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study and practice, and in this process, its meaning continues to be 
delineated. In this paper, I describe a series of experiences during a 
summer field practicum coordinating the final phase of a year-long 
qualitative research study on sexual and gender-based violence 
(SGBV) in Lira, northern Uganda. While not a conclusive statement on 
the nature of all international social work, this paper presents personal 
experiences to illustrate how the psychosocial skills, practices, and 
theory of the social work profession can lend themselves well to the 
emotional and managerial demands of international work in a post-
conflict, developing country context. 

        in the summer of 2008, folloWinG my first year of Graduate social work 
studies, I was hired to coordinate the third and final phase of a year-
long qualitative research study in Lira, northern Uganda. Undertaken 
collaboratively between an American university and a prominent in-
ternational nongovernmental organization (INGO), the study aimed to 
explore adolescent girls’ experiences of sexual and gender-based vio-
lence (SGBV) and to assess relevant support structures in the context 
of conflict and displacement. Since the early 1980s, civil conflict rav-
aged northern Uganda, killing thousands and leaving more than 1.8 
million people displaced (Integrated Regional Information Networks 
[IRIN], 2007; Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre [IDMC], 2008). 
Rape and forced marriage were systematically and widely perpetrated 
as war tactics, and domestic violence increased due in part to the de-
struction of many traditional family and community support mecha-
nisms (Annan, Blattman, Carlson, & Mazurana, 2008; Olara, 2004; Pat-
rick, 2005). Despite recent improvements in security that have enabled 

International Social Work in Practice: 
A Case Study from Northern Uganda

lauren pesso

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25 / Pesso



many of those who were displaced to begin returning to their home 
villages, multiple forms of SGBV remain commonplace (IDMC, 2008; 
IRIN, 2007). 
      My task in Lira was to supervise four Ugandan research staff in 
conducting and recording the final round of interviews with study 
participants.1 All  interviewees were adolescent girls who had been 
displaced by the region’s civil conflict, and half were known survivors 
of SGBV. I came to the position with previous work experience in Ugan-
da, a background in international public health, and a recently com-
pleted social work field placement in domestic violence. While I hoped 
the summer job would allow me to draw on my earlier professional 
work while providing hands-on management experience, the op-
portunity also unexpectedly helped clarify what “international social 
work” could mean for me in practice. In this paper, I present examples 
from my experiences in Lira to illustrate how the psychosocial skills, 
practices, and theory of social work can lend themselves well to the 
emotional and managerial demands of international work in a post-
conflict, developing country context. Looking at my role primarily as 
one of “helper” in facilitating the completion of a study, I organize this 
discussion according to the three key phases of the helping process – 
beginning, middle or work, and ending phases – described in direct social work 
practice literature (Birnbaum & Cicchetti, 2005; Hepworth et al., 2006).

The Beginning Phase: Exploration, Engagement, and Planning 
What is International Social Work?

     As I entered graduate school, I was particularly interested in 
exploring the integration of social work into the international develop-
ment and humanitarian fields. While much has been written on the sub-
ject, the definition of “international social work” continues to be debated. 
The International Federation of Social Workers (2000) suggests that the 
social work profession “promotes social change, problem solving in human 
relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance 
well-being.” Within this broad understanding of the profession, defini-
tions of international social work range from a set of specific skills and 
knowledge, to  intercultural exchanges between social workers, to a 
more general global awareness within the profession (Healy, 2001; Midg-
ley, 2001). Activities can include engaging with international populations 
domestically, conducting international development work, creating 
exchanges through international professional journals and meetings, 
and adapting interventions cross-culturally (Healy, 2001; Midgley, 2001). 

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Cox and Pawar (2006) build on these definitions by emphasizing the 
importance of promoting social work education and practice around 
the world to establish an integrated international profession that can 
respond appropriately and effectively to ongoing global challenges. 
         Caragata and Sanchez (2002) suggest that international social work 
remains largely in the  domain of academia, noting that few of the 
posts within international development agencies are filled by social 
workers. However, many of the needs identified in the Guidelines on 
Mental Health and Psychosocial Support in Emergency Settings,2 for 
instance, point to the strengths of the social work profession, includ-
ing provision of basic psychosocial services, security measures, and 
specialized mental healthcare when necessary (Inter-Agency Stand-
ing Committee [IASC], 2007). In the sections that follow, I draw on my 
experiences working with a research team – albeit distinct from strict 
development or humanitarian work – to contribute to the broader 
discussion of the meaning and relevance of international social work.

