ABSTRACT

We have put particular stress throughout this book on the process of moving through care as the focus for our discussion of common elements in practice. To concentrate on a process view is, of course, to recognize the importance of change through time, and time plays an important part in the experience of institutional living in a number of ways. One of the most common views of time emphasizes the importance of the individual experience. This view is embodied in many every-day expressions – ‘time hangs heavily’, ‘time on one’s hands’, ‘a watched pot never boils’, etc. Such a view raises many interesting questions about life in care – how, for instance, does a young child experience life when his ability to conceive of time differences is limited and the concept of ‘a week’ may mean an eternity or when twenty four hours may feel like a lifetime? How can a man in hospital cope with carrying on his life when he can see no clear limit to his stay in the hospital? What do old people feel about time when they know that they will live in the same home until a relatively imminent death? Planning for departure must recognize the importance of the meaning of the experience of time to the people involved; some may need the certainty of a fixed departure date while others may only be able to cope with life in care by operating as if the world outside is standing still, awaiting their return. It is also important to bear in mind that an hour each week in the life of a busy social worker may be experienced very differently from the same hour in the life of a resident – even though they may spend that time together.