"Det är barnet som är vår uppdragsgivare och det är också barnet som är facit på om det blivit bättre" : En kvalitativ studie om familjebehandlarnas arbete med barns rättigheter

Sammanfattning

This study aims to investigate family therapists' experiences of working with children's rights according to Chapter 3 of the Swedish Social Services Act, as well as opportunities and challenges. Two relevant research questions have been formulated. The first concerns how family therapists work with children's participation to promote the best interests of the child. The second research question concerns what challenges and opportunities family therapists experience in the work of promoting children's rights in family therapy. This study was conducted to increase understanding of how children's rights should be taken into account in family therapy, as this is a central and important aspect of social work. Children's rights are mentioned in, among other things, Chapter 3 of the Swedish Social Services Act and in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, despite this, previous research shows how children's participation and rights are not fully implemented in practice. There are shortcomings in the work with children's rights and shortcomings in how different professionals define participation. The study is based on a qualitative method where eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with family therapists in two different municipalities in southern Sweden. The results show that family therapists work with the rights of the child through adapted working methods and indirect and physical participation. Furthermore, opportunities emerge in working with the entire system and creating relationships, but also challenges linked to the role of parents, the balance between the adult and child perspective, and access to the child. The discussion problematizes the different working methods that family therapists use and how this affects the child's participation. The conclusion highlights how family therapists are aware of children's rights but that the working methods are crucial in what the child's participation looks like.