Michelle McCann

Bio: Michelle McCann is an academic researcher from University of Bedfordshire. The author has contributed to research in topics: Social work & Family life. The author has an hindex of 5, co-authored 9 publications receiving 133 citations.

What Is the Relationship between Worker Skills and Outcomes for Families in Child and Family Social Work

Abstract: Communication skills are fundamental to social work, yet few studies have directly evaluated their impact. In this study, we explore the relationship between skills and outcomes in 127 families. An observation of practice was undertaken on the second or third meeting with a family. Practice quality was evaluated in relation to seven skills, which were grouped into three dimensions: relationship building, good authority and evocation of intrinsic motivation. Outcomes at approximately six months were parent-reported engagement (Working Alliance Inventory), Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), an eleven-point family life satisfaction rating, the Family Environment Scale and General Health Questionnaire and service outcomes from agency records including children entering care. Relationship-building skills predicted parent-reported engagement, although good authority and evocation had stronger relationships with outcome measures. Where workers visited families more often, relationships between skills and outcomes were stronger, in part because workers had more involvement and in part because these families were more likely to have significant problems. The relationship between skills and outcomes was complicated, although the findings provide encouraging evidence that key social work skills have an influence on outcomes for families.

Social work services and recovery from substance misuse: a review of the evidence.

Abstract: This research reviewed the available evidence on social work's contribution to supporting recovery for those with problem drug and/or alcohol use. The review also collated the available evidence on workforce development in this area as well as reviewing what is known about social work roles and training.

Abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017

Abstract: All abstracts from the NIHR INVOLVE Conference 2017. Poster 27 - P27 Discovering the role of public co-applicant on a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Programme grant Research Involvement and Engagement 2017, 3(Suppl 1):P27

Parental resistance and social worker skills: towards a theory of motivational social work

Abstract: Parental resistance is a ubiquitous feature of child and family social work, yet there has been limited research or theoretical work directed at the issue. This paper identifies social and individual reasons why parents may be resistant. Five principle causes of parental resistance are discussed, namely social structure and disadvantage, the context of child protection work, parental resistance to change, denial or minimization of abuse or neglect and the behaviour of the social worker. It is argued that motivational interviewing (MI) provides particularly useful skills and concepts for firstly reducing the social worker contribution to resistance and secondly minimizing the resistance related to other reasons for resistance. Key adaptations required in the strategic aims of MI if it is to be used in child protection work are identified and discussed, the most important of which is maintaining a focus on the child's welfare and safety. It is concluded that MI offers an opportunity to improve practice by increasing parental engagement and to make a contribution to social work theory by combining an attention to both broader social structure and the micro-skills required in social work interviews.

United Kingdom drug situation: annual report to the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) 2012.

Abstract: The United Kingdom (UK) Focal Point on Drugs is based at the Department of Health and the North West Public Health Observatory at the Centre for Public Health, Liverpool John Moores University. It is the national partner of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) and provides comprehensive information to the Centre on the drug situation in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Researching Social Work Practice Close Up: Using Ethnographic and Mobile Methods to Understand Encounters between Social Workers, Children and Families

Abstract: Research into child and family social work has largely stopped short of getting close enough to practice to produce understandings of what goes on between social workers and service users. This is despite the known problems in social worker engagement with children in cases where they have died. This paper outlines and analyses the methods used in a study of social work encounters with children and families on home visits where there were child protection concerns. It illustrates how mobile methods of walking and driving interviews were conducted with social workers on the way to and from home visits, and how the ethnography involved participant observation and audio-recordings ofthe interactions between social workers, children and parents in the home, re¬vealing the talk, actions and experiences that occurred. Social workers often moved around the home, especially to interview children on their own in their bedrooms, and the paper shows how ways were found to stay close enough to observe these sensitive encounters within families’ most intimate spaces, while ensuring the research remained ethical. Ethnographic and mobile methods produce vital data that advance new understandings of everyday social work practices and service users’ experiences and of dynamics that are similar to breakdowns in practice that have occurred in child death cases.

Motivational Interviewing in the Treatment of Psychological Problems

Abstract: [⇓][1] ![Figure][2] The rapid expansion of and growing interest in motivational interviewing across different aspects of mental health problems has been dramatic. This book of expert contributions co-edited by William Miller, the originator of motivational interviewing, is a very welcome

Parental Perspectives in Cases of Suspected Child Abuse

Abstract: Hedy Cleaver, Pam Freeman HMSO, £22, pp 178 ISBN 0 11 321786 2 In suspected child abuse the interaction between those who investigate it and the parents is fraught with problems. Some readers of Parental Perspectives in Cases of Suspected Child Abuse may feel that it does not tell them anything they haven't experienced already. But the subject is worthy of detailed exploration. Regardless of the type of allegation that is being made, the initial response of most parents is to conclude that social services …