{"title":"Listening to the child: Lessons from Estonia’s ‘Out of the Circle’ restorative practice model","authors":"Maria Merila, Karmen Toros","doi":"10.1177/00208728261428937","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261428937","url":null,"abstract":"This practice paper draws on focus group interviews with Estonian child protection professionals implementing the Out of the Circle model, a restorative, trauma-informed, and child-centred approach to working with at-risk youth. The findings indicate that the model enhances meaningful youth participation by shifting young people’s role from passive recipients to active partners in decision-making, particularly through co-creation of personal plans and trusted-adult relationships. It also strengthens interprofessional collaboration by clarifying roles, improving communication, and fostering shared responsibility across sectors. However, implementation is constrained by limited time, uneven institutional support and inconsistent network engagement. These findings offer transferable insights for international child protection systems seeking more participatory and integrated responses to complex youth cases.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"60 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147489887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Examining studies conducted with LGBTIQA+ individuals in the field of social work in Turkey between 2015 and 2025: A systematic review","authors":"Ezgi Arslan Özdemir, Veli Duyan","doi":"10.1177/00208728261422429","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261422429","url":null,"abstract":"This study reviews social work research on LGBTIQA+ issues in Turkey over the past decade, identifying 14 studies–9 quantitative and 5 qualitative – with a total sample of 2383 participants, including 1214 LGBTIQA+ individuals. The findings reveal both increased academic interest and a critical gap in intervention-focused research. In a context of political homophobia, social discrimination, and limited institutional support, LGBTIQA+ rights violations remain widespread. The study underscores the relevance of rights-based, inclusive, and context-sensitive approaches for social workers operating in restrictive environments, contributing to global dialogues on social justice, minority rights, and structural inequality in social work practice.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"10 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147454644","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Yusuf Genç, Hülya Yildiz, Cengizhan Aynaci, Zeynep Atalay, Hüseyin Zahid Kara
{"title":"Metaphorical analysis of social worker candidates’ perceptions of homeless people","authors":"Yusuf Genç, Hülya Yildiz, Cengizhan Aynaci, Zeynep Atalay, Hüseyin Zahid Kara","doi":"10.1177/00208728261424202","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261424202","url":null,"abstract":"The aim of this study is to determine the perceptions of social work undergraduate students about homeless people. In this qualitative research study, a phenomenological approach and metaphor analysis technique were used. The data were analysed by the metaphor analysis method, and categories and themes were formed. Metaphors were collected in seven categories: emotions, nature, animals, objects, street, disadvantaged groups and negative attitudes. While some of the metaphors emphasised the characteristics of individuals, others emphasised structural inequalities. Students liken homeless people to disadvantaged groups. This is followed by metaphors related to nature, negative attitudes and animals, respectively.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"41 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147454645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Why does social work need to be ‘international’?","authors":"Patrick O’Leary, Ming-Sum Tsui","doi":"10.1177/00208728261426721","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261426721","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147393308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Social work and the understanding of help: Learning from narratives of residents of Japan’s national Hansen’s disease sanatoriums","authors":"Yasufumi Kochi, Maki Tanaka, Mari Uesugi","doi":"10.1177/00208728261418226","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261418226","url":null,"abstract":"Attentive listening to narratives can shift social work from mere knowledge transmission towards mutuality. This article reports on an educational practice that enabled a move from ‘learning about’ to ‘learning from’ the perspectives of people directly affected, through encounters between social work students and residents of Hansen’s disease sanatoriums in Japan. Using a three-stage framework – preparation, encounter and post-visit reflection – we show how students recognised internalised shame produced by a long history of segregation. Their reflections suggest that help is not giving and receiving, but a relationship grounded in mutuality and co-constructed meaning, transferable across stigma-affected settings.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"16 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-03-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147358793","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Made Selly Dwi Suryanti, Claudia Conchita Renyoet, M Zaenul Muttaqin
{"title":"The role of social workers in psychosocial interventions and filling the gaps in refugee protection regulations","authors":"Made Selly Dwi Suryanti, Claudia Conchita Renyoet, M Zaenul Muttaqin","doi":"10.1177/00208728261421018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261421018","url":null,"abstract":"This article examines social workers’ role in promoting mental health services for refugees in Indonesia. It shows how the social workers’ function aligns with universal professional ethical frameworks. Social workers implement therapeutic support, and life review therapy (LRT) to support refugees’ mental health recovery in countries without international refugee protocols. This study contributes to an approach that social work practitioners can adapt in countries that are not signatories to the International Refugee Convention. Furthermore, it emphasizes the critical need to develop mental health protocol policies designed explicitly for refugee populations in transitional settings.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"113 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147319552","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Solidarity as a value, emotion, and practice: Arab social work students’ perceptions in a multicultural society","authors":"Nuzha Allassad Alhuzail, Ibrahim Mahajne","doi":"10.1177/00208728261421029","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261421029","url":null,"abstract":"This article explores how Arab social work students in Israel conceptualize solidarity, navigating between ethnic identity, community loyalty, and universal professional ethics. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, 25 in-depth interviews were thematically analyzed. Findings revealed that students view solidarity as a multidimensional phenomenon, including moral value, emotional empathy, daily mutual aid, and professional identity. A distinction emerged between <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">takaful</jats:italic> (communal-religious mutual support) and <jats:italic toggle=\"yes\">tadamun</jats:italic> (moral trans-border solidarity). The study highlights the tension and interplay between identity-based and universal solidarity, offering an indigenous perspective that bridges local cultural values with global ethics in social work practice.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"27 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147292599","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Climate denial as disavowal: Applications for social work education and practice","authors":"Johanna Donkers, Tamara Holmes, Kim Robinson","doi":"10.1177/00208728261418229","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261418229","url":null,"abstract":"Eco-social work positions climate change as a core planetary boundary breach. It demands urgent attention from social work, as a profession which centralises social justice within its theory and practice. This article argues that social works’ engagement with climate change needs to be contextualised within broader societal narratives that shape experiences of climate disengagement. Conceptual tools, including societal climate management strategies and climate denial as disavow, are drawn on to illustrate the complexity of climate ambivalence and disengagement. They provide important opportunities to better understand experiences of climate disengagement, including their implications for social work practice.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"344 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147287304","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"How equal is Norway? An analysis of migrant workers’ occupational health and safety in Norway","authors":"Nabaraj Adhikari, Shahad Uddin","doi":"10.1177/00208728261421034","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/00208728261421034","url":null,"abstract":"Globally, migrant workers often take ‘3-D jobs’ – dirty, dangerous, and demanding. In Norway, they mainly work in construction, manufacturing, and healthcare, often in low-wage positions. However, little is known on the occupational health outcomes of migrant workers. This study utilizes Statistics Norway’s (SSB) Living Conditions and Work Environment Panel Survey 2022, which includes 35,000 respondents, to explore how migrant status affects health. Results show that psychosocial work exposure has a stronger association with mental health symptoms among non-Norwegian workers, while mechanical work hazards are more strongly associated with musculoskeletal symptoms among non-Norwegian workers.","PeriodicalId":47606,"journal":{"name":"International Social Work","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2,"publicationDate":"2026-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"147287302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"社会学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}