Trauma-informed care for the carers: Racialized practitioners speak about racism
While the profession of social work is moving to incorporate more trauma-informed practice, the question of the effects of trauma on the caregivers needs attention as well. One form of trauma is that of racism. Based on two research projects, this presentation explores the lived experience of racism for racialized practitioners at the individual, cultural, institutional and epistemic levels. Self-care for carers is an essential component of trauma-informed healing.
The detrimental health and psychological effects of racism are well known, yet the lacuna of emphasis on these issues in social work and ethics continues. Explanations for this omission will be provided. Putting more emphasis on the silenced voices of racialized practitioners themselves offers an important potential contribution to trauma-informed care.
Speaker: Dr. Merlinda Weinberg
Dr. Merlinda Weinberg is a full professor in the School of Social Work at Dalhousie University, in Nova Scotia. She has an MSW and was a practicing social worker for over 25 years before obtaining her Ph.D. at OISE/ University of Toronto. Research interests include ethics in social work practice, and the impacts of neoliberalism and diversity on ethics and professional identity.
She has published a book and multiple articles in journals such as Ethics & Behavior, Critical Social Work and Canadian Social Work Review. Dr. Weinberg has a website on ethics.
Dr. Weinberg was short-listed by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council as the top new researcher in 2008. She was awarded a prestigious Senior Fellowship at Durham University, United Kingdom in 2017.
Resources
Download: Presentation slides
“Practising Ethically in Unethical Times: Everyday Resistance in Social Work.” Article by M. Weinberg & S. Banks in Ethics and Social Welfare, April 2019.
Paradoxes in Social Work Practice: Mitigating Ethical Trespass. 2016 book by M. Weinberg.