Rediscovering uncertainty in social work: the case of anonymous text-based encounters online.
Uncertainty has long been discussed in social work as an inherent element of professional practice. The present paper extends this discussion into the realm of digital social work. It reports a study of anonymous text-based online counselling provided by the social services in Sweden. We explore wha...
| Published in: | European Journal of Social Work Vol. 29; no. 3; pp. 576 - 587 |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Ltd
May2026
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | View this record in EBSCOhost |
| fields | @attributes: recordID: 1 pdfLink: plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ssf&AN=193139267&site=ehost-live header: @attributes: shortDbName: ssf uiTerm: 193139267 longDbName: Social Sciences Full Text (H.W. Wilson) uiTag: AN controlInfo: bkinfo: jinfo: jid: 13691457 BHX jtl: European Journal of Social Work issn: 13691457 maglogo: N pubinfo: dt: May2026 vid: 29 iid: 3 pid: 377 pub: Taylor & Francis Ltd artinfo: ui: 193139267 10.1080/13691457.2025.2535318 ppf: 576 ppct: 11 formats: tig: atl: Rediscovering uncertainty in social work: the case of anonymous text-based encounters online. aug: au: Thell, Nataliya Scaramuzzino, Gabriella Martinell Barfoed, Elizabeth affil: School of Social Work, Lund University, Lund, Sweden su: Sweden Social workers Occupational roles Suicidal ideation Medical care Interviewing Uncertainty Internet Quantitative research Social case work Counseling Communication barriers Digital technology Risk assessment Professional practice Questionnaires Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis Research methodology Text messages Chatbots Video recording Professional competence sug: subj: Social workers Occupational roles Suicidal ideation Medical care Interviewing Uncertainty Internet Quantitative research Social case work Counseling Communication barriers Sweden Other Individual and Family Services Internet Publishing and Broadcasting and Web Search Portals Wired Telecommunications Carriers Wireless Telecommunications Carriers (except Satellite) Digital technology Risk assessment Professional practice Questionnaires Descriptive statistics Thematic analysis Research methodology Text messages Chatbots Video recording Professional competence keyword: anonymity digitalisation online counselling Social services uncertainty anonymity digitalisation online counselling Social services uncertainty ab: Uncertainty has long been discussed in social work as an inherent element of professional practice. The present paper extends this discussion into the realm of digital social work. It reports a study of anonymous text-based online counselling provided by the social services in Sweden. We explore what kind of uncertainty is evoked when social workers respond to anonymous users through online platforms, and how this uncertainty is related to the constraints of Internet- and text-based communication. Three dimensions of uncertainty were identified: interactional, professional and relational. We argue that the use of new technologies creates new conditions for conducting social work, which challenge the traditional professional role. Therefore, when working online, social workers need to be trained not only in how to use technology but also in how to communicate with a client under the specific conditions of an anonymous, text-based encounter online. pubtype: Academic Journal doctype: Article src: R language: English refInfo: copyright: @attributes: flag: N holdings: @attributes: islocal: N |
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