and social work academics in a regional Australian university. Metacurriculum refers to implicit messages about how students learn how to learn that is, the ontological and epistemological positioning of curriculum. In this subject, students were invited to reflect on multiple, diverse, lived-experience narratives of mental distress as they developed their understanding of mental health social work practice. Using cooperative inquiry, we collectively critically reflected on the experience of teaching and learning with this curriculum. Coresearchers included a student who had completed the subject; a mental health social work practitioner/tutor, a social work academic, and a lived-experience academic who coproduced the subject material; and mental health academics acting as critical friends. Findings revealed engaging with lived-experience narratives was experienced as generating compassion for all humanity; challenging stigma by sharing the responsibility of positioning; and enabling critically reflexive dialogue. We concluded that diverse, lived-experience narratives can be incorporated to enact metacurriculum that aligns social work teaching and learning with emerging transformative approaches to mental health.
IMPLICATIONS
Incorporating diverse narratives of mental distress into curriculum can highlight the operation of intersectionality and privilege.
Engaging with multiple narratives of mental distress undermines the binary construction of “them” and “us”.
Metacurriculum enacting inclusive, collaborative knowledge development aligns teaching and learning with transformative mental health.
Details
- Title
- Interweaving Narratives of Lived Experience in Mental Health Social Work Curriculum
- Creators
- Louise Whitaker (Author) - Southern Cross University, Social WorkCatherine Graeme-Cook (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityMeaghan Vosz (Author) - Southern Cross University, Social WorkJessica Jeffreys (Author) - Southern Cross UniversityBrenda Happell (Author) - Southern Cross University, Faculty of HealthMatthew Leach (Author) - Southern Cross University, National Centre for Naturopathic Medicine
- Publication Details
- Australian social work, Vol.78(2), pp.186-199
- Publisher
- Routledge
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- Southern Cross University Research Futures Scholarship Program 2023
- Identifiers
- 991013174012102368
- Copyright
- © 2024 Australian Association of Social Workers.
- Academic Unit
- Faculty of Health; Social Work
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article