Apostolidou, Eftychia; (2023) ‘It’s about Gut Instinct’ & ‘Roller Coasters’: Reflexive Thematic Analysis of the Assessing Social Worker’s role in Adoption Matching beyond ‘box-ticking’. Doctoral thesis (D.Psych), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

Background and Aim Matching a potential adoptive family to a child is a long and complex process. The role of the social worker is pivotal in every step of this process. There are no studies on the role of the Assessing Social Workers (ASW) working with prospective adopters in the adoption matching process. This qualitative study explored the ASWs’ understanding of their role and accounts of their experiences during the matching. The aim was to illuminate how ASWs manage their role's emotional and relational aspects and the pressures of the matching task. Methods Braun’s and Clarke’s (2006; 2013; 2020) Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) was used to analyse data from interviews with four ASWs working in a UK Local Authority with 12 years of average experience in the field. Findings and Discussion Three interconnected themes with nine subthemes were generated: ‘Beyond Hard Information: Use of Self’, ‘Emotional Tasks’, and ‘Communicating and Thinking Together’. Themes capture the relational aspect of the ASWs’ role and how they perceive and experience the functions and emotional tasks of this role during the emotionally-arduous matching process. Implications for ASW practice are considered. Keywords Adoption Matching Process, Assessing Social Worker (ASW), role, experiences, challenges

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