Samarbete - Uppförsbackar och medvindar : En kvalitativ studie om socionomstudenters erfarenheter av samarbetet mellan socialtjänsten och psykiatrin

Sammanfattning: The aim of this study was to explore how social work students perceive the cooperation between the social services and the psychiatry based upon their experiences from their internship. The method chosen in this study was of a qualitative nature and data was collected by carrying out five semi-structured interviews with a total of seven social work students. Two of these interviews were carried out in groups where two students were present and the rest was carried out individually. To be deemed relevant for this study, the respondents were required to be active social work students and also having completed their internships. The analysis of the collected data rendered four main themes: Room for improvement, conflicts and lack of knowledge, structure and leadership and focus on the client. The result was that the existing cooperation was working but there were room for improvement. Conflicts and a lack of knowledge was seen by the respondents as the main forces obstructing cooperation. Structure and leadership was deemed most important when it comes to factors facilitating cooperation. Lastly the respondents agreed that improved cooperation between different welfare organizations was important for maintaining focus on the client. The findings confirms claims made by previous researchers, however, most of the previous researchers focused on social workers’ views, not the students’. This could mean that this study has shed some new light concerning social work students’ views of cooperation between social services and the psychiatry.