How clinical psychologists respond to child safeguarding dilemmas: A qualitative study

Abstract

This research aimed to explore how clinical psychologists respond to child safeguarding dilemmas, with special attention to the role of psychology in child welfare. Transcripts from 20 semi-structured interviews with clinical psychologists working in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in England were analysed using a qualitative framework approach. In these interviews, two family case vignettes were used to examine how psychologists respond to child safeguarding dilemmas. We identified three overarching themes: operating within a system of stretched resources; characterising who is considered ‘supportable’ by psychological services; and challenges around conceptualising and responding to risk. Clinical psychologists viewed social services as responsible for family cases with safeguarding concerns and were reluctant to engage in high-risk cases where stability in the home was not yet established. They saw their role in child welfare primarily as sense-makers for families, by offering a contextualised explanation/formulation for the presenting difficulties.