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In Sweden, there is something called community care, that is, care and treatment of different target groups in a 24-hour environment. Placement in community care can be done in four different forms of care, namely family home, homes for care or living (HVB), special youth homes and assisted living facilities. HVB-home works on behalf of the social service, which receives children and young people for care or treatment in association with a residence. The children and young people who are placed in an HVB-home live with someone other than their biological parents, which means that the staff take the place of the parents. The staff bear an important responsibility to provide the client with support and protection, but also care and boundary setting in a professional manner. This essay aims to investigate how the staff within HVB homes work to meet and satisfy the client's individual needs. To find out, we investigated two HVB homes in two different municipalities in Sweden. Since the essay is based on a comparative analysis with a qualitative approach, we chose to compare two different HVB units, one private and one municipal, to see if there are differences in the way of working to meet the client's individual needs. The material has been collected through interviews with eight personnel in the respective HVB units. The study led to a result that showed the most similarities between the municipal and private HVB homes that we examined. One of the similarities that emerged, based on the empirical material, was that the clients' individual needs are primarily about safety and care. A further similarity was that the staff communicate based on a low-affective approach to fulfill the clients' individual needs. Another similarity was that there was total agreement among the respondents that communication and good relationships are the most essential in working with children and young people with diagnoses. All respondents mentioned the importance of a low-emotional approach, empathy and patience, especially when difficulties can arise when working with children and young people with some form of diagnosis. The fact that we found these similarities is because all homes for care or living (HVB) in Sweden work under the social services law and goals. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the client's individual needs are met in closely similar ways and methods at the respective HVB homes that we examined.

Nuestra propuesta se centra en el tratamiento para personas que se encuentran en proceso de resocialización, experimentando una transformación y buscando un cambio duradero en la forma de manejar sus pensamientos y emociones. El concepto clave es la empatía del origen, desarrollada empíricamente en el trabajo de Ajovec y respaldada teóricamente por los estudios de Deldén y Jansson, entre otros. El concepto tiene su origen en el trabajo de Liam Girmarland, basado en las experiencias durante los años de su trabajo social tanto en Colombia y como en Suecia. 

La resocialización implica encontrar formas de reconstruir la percepción de sí mismo de las personas, donde la percepción anterior se basaba en la comunicación violenta, cargada de vergüenza y orgullo. A través del reconocimiento auténtico de las historias personales y del trabajo con la empatía dirigida tanto hacia las posibles víctimas de las acciones de la persona como hacia la propia persona, se puede lograr la transformación. En este proceso, es fundamental la oportunidad de reintegrarse a la sociedad, como se evidencia en la labor realizada por Ajovec en su finca cafetera. Se trata de adoptar roles constructivos y saludables, rompiendo con los roles destructivos.

En nuestra presentación, describimos el trasfondo práctico y teórico del concepto de empatía del origen. Lo relacionamos con un modelo de tratamiento desarrollado por Jansson y Saxonberg (2013/2023), que aborda el trabajo emocional en la práctica del trabajo social. El enfoque principal de la presentación son los procesos de transformación en el trabajo de resocialización con adultos jóvenes que se encuentran en riesgo de incurrir en la delincuencia o ya están involucrados en ella.

Uppsatsen fokuserar på organiserad brottslighet som ett fenomen. Syftet är att förstå hur rekryteringen inom organiserad brottslighet går till, varför väljer individer att medverka i detta samt hur kommer det sig att individer vill sluta och hoppa av kriminella nätverk. Studiens genomfördes med kvalitativ ansats för att samla in empiri. Metoden valdes baserad på undersökningens syfte och frågeställningar. Insamlade empirin inhämtas genom semistrukturerade intervjuer av fem representanter från olika myndigheter som kommer i direkt eller indirekt kontakt med fenomenet. Empirin analyserades utifrån teorier anomiteori, differentiella associationer , sociala band och relationer samt maturing out. Resultatet av studien visar att det största motivet bakom individers val att ansluta sig till organiserade kriminella grupper är begränsade möjligheter till ekonomi och den förväntade framgången från samhället. Individer väljer att lämna kriminella grupper på grund av särskilda bilden som människor har av kriminella livet. Den upplevelse av kriminella livet, trots allt ekonomisk framgång som den erbjuder, är negativt eftersom kriminella individers beteende är inte accepterad av det generella samhället. Detta är problematiskt på grund av att kriminella livets framgång är mot samhällets normer. Slutligen har studien kommit fram till att det är samhällets normer av förklaring till succé, den obalanserade och ojämlika möjligheter som finns i samhället driver en del av samhället i flesta fall ungdomar att vilja ansluta sig till ett kriminellt liv. Orsakerna är bland annat det att flera människor vill uppnå den ekonomiska, materialistiska framgången som samhället dikterar

