ABSTRACT

Social work stands at the crossroads between help and control. It is a publicly-sanctioned job which, by necessity, gives a lot of freedom to individuals to interpret these sanctions in practice. Interpretation is a subtle exercise, with shades of meaning seldom made explicit, so it is not surprising that it is often difficult to know how social sanction should be translated into action. What is it that sanctions a social worker when he or she makes contact with a client? What processes lead to a person becoming 'a client'? How are these processes influenced by the way in which the social worker interprets the mandate for work?