Vilja, ärlighet och ansvar : En studie av motivationsbegreppet i missbruksvården

Sammanfattning: The concept of motivation is frequently used in the field of social work and is often understood as both a feeling, an internal experience, as well as something social workers do with their clients. But with a social constructive perspective we will soon come to realize that the concept of motivation contains several layers of underlying discourse. The aim of this study was therefore to explore how social workers construct the concept of motivation. For this reason I asked how social workers understand and use the concept of motivation when working with clients with drug- or alcohol problems. I claim that when we strive to understand the field of social work and the relations between social worker and client we must recognize the discourse that is imbedded in the understanding of commonly used concepts and ideas. Therefor I also asked which discourse become relevant for the construction of the concept of motivation. In this paper I argue that the institutional logic of the professional organizations to some extent also tend to effect the social workers and how they understand the concept of motivation. Findings show that social workers comprehend motivation as a necessity. There is an expectation of the client to be active, goal oriented and display both readiness and willingness. If the client is not preserved in such a way it´s likely that she will not receive extensive support or help.