Upcoming activities
ECSWR SIG event
The CASW SIG will organize a SIG event the day before the ECSWR conference in Aberdeen. This will focus on how CA can be used to unpack core concepts in social work. Everyone is welcome to join us for a full day of fruitful discussions!
ICCA panel on social work
We have been accepted for a panel at the International Conference on Conversation Analysis in Edmonton in June 2026 (organized by Clara Iversen, Madeleine Wirzén and Virginia Calabria). If you are at ICCA and are interested in social work research, come talk to us!
CA online data sessions
We run regular online data sessions where we collaboratively analyze social work interaction from different institutional and national settings. If you want to participate in data sessions, please contact SAJO@ucsyd.dok to be added to the data session email list in order to get invitations to sessions and the possibility to sign up for presentations of data.
Past activities
Members meeting 11 December 2025
Agenda
3. CASW conference – review, feedback, next one
4. ICCA 2026 panel
5. Updates, successes, celebrations
6. Update from Planning Group – book, newsletter, data sessions
7. Next meetings
15th April 2026 – 15:00 – 16:00 CET – hybrid Aberdeen ECSWR / online
12th November 2026 - 15:00-16:00 CET – online
11th February 2027 - 15:00 – 16:00 CET - online
CA & Social Work panel at the Nordisco conference in Trondheim (3-5 December 2025)
We organized a panel at the Nordisco conference, featuring six presentations in the area of CA & social work, covering a wide range of topics, such as practices for de-escalation in crisis interactions, how CA can be used to understand ‘rapport’, how children take initiatives in social welfare interviews, how blame is managed in complaint sequences, how welfare professionals ask about violence, and how accessibility is managed in online social services. Thanks to all presenters and to the audience for great discussions!
4th Online Conference on Conversation Analysis and Social Work (20th November 2025)
Conference organisers:
Eve Mullins (University of Edinburgh)
Elin Nilsson (Linköping University)
Justin Canty (University of Tasmania)
Members’ meeting 24 April 2025
We had an online members’ meeting on the 24th of April. This is a summary of what was discussed:
3. Updates, successes, celebrations
Kristina completed her PhD
Elin has been promoted
Jon has been awarded funding to conduct training with local authorities to recruit fathers to parenting programmes. Based on his PhD
Virginia has been coproducing recruitment materials with social work and people with disabilities, and this has been a really interesting part of the project and uncovering/ explaining the terminology of CA. Virginia is happy to share these materials with the group.
4. Update from Planning Group
a. Core concepts book
Proposal was submitted before Christmas, got very thorough and positive reviews, including commenting on the expertise/ quality relating to the network. Have responded to the comments and made some minor changes. Expecting the outcome to be positive from interactions with the handling editor. Will know more soon.
b. CASW conference 20th Nov 2025 - online
Deadline for abstracts is the 23rd of May, for presentations and data sessions. Eve will circulate the call with the minutes of this meeting.
c. newsletter
d. data sessions
Next session 8th May – Madeleine Wirzen is bringing data.
There is a separate mailing list for the data sessions so please ALL get in contact with Sabine Jorgenson if you want to be put on this list. <SAJO@ucsyd.dk>
e. SIG meeting 2026
Next members meeting 20th November during the 2025 CASW online conference
Next members meeting April during ESWRA 2026 conference – Karin to lead; Eve, Jon and Clara happy to be involved.
5. Panel for ICCA
ICCA in Canada next year. Madeleine was in touch to see about organising a panel for ICCA. Conference theme is diversity. All - Get in touch Madeleine/ Clara if you are interested in joining this.
6. AOB
I. Virginia suggested advertising the CASW network and the Conference to the ISCA – Marie and Clara to follow up, Eve to send the conference call for abstracts
Members’ meeting 14th of November 2024
We met online on the 14th of November for a regular members’ meeting. This is a summary of what was discussed:
Agenda
1. Welcome and introductions
2. Agenda setting
3. Updates, successes, celebrations
Eve & Steve: published re: praise in probation practice, and doing KEI workshops based on the CARM method. Have done the first one in Jersey (with original team involved in the research).
Mullins, E., Kirkwood, S., & Raynor, P. (2024). Positive reinforcement in probation practice: The practice and dilemmas of praise. Probation Journal. https://doi.org/10.1177/02645505241241587
Elin: Have been running CARM workshops with care managers in more municipalities. Participants are really interested in being involved, and requested to be involved. Also have published an article:
Nilsson, E., & Olaison, A. (2023, July). “I See What You Mean”—A Case Study of the Interactional Foundation of Building a Working Alliance in Care Decisions Involving an Older Couple Living with Cognitive Decline. In Healthcare (Vol. 11, No. 15, p. 2124). MDPI.
Madeleine: Analysis of adoption assessment interviews, combination of content analysis and conversation analysis. Nordic social work research.
Wirzén, M. (2024). Performing the ideal adoptive parent in Swedish adoption assessment interviews. Nordic Social Work Research, 1-22.
