Working with Involuntary Clients: A Guide to Practice

178 Pages·2022·2.621 MB·English

by  Chris Trotter

Working with Involuntary Clients
Many social workers, probation ofcers and others in the human services are employed in
positions where they deal with involuntary clients. Tese positions are demanding, and require a
specifc set of skills. Te new edition of this successful book provides an accessible and practical
guide for managing difcult and sensitive relationships and communicating with reluctant
clients.
Te author directly links theory to real-life by adopting a jargon-free and accessible guide to
working in partnership with involuntary clients. Written in a lively and engaging style, the book
is relevant to students and practitioners and richly illustrated with case examples drawn from
a variety of service-user groups, including adult and youth justice and child protection, as well
as people with addictions, young people who refuse to go to school and mental health patients
who refuse treatment. Te author’s integrated and systematic approach promotes prosocial
values; emphasizes clarifying roles; and deals with issues of authority and goal-setting.
Fully revised and updated throughout to refect contemporary research and practice, the
book includes new material on collaborative family work as well as an increased emphasis on
trauma informed practice. Te result is an invaluable practical guide for social work and social
care students and professionals to working with both clients and their families.
Chris Trotter is Emeritus Professor in the department of social work at Monash University,
Australia and Director of the Monash Criminal Justice Research Consortium. Prior to his
university appointment he worked for 20 years as a child protection worker, probation ofcer
and manager. He has undertaken more than 30 funded research projects and has more than
100 publications, including three sole-authored and eight edited books. He has a strong
international reputation, particularly for his work on pro-social modelling and evidence based
work with involuntary clients. Professor Trotter has been invited to more than 15 diferent
countries to present conference plenary sessions and workshops.

