| This dissertation explores the idea of social work as an improvisational profession. Guided by performance theories, a theoretical review of the historical discourse on the identity of social work first introduces the "third space" of social work identity and practice. As a place of improvisation, social work's performance in the third space is characterized by the fluid social co-construction of "who we are" through "what we do". Lodged between the seemingly stable categories of art and science, self and other, the third space encompasses the always unique, complex, and uncertain zones of practice. Second, an exploratory qualitative inquiry explores the heuristic utility of the concept of improvisation for social work practice. Interviews with five theatre improvisers and five clinical social workers elicit statements and conversations about what makes for good improvisation or therapeutic clinical practice, respectively. Multiple interview rounds with the same participants reflect a co-construction of knowledge and understandings over time. Results indicate that therapeutic practice by social workers can be aptly described as a particular form of improvisation. Clinicians, like improvisers, hold humanistic beliefs and values, rely on knowledge of substantive areas and knowledge of themselves, and employ skills of attending to and accepting what clients offer. Trying to tilt clients' stories toward more hopeful narratives clinicians advance their relationship with clients by constantly adjusting and being changed. They do so guided by a frame of therapeutic purpose, roles, and values that infuse their improvisations with a particular directionality. Toward an epistemology of practice, this study underscores the heuristic value of improvisation for social work theory and education. Social work as improvised performance straddles the divide of knowing and doing that runs through the discourse of social work identity and education, and encourages the profession to perform its knowledge with a playful sense of competence. The generic yet concrete lexicon of theatre improvisation, along with its experiential games and exercises, is a rich resource for educators seeking to improve the inevitable improvisations of future social workers. |
