The Survival Guide for Newly Qualified Social Workers, Second Edition by Helen Donnellan Gordon Jack

Author:Helen Donnellan, Gordon Jack [Helen Donnellan, Gordon Jack]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Social Work, Political Science, Public Policy, Social Services & Welfare
ISBN: 9780857009555
Google: L8niBAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
Published: 2014-11-21T04:11:10+00:00

Figure 8.1 Relationship between workplace stress and support

Mapping your support networks

You may already be familiar with eco-mapping as a tool used by social workers to make an assessment of a service user’s social relationships, but it is an approach equally applicable to your own social support networks. It can provide a dynamic overview of your circumstances, highlighting important connections and sources of support (as well as deficits and barriers) essential for your well-being, both now and in the future. According to Warren (1993), an eco-map is:

An ecological metaphor [that] can lead social workers to see the client not as an isolated entity for study, but as a part of a complex ecological system. Such a view helps them to focus on the sources of nurturance, stimulation and support that must be available in the intimate and extended environment to make possible growth and survival. (Warren 1993, p.40)

To complete your own eco-map, you first need to identify the people or resources that are significant in supporting your learning and development, and some examples are suggested in Box 8.1 (page 136). Personalise this by filling in the blank circles and removing or adding new ones, as necessary. Draw lines to each circle to make the connections that exist in your network, describing those relationships by:

Using different lines to indicate the nature of the relationship, for example:

Practical; ———Emotional; ––– Information/Advice; • • • • • Critical

Adding a number (or a different colour) for the quality of the support, for example:

1 = strong; 2 = tenuous; 3 = distant; 4 = stressful; 5 = non-existent

Putting arrows on each line to signify the direction of help (or stress) for example:

flow both ways ↔ ; flow to you ← ; flow from you →

Adding a symbol for how frequently you call on that support, for example:

Daily; Weekly; ■ Monthly; ♦ Few times per year

However creatively you are able to complete the exercise, the real strength of any eco-map lies in its simple, visual impact. It collects and organises not only a great deal of factual information but also displays, all on one side of A4 paper, the relationships between the important variables so that connections, themes and qualities are all brought into sharp focus for you.

Once you have it completed, use your eco-map to help you consider some of the following questions:

•Am I getting the sort of support I need?

•What is missing? What can I do to bridge any gaps?

•Which sources of support do I find most helpful/unhelpful?

•What actions can I take to foster and maintain them/reduce their impact?

•Which areas need strengthening? What action can I take to build up my network?

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