Working with Involuntary Clients
A Guide to Practice
4th Edition
Chris Trotter
Cover image: ‘All together’ – 172413137 (Getty)
Fourth edition published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Tird Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Chris Trotter
Te right of Chris Trotter to be identifed as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by
any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying
and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the
publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used
only for identifcation and explanation without intent to infringe.
First edition published by SAGE Publications, Inc. 1999
Tird edition published by Routledge 2014
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Trotter, Chris, author.
Title: Working with involuntary clients : a guide to
practice / Chris Trotter.
Description: 4th edition. | Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge,
2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2022012960 (print) | LCCN 2022012961 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367744113 (hbk) | ISBN 9780367744106 (pbk) |
ISBN 9781003157663 (ebk)
Subjects: LCSH: Social service. | Involuntary treatment.
Classifcation: LCC HV41 .T743 2023 (print) | LCC HV41 (ebook) |
DDC 361.3/2—dc23/eng/20220708
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012960
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022012961
ISBN: 978-0-367-74411-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-367-74410-6 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-15766-3 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003157663
Typeset in Caslon
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
Contents
Acknowledgements viii
1 Introduction 1
Who are involuntary clients? 1
Te dual role of workers with involuntary clients 2
Direct practice 3
Sources of knowledge in work with involuntary clients 4
Evidence-based practice 6
Te purpose of this book 10
Te structure of the book 11
2 What works and what doesn’t? 12
Approaches that work 14
An integrated approach 19
Approaches that sometimes work 23
Approaches that don’t work 41
An evidence-based practice model 42
Research evidence, theory and other practice models 43
Summary 51
3 Role clarifcation 52
Dual role: Social control and helping 53
What is negotiable and what is not? 55
Confdentiality 56
Case manager, case planner or problem-solver? 57
Te client’s expectations 58
Helping the client to understand the nature of the professional relationship 59
v
Contents
Organisational expectations 60
Teoretical approach to the work 61
Summary 66
4 Promoting pro-social outcomes 67
1. Identify pro-social comments and behaviours 68
2. Reward pro-social comments and behaviours 69
3. Modelling pro-social behaviours 71
4. Challenging undesirable behaviours 72
Advantages of the pro-social approach 75
Criticisms of pro-social modelling and reinforcement 75
Summary 82
5 Problem-solving 83
Steps in the problem-solving process 83
Written agreements 96
Problem-solving, risk assessment and case planning 97
Criticisms of problem-solving 101
Summary 108
6 Te worker–client relationship 109
Empathy 109
Touching 112
Culturally sensitive 112
Optimism 113
Humour 115
Self-disclosure 117
Worker safety and client violence 118
Summary 120
7 Working with families 121
When is it appropriate to work with family groups? 121
Collaborative Family Work 123
Collaborative Family Work research 124
A home-based model 124
Te Collaborative Family Work process 125
A fexible approach 135
Pro-social modelling 135
Te worker–client relationship 136
vi
Contents
Single session family work 136
Summary 142
8 Evaluation 143
Single case study evaluation 144
Case analysis 146
Analysing interviews 146
Coaching 147
Conclusion 147
Appendix: Principles of efective practice 149
1.Role clarifcation 149
2.Pro-social modelling and reinforcement 149
3.Problem-solving 149
4.Relationship 150
References 151
Index 166
vii
Acknowledgements
t
his fourth edition of Working with Involuntary Clients continues to be inspired by the late
William Reid’s work on task-centred practice and the late Don Andrews’ work on pro-
social modelling. While they come from diferent perspectives their publications have inspired
much of my research and the material presented in this book.
In writing this edition I remain indebted to my research colleagues including Dr Phillipa
Evans from University of New South Wales, Dr Susan Baidawi and Professor Rosemary Shee-
han from Monash University, and the many other colleagues, students and professional work-
ers who have provided case examples and helped me develop the ideas and practices which
are outlined in the book. Tanks also go to my organisational research partners, including the
Victorian Departments of Justice and Child Protection, New South Wales Youth Justice and
many other government departments and voluntary agencies. Particular thanks go to Leonie
Bender, Regional Director, NSW Youth Justice, and to Stuart Rindfeish, Megan Boshell, Greg
Edwards, Louise Oliaro and Tamara Tornton for their work helping to develop and imple-
ment the Collaborative Family Work model. Tanks also to Michael Scheel, Anna Tasevska
and Jan Mumford, for assisting with role-played transcripts, and to Jackie Dias for editing the
manuscript.
Finally, thank you to Joan, David and Rebecca for your ongoing love and support.
Note: For seminars and workshops on working with involuntary clients Professor Trotter
can be contacted via email: [email protected]
viii
Chapter 1
Introduction
H
ow do you help someone who has no interest in being helped? What can you do with
clients in the welfare or justice systems who are not motivated to change? How do you
counsel someone who does not even recognise that they have a problem? How do you work
with someone who has a totally diferent set of values from yourself? How can you help some-
one deal with their problems and at the same time exercise authority over them?
Tese are questions which workers with involuntary clients face on a daily basis. Tese
workers are asked to help clients who have not chosen to be helped and who may be resistant
or even openly antagonistic to the assistance they are ofered; to help clients and at the same
time collect information which may subsequently be used against them; to testify against clients
in court and then to work with them in a helping relationship; and to work in a collaborative
manner with clients, yet make authoritative decisions about their lives.
Tis book aims to help workers with involuntary clients come to terms with these issues.
Who are involuntary clients?
A young person visits their probation ofcer; a child-protection worker visits a mother follow-
ing an anonymous report of child abuse; a drug user attends for drug treatment under the direc-
tion of a court order; a man who has abused his wife attends domestic violence counselling at
the direction of a court; a psychiatric patient who is a danger to herself and others is directed to
treatment as an alternative to hospitalisation; a young man living on the streets agrees to go to
a refuge with his youth worker, knowing that the alternative is for him to be taken to the police;
or a child is placed in a children’s home despite the protestations of the parents.
Tese are examples of involuntary clients. Te clients (or recipients of welfare or legal ser-
vices) in these examples can be described as involuntary because they have not chosen to receive
the service they are given. In fact, these clients might actively be opposed to receiving the ser-
vice. Tey might believe that it is unnecessary and intrusive. Te clients receive the service either
DoI: 10.4324/9781003157663-1 1