Despite systematic reviews calling for more research to determine which batterer intervention programs (BIPs) work, the Swedish Prison and Probation Service (SPPS) officially claims that their CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy)-based programs are successful. In order to find a plausible explanation for the discrepancy between what the service claims and what is reasonable to claim, a qualitative content analysis of the SPPS’ use of evidence in the accreditation of BIPs and the treatment with these programs is conducted. The study first addresses the manifest content, which refers to the SPPS claims of scientific evidence that BIPs have a positive effect and the internal application of Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development, and Evaluations (GRADE) for the accreditation of their programs. The results show that despite the SPPS’ efforts to keep up to date with research and public claims that treatment programs reduce recidivism, there is no independent scientific evidence that the treatment methods used are effective. The interpretative analysis of the latent content indicates that the concept of evidence is used rhetorically to convince the public that the activities are conducted successfully, scientifically and cost-effectively. The state of knowledge is uncertain, and a more realistic approach is required as the public has a right to know that treatment of IPV offenders is often based on uncertainty.

This explorative article aims to take a step in the direction of a realist-oriented scientific design that extends our knowledge of the requirements of a methodology that improves our ability to uncover the causal mechanisms behind men's violence against women. Despite the great advances that have been made in individual research disciplines, our understanding of the complex causes is still insufficient and suffers from our inability to grasp the larger whole of the collaborative processes. As a first step towards the objective, an integration attempt is implemented that aims to highlight methodological issues that we have to overcome to explain men’s violence against women. The integration of psychological, social-psychological, and sociological theories aims to exemplify how contributing, and counteracting factors interact with each other and form a complex mechanism that influences whether violence against women will take place or not. To leave room for the methodological dimension, the depth of each perspective has been reduced. The results of the integration attempt show both opportunities and difficulties in investigating the mechanisms behind men's violence against women. However, there is still untapped knowledge potential in the explorative integration of theories and the use of realist-oriented pluralistic research methodologies.

The overall aim of the thesis is to explore the possibilities for an integrated research perspective on men's violence and to exemplify how such research can be conducted. The specific purpose is to increase knowledge about how violent men's childhood experiences, socialization, masculinity construction and emotions can be related to their violence against other men, against themselves and against women, and how therapeutic interventions against violence can be analyzed and developed in correspondence with this knowledge. With epistemological starting points drawn from critical realism and ecological methods, the study relates research from different schools of thought to each other; - psychological: on childhood experiences and socialization, social psychological: on emotions and interaction and sociological: on social class, gender power structures and hegemonic masculinity. This is done to gain access to knowledge about how different factors interact in men's violence. 

Studies I and II investigated the possibilities of examining the social bonds between therapist/therapy and client in therapeutic treatments against violence. 

In study I, indicators of the emotions pride and shame were operationalized and in study II these were tested on therapists in a CBT-oriented therapy. Study III examined men in different positions of masculinity, where the sample for one group was drawn from the population of men sentenced to therapy for violence and abuse and the other from the population of men who organized for equality and against violence against women. The study compared the two groups' attitudes to factors related to violence and violence against women in previous research. Study IV examined the careers of men convicted of violence up to their current position as violent criminals in order to increase knowledge of the interplay of factors that in different situations lead to their violence against other men, themselves and women. All empirical studies used qualitative methods for data collection and analysis. Study IV used individual interviews and biographical analysis, Studies II and III used group interviews and deductive content analysis. In Study I, the theoretical review article, sociological, social psychological and psychological theories were empirical. 