Clara: Publication on social robots:
Iversen C, Persson M, Redmalm D. (2024) Playful framings of social robots in dementia care: reconsidering the principle of transparency in interactions with robot animals. Ageing and Society. Published online 1-22. doi:10.1017/S0144686X24000539
Jon: On a funding application for a project around training professionals on engaging fathers, building from Jon’s PhD.
Marie & Clara: Published a paper on racism (responses to callers making racist comments) that was first presented at ECSWR:
Iversen, C., Flinkfeldt, M., & Hamed, S. (2024). Dealing with callers’ racialised talk in suicide preventive helplines: Accomplishing (anti) racism in the context of unconditional support. Sociology of Health & Illness. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-9566.13789
a. Book update: The editorial group is working on the proposal, have range of abstracts, they all look great. Hoping to submit this side of Christmas to Policy Press.
Proposed title: Unpacking Core Concepts in Social Work: A Conversation Analytic Approach
Chapter outline:
b. CASW conference
20th November 2025
Call for abstracts/ save the date to go out twice. Before Christmas and in the Spring to accommodate people internationally.
Keynote speaker is confirmed: Marie Flinkfeldt
c. Data sessions:
Going really well, handful of people each time and supportive group
Need to set dates for the next year – waiting for members meetings to align the dates.
5. Next meetings
24th April 2025 2-3pm UK time
ACTION:
Jon to set up Teams meeting
Clara to email invitation to member mailing list
6. AOB:
a. ESWRA: a few people have submitted abstracts for this.
ESWRA seminar 3rd of September 2024
The CASW SIG ran an online ESWRA seminar on the 3rd of September (15:00 CEST), giving insight into what CA can contribute to social work practice and research.
This seminar showcased the valuable contribution that Conversation Analysis (CA) offers to understanding social work interactions. CA's focus on in-depth exploration of actual instances of interaction makes it highly relevant for practice, providing insights into how social problems are addressed on an interactional level in social work settings. Furthermore, its collaborative approach to analysis can contribute to the promotion of collaboration between researchers and practitioners. The seminar first introduced CA as a research method in social work and shared findings from current conversation analytic research by members of the CASW SIG team on warmth, respect, and trust as interactional phenomena in social work encounters. Finally, we discussed the contributions, prospects, and challenges of CA research in social work.
Introduction to conversation analysis as a research approach in the field of social work/Jon Symonds, University of Bristol.
Presentation 1: Warmth and respect in social work practice/Steve Kirkwood, Eve Mullins, University of Edinburgh.
Presentation 2: Trust as an interactional phenomenon in social work encounters/Sabine Ellung Jørgensen, University of Copenhagen.
Discussion of the contributions, prospects, and challenges of CA research in social work
More information about this seminar and others is available on the ESWRA website: https://www.eswra.org/seminars.php
Book workshop 26th of March 2024
The CASW SIG steering committee has started planning for a joint book that takes a Conversation Analytic approach to some of the core concepts in social work. In doing so, we hope to make a distinctive contribution to the literature by showcasing the insights of a CA approach in the field of social work. In this online book workshop (Tuesday 26th March at 2.00pm UK / 3.00pm CET), we discussed some of the key concepts that will be included, as well as participants’ views and ideas on these and other concepts, and gathered interest in contributing chapters about any of the concepts that will be included in the book. If you have further ideas for a potential contribution to the book, please get in touch (by emailing SAJO@ucsyd.dk).
SIG event at ECSWR in Vilnius, Lithuania 17th of April 2024: Social Work Communication Training Using Conversation Analysis
We were delighted to host our very first conference event as a Special Interest Group at the European Social Work Research Association, which went on for a full day as part of the SIG events programme on the 17th of April. The event was hybrid.
Our theme for the day was Social work communication training using conversation analysis. This event focused on teaching of communication skills in social work, and how conversation analysis can be a useful foundation for research-based teaching. In providing detailed and tangible data-driven knowledge about how social interaction between social workers and clients works in practice, conversation analysis is an approach that is naturally fitted to communication skills training in social work programs. This year’s CASW SIG event offered the possibility to share ideas and experiences about how to develop research-based teaching of communication skills, and discuss how we use CA in this area.
This was the schedule for the day:
9.30–10.00 Welcome and introductions – Jon Symonds, Chair
10.00–10.20 Title tbd (Topic: Using CA in social work communication training) – Justin Canty
10.20–10.40 Using CA in social work communication training: The Linköping experience – Elin Nilsson
10.40–11.00 Attempts to use apply conversational sequences in the teaching of communication and interviewing skills – Jon Symonds
11.00–11.20 From role-play to analysis: Using CA in communication skills training with first year students – Clara Iversen & Marie Flinkfeldt
11.20–12.00 Joint discussion: Experiences and ideas on the applicability of CA in teaching – led by Marie Flinkfeldt
12.00–1.00 Lunch break
1.00–2.30 Data session: Communication training in practice – led by Sabine Jørgensen & Clara Iversen
2.30–3.30 Special interest group members’ meeting, chaired by Jon Symonds
3.30 Finish – Jon Symonds, Chair
Thanks to everyone who joined us!
