@article{dundalk557,
           month = {February},
           title = {A critical and maternal narrative approach to practice, enhancing recognition and solidarity with ambivalent representations},
          author = {Carol McGinty},
       publisher = {Taylor \& Francis},
            year = {2017},
         journal = {Practice: Social Work in Action},
        keywords = {Critical approaches to social work practice; Ambiguous representations in maternal narratives; Biographical method; Child protection social work.},
             url = {http://eprints.dkit.ie/557/},
        abstract = {This is a conceptual paper that uses a critical practice approach to how a social worker?s interpretive lens may transform after they become a parent. With a composite case example, I reflect on my own biographical maternal narrative, which aims to enhance the recognition and solidarity with ambivalent representations in the journey of motherhood. I conceptualise maternal narratives with Fook?s critical approaches to practice framework (2016). I interweave a composite case example that I had direct experience and privilege of working with, along with my own biographical experience of mothering. The central themes that have emerged from my critical reflective analysis are; ambivalence, imperfection and guilt. This open ended inquiry outlines a new way of knowing. The primary data are biographical. For the purpose of this critical reflective article I am a mother, and hence I refer to my gendered experience. The article attempts to explore how my social work practice is afforded a new interpretative lens and reconstruction after my own transition into motherhood.}
}