ABSTRACT
Most of the writing and theorising about social work practice is done by people who are not social work practitioners. This chapter written by a long-term face-to-face practitioner and service user will explore the difficulties this may create. Drawing on research evidence and foregrounding the experiential knowledge of service users and practice wisdom of practitioners, it will revisit the conceptualisation of the personal and the social from a social justice based critical social work perspective. It will consider what a critical relationship-based approach to social work might look like informed by such a critique of these concepts in social work. It will also be informed by current debates about the social models of disability and distress and participatory approaches to policy, practice, learning and research developed by service users and their movements and organisations.
