17 Experiences matter equally
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Henrike Kowalk
Abstract
In March 2018, the Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp initiated an international dialogue between social work lecturers, researchers and experts by experience (EBE) about the benefits and obstacles of service-user involvement in social work education and research. Approximately 20 EBE with different sociodemographic characteristics and backgrounds from the UK, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy participated and discussed the involvement of people with lived experiences in many different contexts. Among the participants there was an overall agreement regarding the benefits, but we also identified a number of factors that hinder the integration of EBE in education and research. These factors are linked to cultural and societal structures, which is why we think that they need to be made more explicit. Before elaborating the obstacles that EBE encounter in their activities, we elaborate on two important beneficial factors.
Each country uses a specific term to refer to people with lived experiences in the social service and mental healthcare system, for example: service users, experiential experts, experts by experience, peers or service users. For the purpose of this chapter, we stick with the term experts by experience because it stresses the expertise that people with lived experiences have, and it encompasses a greater variety of people. After all, not every EBE is still a service user. An EBE is understood as a person with lived experiences in social and mental healthcare services from which he or she has developed insights which they use as a resource to support others or to inform the broader services and institutions in general (for example, Sedney et al, 2016; Videmšek, 2017).
Abstract
In March 2018, the Karel de Grote University College in Antwerp initiated an international dialogue between social work lecturers, researchers and experts by experience (EBE) about the benefits and obstacles of service-user involvement in social work education and research. Approximately 20 EBE with different sociodemographic characteristics and backgrounds from the UK, Poland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy participated and discussed the involvement of people with lived experiences in many different contexts. Among the participants there was an overall agreement regarding the benefits, but we also identified a number of factors that hinder the integration of EBE in education and research. These factors are linked to cultural and societal structures, which is why we think that they need to be made more explicit. Before elaborating the obstacles that EBE encounter in their activities, we elaborate on two important beneficial factors.
Each country uses a specific term to refer to people with lived experiences in the social service and mental healthcare system, for example: service users, experiential experts, experts by experience, peers or service users. For the purpose of this chapter, we stick with the term experts by experience because it stresses the expertise that people with lived experiences have, and it encompasses a greater variety of people. After all, not every EBE is still a service user. An EBE is understood as a person with lived experiences in social and mental healthcare services from which he or she has developed insights which they use as a resource to support others or to inform the broader services and institutions in general (for example, Sedney et al, 2016; Videmšek, 2017).
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents vii
- List of figures and tables ix
- Notes on contributors x
- Acknowledgements xix
- Introduction 1
-
Collaborative models in social work education
- The gap-mending concept: theory and practice 11
- Mending gaps in social work education in the UK 23
- Service users as tandem partners in social work education 35
- Service users as supervisors in social work education: mending the gap of power relations 49
- Involving students with mental health experience in social work education 61
- The Living Library in social work education 73
- Creating a platform together for the voice of the service user: inspiration for organising an event together with service users 85
- Reflections on inspiring conversations in social work education: the voices of Scottish experts by experience and Italian students 97
- Joint workshops with students and service users in social work education: experiences from Esslingen, Germany 109
- Service users, students and staff: co-producing creative educational activities on a social work programme in the UK 117
-
Collaborative models in research and policy
- The co-researcher role in the tension between recognition, co-option and tokenism 133
- Community of development: a model for inclusive learning, research and innovation 145
- Dialogue, skills and trust: some lessons learned from co-writing with service users 158
- Participatory pathways in social policymaking: between rhetoric and reality 170
- Experiential knowledge as a driver of change 183
-
Reflective chapters
- Experiences matter equally 199
- Ethical issues in the meaningful involvement of service users as co-researchers 209
- Involving service users in social work education and research: is this structural social work? 224
- Index 238
