RE/UN/DIScover Heuristic: Working with Clinical Practice Impingements in Dehumanizing Times

Area of Science:

• Social Work
• Clinical Practice
• Critical Theory

Background:

• Clinical social work emphasizes human relationships but faces systemic pressures from neoliberalism and racism.
• These forces diminish relational potential, disproportionately affecting BIPOC communities and increasing practitioner stress and burnout.
• Existing anti-oppressive processes require further development to integrate structural and embodied understandings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and describe the RE/UN/DIScover heuristic for clinical social work practitioners.
• To provide a framework for addressing systemic and organizational impingements in practice.
• To support practitioners in preserving and expanding socially just, relational spaces.

Main Methods:

• The RE/UN/DIScover heuristic involves iterative practices: REcover, UNcover, and DIScover.
• REcover: Compassionate self-care and peer support.
• UNcover: Critical reflection on power dynamics and impacts; DIScover: Enacting socially just and humanizing responses.

Main Results:

• The heuristic provides a practical tool for navigating challenging moments in clinical practice.
• It aids in responding to systemic practice impingements and implementing new models.
• It supports practitioners in countering dehumanizing neoliberal forces within their work.

Conclusions:

• The RE/UN/DIScover heuristic empowers practitioners to integrate critical theories and anti-oppressive understandings.
• It fosters resilience and promotes humanizing, socially just relational practices.
• This approach is vital for maintaining the integrity of clinical social work amidst systemic challenges.