Social worker's perception of theraputic intervention with fathers of children at risk

This study was based on a widespread recognition among social workers concerning fathers' central contribution to the welfare and normal development of their children. A review of the literature examining the involvement of fathers in welfare services in Israel and around the world reveals that although fathers' involvement is considered essential to treatment and prevention programs, it seems that social workers tend to share a therapeutic relationship mainly with mothers. The tendency to include fathers in a therapeutic relationship with child welfare services is even more limited in cases where children have been defined as 'children at risk’.

In Israel, few studies have been conducted to identify the factors that affect the inclusion or non-inclusion of fathers in the welfare system. To date, research has not yet been conducted on how social workers perceive work with fathers whose children are at risk. In this study, I focused on the attitudes of female social workers towards engaging fathers in therapeutic relationships.

In an attempt to learn about the social workers' perceptions, we chose a qualitative research method that enables a deeper understanding of the phenomenon from the point of view of those who experience it. The study is based on semi-structured in-depth interviews with 18 female social workers employed in services dealing with children identified by the welfare system as children at risk and their families.

The analysis of the interviews showed that in a therapeutic process, social workers tend to include mainly mothers, and that the fathers are often excluded from this setting. The study found that fathers are present in interventions in the welfare system in two scenarios: in interventions that exist under the law; and when the mother is absent for different reasons. The research findings point to a mechanism of exclusion that can be termed "hidden exclusion".

The study showed that fathers are ‘out of the picture’ of the welfare system not only due to aspects related to mothers and fathers themselves but also because of those related to social workers. It was found that the encounter of the female social workers with the fathers leads the former to an experience of "emotional overwhelm" that can be attributed to two main sources: the gender encounter – a meeting between a woman social worker with a man, the father; and the encounter with a father who is considered violent and may have abused his children. The study found that the experience of emotional overwhelm leads most social workers to avoid creating or deepening a therapeutic relationship with fathers.

The study points to a direct relationship between the social worker's early predisposition toward fathers and their inclusion in therapeutic relationships. While a negative predisposition toward fathers leads to their exclusion from the therapeutic process, a positive predisposition toward fathers leads to their inclusion in therapy.   

   In light of this study, a policy should be enacted to increase the sensitivity of social workers to the engagement of fathers, especially those who are considered abusive, in therapeutic relationships. Understanding the barriers that prevent them from engaging fathers in therapeutic relationships may raise the social workers’ awareness of the problem and thus develop a dialectical and complex approach towards fathers. This, in turn, is expected to  change the existing paradigm that defers to the social workers’ preference of mothers rather than fathers.