© British Association of Social Workers
The Social Worker as ‘Bad Object’
After qualifying as a social worker in 1979 at the University of Warwick, Marguerite Valentine worked in a number of different inner city area offices in London. She has always specialized in child care. In 1988 she was awarded a Ph.D. for an examination of how the political and economic context influences feeling and attitudes towards children. She is now training as a psychoanalytical psychotherapist at the Arbours Association.
Correspondence to Dr Marguerite Valentine, 56 Osbaldeston Road, London N16 7DR
Summary
A ‘bad object’ has been defined as an ‘object whom the subject hates or fears, who is experienced as malevolent. A bad object may be either an internal or an external object’ (Rycroft, 1988, p. 100). This paper explores the circumstances in which public fears and anxieties over child abuse become projected into the social worker. It discusses how social workers introject these feelings, become a ‘bad object’, and how social services departments have developed a number of strategies which defend against feelings of blame and responsibility. The exploration is derived from my own experiences and observations, and applies Kleinian psychoanalytic theory to studies of institutional defences.
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