A Social Work Perspective on the Biographical Research Interview with Natalia

Johanna Björkenheim

doi:10.18778/1733-8077.10.1.06

Authors

Johanna Björkenheim University of Helsinki, Finland

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18778/1733-8077.10.1.06

Keywords:

Social Work, Biography, Strengths, Interaction, Ethics, Interview

Abstract

Biographical interviewing is used not only in research but also in clinical work such as social work practice. However, as social work settings differ from research settings, the ways of doing, analyzing, and using biographical interviews will differ. The differences arise from the reasons for and the purposes of the interview, the institutional context, the relationship between interviewer and interviewee, interviewees’ capacity for storytelling and reflective work, time limits, the structure of the biographical interview, and follow-up interviewing. In social work, interviewees are in a more vulnerable position than in research, and there is a stronger power imbalance. The service users’ expectations are essential for the work, and it is important that the users articulate their expectations because the purpose of social work is to change and improve the life situation of service users. This asks for ethical considerations that are partly different from those necessary in research.

The biographical interview with Natalia is here analyzed using the strengths perspective as the social work theoretical framework. The analysis shows that in her present life Natalia has many strengths and resources, which, in a social work situation, could be mobilized to support her in getting more control over her life. Her perceived strengths are: her capacity for storytelling and reflection; her emotional and cognitive capacities; her willpower; and her capacity for enjoying her present life and planning for her future. Resources identified are: her significant others; her economic situation; her satisfying job situation; her capacity to have dreams for the future; and her religion. Implications for social work, both in the past and in the present, are discussed.

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Author Biography

Johanna Björkenheim, University of Helsinki, Finland

Johanna Björkenheim, M.Soc.Sc. (social work), has worked as a professional social worker in health care and rehabilitation and as a university teacher in social work at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She is a PhD student at the University of Helsinki and her research interests are social work in health care and biographical approaches in social work.

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