The thesis shows that there are more advantages than disadvantages to a multi-level perspective. Level-integrating studies are hampered by the fact that they require a complex methodology to deal with the interaction between factors behind violence at different levels, but on the other hand provide a more holistic understanding of the phenomenon in question. The results show that integrative perspectives can reduce the risk of ecological fallacies and 5 increase the understanding of complex interactions between factors behind men's violence, which may contribute to the development of knowledge in the field of violence therapy. The theoretical review article (Study I) exemplified how theoretically and methodologically driven research on social bonds can be made pragmatically applicable by therapists in violence treatment. The applied study of a CBT therapy (Study II) provided examples of how operationalized indicators of pride and shame can be used practically to determine the quality of the social bond between therapist and client. As expected, the CBT therapy studied contained both shame- and pride-creating elements, which constitute valuable starting points for further research. The comparison between men in ideally opposite positions of masculinity (study III) showed that both the group of men who work against violence against women and the men sentenced to treatment for violence carry ambivalent attitudes towards violence and violence against women. The comparison further showed that the groups' constructions of masculinity and attitudes towards violence correspond to the groups' different access to economic, social and cultural resources. The biographically focused qualitative study of men in violence treatment (Study IV) explored exploratively how the career path to becoming a violent offender may look like and how childhood experiences, socialization, masculinity and emotions of individual violent men may have interacted with each other when violence takes place. The results showed that the men who testify to exposure to serious violence in childhood are more shame-prone and, when offended by others, tend to react unconsciously and without prior feelings of shame immediately with aggression and violence against both sexes. Other men were indeed shame-prone but described a more controlled violent reaction. Two men who had been brutally physically bullied in primary school reported more controlled violence. A preliminary hypothesis is that the men may have learnt to cognitively take control of the process of replacing shame with aggression in order to escape further bullying. The parents' personal problems, together with their lack of social control and care, were hypothesized to be associated with several of the men's school problems, their association with deviant youth, their later difficulties in earning a living by conventional means, and their violent careers.

This explorative paper aims to test a model of operationalized subindicators that allows for a simplified analysis of the social bond between therapists and clients in violence therapy. A theoretical premise of this work is that a stable social bond is a prerequisite for the client’s building a positive self-image and becoming reintegrated into society as nonviolent. The research entails the comparison of two different therapy treatments. A psychodynamic therapy against men’s violence, undertaken voluntarily and frequently used in Nordic countries, is compared to a compulsory cognitive behavior therapy used for men in correctional settings. Although the therapists in both treatments attempt to balance the relationship between themselves and the clients, both therapies tend to alienate the parties from each other, thereby preventing the development of a stable social bond of solidarity. For both treatments, an awareness is needed of those parts of the therapy that evoke shame and pride, thereby permitting an evaluation of the treatment so that the positive quality of the social bond can develop.

In this article we point out why social workers and treatment staff must have knowledge of how to identify emotions, understand their own emotions and understand the emotions they elicit in others as a prerequisite for successful rehabilitation. In particular, the emotions of shame and pride play a crucial role in the interaction between social workers and clients. There is currently a need for empirically applicable models that facilitate social workers and therapists in institutional care to identify shame and pride in the interaction with clients. Here we provide a model that can be used to analyze the quality of the social bonds between treatment staff and young clients in institutional care. Institutionalized treatment of young people is often based on an asymmetrical power relationship and the transformation of deviant young people’s identity into normal ones. This is fraught with risks, as the power imbalance can preserve and reinforce deviant identities. To encourage the emergence of a normalized identity, the client's good qualities must form the basis of treatment. Greater understanding of the emotions evoked in a treatment situation is necessary for successful rehabilitation.

Since Sweden has a reputation for having a pragmatic, technocratic approach to solving social problems, the question arises as to why the country uses different methods at the national and the local level for treating violent men. If studies show that one method is superior to others, we would expect both levels of government to use similar treatment methods. Despite the emphasis on pragmatic solutions, ideology plays an important role, as the Swedish government in recent decades has largely accepted the New Public Management approach to governance. However, because of differences in institutional arrangements, it becomes logically appropriate for the national level to utilize a different type of therapy (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) than the local level (Psycho Dynamic Therapy among others). Thus, a combination of an ideological shift to New Public Management and institutional differences can explain the differences in therapeutic approaches, rather than reliance on scientific studies.

