Pragmatics of Inter-Professional Collaborative Partnerships: A study assessing changes in self conce

The phrases 'falling through the net' and 'the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing' are often heard in cases involving vulnerable children and their parents. That the professionals involved should have been working together is always highlighted when these cases go drastically wrong, but how the necessary changes to better practice might effectively be enabled is a multi-faceted and highly complex task. This work combines an outline of the essentials for collaborative working; a literature review of inter-professional collaborative work within children and family services; a research study involving 45 mothers who attended a self awareness programme that focussed on self concept and self-esteem (and the emerging results) and a case study that highlights the beauty that can result when professionals work well together and the beast when they do not. It will be of value to any professional interested in the complexity of the family within a community system and how to contribute effectively to its change.