Editorial

Abstract

We begin this editorial with the sad news of the death of Andrew Cooper, former Editor of this journal and Professor of Social Work at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. Andrew’s contribution to the social work profession over many decades has been considerable and his loss will be felt by many nationally and internationally. We offer our deepest condolences to his family, friends and all whose lives he has touched. The articles in this issue address both new topics and novel ways of approaching enduring issues faced by social work practitioners and academics. Across many fields of practice, including child protection, healthcare, mental health and addictions, the authors bring a focus to the psychosocial and emotional challenges of social work practice. They address a range of important topics, ranging from emerging issues such as the emotional impact of climate change and the need to decolonise the university curriculum to the ongoing challenges of supporting client self-determination and providing high quality supervision. The first two articles address contemporary issues. The first by Aseel Takshe, Zahra Hashi, Marwa Mohammed and Annisa Astari, explores the concept of eco-anxiety as the ‘chronic fear of environmental doom’. Increased environmental instability combined with an increasingly hyperconnected world has raised awareness of climate change and the challenges to sustainability. Using a Q methodology to analyse the discourses of four stakeholder groups, the study found five distinct discourses that examined the connection between environmental awareness and psychological well-being, coming to terms with emotional responses to climate change, the importance of climate change, awareness about eco-anxiety leading to a more positive outlook, and a disbelief that eco-anxiety and climate change can affect mental well-being. Reflecting upon the emotional labour of decolonising social work curricula is the focus in the second article by Farrukh Akhtar. The Black Lives Matters movement has fostered global calls to decolonise the university curriculum, which is particularly felt within disciplines such as social work that have a commitment to anti-oppressive practice and addressing social injustice. This requires a process of questioning and reflection that can be challenging, and dependent upon the moral virtues of courage, honesty and justice in educators. The article explores a critical incident that highlighted some of the challenges and complexities involved and highlights how psychoanalytic ideas can be helpful in the process. The value of theory in understanding enduring challenges is continued in the next two articles. The first by Jo Williams examines the value of attachment theory in understanding the process of supervision. Based upon a literature review using a critical interpretive synthesis, the article explores attachment patterns and the supervision dyad and how the supervision process is influenced by attachment dynamics. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE 2023, VOL. 37, NO. 3, 279–281 https://doi.org/10.1080/02650533.2023.2241978