This qualitative study reviews the document “Insatser inom området psykisk hälsa och suicidprevention 2023" published on the government´s website. This is done with the purpose of identifying and problematizing how risk groups are presented in the government and SALAR's document regarding mental illness and suicide. Furthermore, the document also examines and problematized whether sociological factors emerge as the underlying reasons why certain groups are identified as riskgroups. By using critical discourse analysis as a method of analysis, risk groups can be demonstrated, sociological factors identified, and the document critiqued. In Sweden, the state has overall responsibility for mental health and together with Sweden's municipalities and regions, the government has entered into an agreement, which is presented in the analysed document. The result we found is that the risk groups identified are not presented specifically as risk groups in the document. What the document focuses on is that certain interventions should be put in place for these individuals without any direct interventions being specified. During the work on the critical discourse analysis, it has become clear that the document lacks important information that makes credibility disappear. The document feels like a compilation of previous information as they talk about the shortcomings that exist for mental illness and suicide prevention, although this is not a single reference in the document.

The aim of the present study is to deepen the understanding of over-indebted persons’ ways of describing the causes of their debts and the part they and others played in the emergence of the problematic situation, in their written communications with public authorities with influence over the debt-reconstruction process. The method was a qualitative multiple-case-study design with a purposive, cross-sectional sample consisting of personal letters attached to debt reconstruction applications submitted to the Swedish Enforcement Agency. The results reveal three main ways that applicants present their cases: Attributing responsibility to oneself, Avoiding the question of responsibility, and Attributing responsibility to others. The authors suggest that the results can be used in social work to help over-indebted people to understand and present their problems in a way that restores their vulnerable identity and allows them to counteract interpretations of them as having acted irresponsibly regarding their finances.

The purpose of this study is to get more knowledge about how the identification process for immigrants’ is going. We want to know how the identification process has developed for them since they moved to Sweden and if they have had any difficulties adapting to Swedish society. Furthermore, the purpose is to find out whether the Swedish society or the Swedish culture has been an obstacle for these immigrants. To fulfill the purpose of the study, we used semi-structured interviews where seven immigrants with different ethnicities participated. We also used a qualitative method and a narrative method analysis. We chose the sociological theorists Erving Goffman and Norbert Elias in this study. We chose Goffman's theory about stigma where he explains how people are stigmatized and categorized depending on their identity, culture or characteristics. We chose Elias' theory about the established and outsiders where he explains why there are established and outsiders and what causes these categorizations. The results showed us that the immigrants we interviewed are influenced by the Swedish society in their identity process. Although they feel that they have been motivated and want to be a part of the society, they experience that many immigrants are categorized in the same category because of stigma. This can lead to difficulties for other immigrants to integrate and they can experience difficulties as they are seen as outsiders and are not offered a chance in, for example, workplaces. This also affects the identity process as they do not get the chance to show that they have adapted well in the Swedish society.

In the Swedish labor market the immigrant, compared to the native individual, is seen to experience both stigma and discrimination to a bigger degree. This in turn generates some immigrants to have a negative experience correlated to the Swedish worklife in consideration to the unfair treatment in the recruitment process. In this study we investigate the experiences of women from Syria in consideration to their experiences of stigma and discrimination in the Swedish labor market. We have conducted a qualitative study in the form of semi-qualitative interviews with a total of six Syrian migrated women as a measure to gather the women's experience in search for common or shared experiences of discrimination or injustice taking place in the Swedish labor market. Our data analysis is based on three occurring themes where we linked our empirical evidence to former research done in the field, also to relevant theories presented by sociologists investigating the subject of stigma. The study's results show that all women shared the common experience of discrimination and stigma in consideration to the hiring process in the Swedish labor market. Different factors such as their cultural background, language skills, their physical appearance and name were also of importance.