Being Where the Staff Are

       I arrived in Lira enthusiastic to meet the research staff and begin our 
work together. We had only six weeks, and since the staff had all worked 
on earlier phases of the study, I expected that we could start quickly. Due 
to funding cuts, however, the INGO had recently laid off three of the four 
team members. Resources were secured to hire them back as consultants, 
but only through the duration of the study. At our first meeting, staff were 
reluctant to engage in discussions about anything but their grievances. 
They objected to how their terminations were handled, demanded higher 
salaries, and revealed little interest in introducing me to their earlier work. 
      In social work, the maxim “being where the client is” implies that a so-
cial worker must be attuned to a client’s concerns, expectations, life situa-
tion, cultural background, and psychological state, and adjust interventions 
accordingly (Goldstein, 2001). In some cases, this means addressing im-
mediate matters before more substantive work can occur.  Still jet-lagged 
and having spent weeks preparing for our early meetings, I was admit-
tedly frustrated by how my work with the research team was beginning. 
Recognizing that to push forward with my own agenda would be both 
unwise and unsuccessful, though, I tried to “be where the staff were.” 
               We spent much of our first day together processing what had gone 
wrong in the past. Given the opportunity to talk openly, some staff 
eventually began to share deeper issues that were fueling their        
resentment. 

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Some of the staff admitted that they felt they had not been of-
fered sufficient input into or ownership over earlier research phases, 
pointing to the fact that previous interview transcripts were locked 
in a room they had no access to. Others felt that concerns they had 
raised to previous staff in my position had not been sufficiently ad-
dressed. Taking the time to be where the staff were initially helped 
me better understand their concerns and expectations, and allowed 
us to begin to address some of the issues that we had control over. 
Collaboratively, we established guidelines for how we would work to-
gether (including how data would be stored and shared among us); 
developed contracts specifying expected roles, tasks, and salaries; 
and agreed to air work-related concerns when they arose. Though 
time consuming and seemingly slow moving, being where the staff 
were during our early meetings helped us address underlying con-
cerns, set a precedent for tackling future problems, and helped us ar-
rive at a place where we could move forward with our principal work. 

The Work Phase: Implementation and Goal Attainment
Self-care and Staff Well-being

 
       The methodology used in our study involved traveling long distanc-
es – often by a combination of car, bicycle, and foot – to conduct ex-
tensive interviews with adolescent girls affected by conflict and SGBV, 
most of whom had recently left internally displaced person camps to 
resettle in remote villages. Interviewees were also facing a number of 
other difficulties: most were not in school because their families could 
or would not pay their school fees, many were having difficulty feed-
ing their own young children because of a recent drought, and some 
faced ongoing domestic abuse. A smaller number of the participants 
were suffering from serious psychological distress or medical condi-
tions, including HIV. Though safety in northern Uganda had signifi-
cantly improved by the summer of 2008, rumors of re-insurgency were 
not uncommon. At times the researchers and I were left feeling power-
less against these considerable systemic obstacles. 
       To prevent burnout and the vicarious trauma that can result from 
exposure to such difficult circumstances, social work promotes the 
importance of maintaining staff wellness through a combination of 
self-care and organizational responsiveness (Clemans, 2004; Pross, 
2006). Given the challenging context and content of our study, the 
research staff and I established a plan to regularly check safety up-
dates, set a norm that no one would travel to a place where they 

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felt unsafe, and agreed to the importance of establishing a work/
life balance. In my own experience working at an agency serving 
domestic violence survivors, I had also found group debriefings 
valuable for reflecting on the emotional nature of the work (Clem-
ans, 2004). Some of the research staff also suggested such debriefs, 
so we agreed to meet periodically as a group to express and share 
our experiences (United Nations High Commission on Refugees 
[UNHCR], 2001). Doing so was helpful, enabling us to discuss the 
importance of establishing boundaries with interviewees despite 
our natural desire to assist them beyond our means, and to reflect 
on what we could do. Together we developed a list of interviewees 
with acute needs, should discrete funding become available to as-
sist them; identified referral sources including free or low-cost HIV 
services, village-based social workers, and a regional hospital with 
a psychiatrist on staff; and we brainstormed ideas for more sustain-
able programs that could address the needs of study participants. 

Supportive Supervision

         Social work also places importance on individual supportive su-
pervision, in which a supervisor is concerned  with decreasing job-
related stress, and enhancing skills, knowledge, and positive attitudes 
toward work (Coleman, 2003). Such supervision, offered in a cultur-
ally appropriate manner, might have been useful for the research staff 
whose jobs required intimate conversations with SGBV survivors, and 
who had themselves lived through the region’s conflict. Given the 
complexities of managing a team from a different culture, working for 
the first time in a post-conflict setting, and hearing daily stories of sig-
nificant trauma, I certainly would have benefited from supportive su-
pervision as well. Unfortunately, such support was not available within 
the context of our study or in the INGO partner office more broadly. 

Promoting Critical Reflection

        As I reviewed interview transcripts from earlier research phases, 
I noticed that the  researchers often seemed to stifle or overtly direct 
interviewees’ responses. Researchers tended to rely on close-ended 
questions, leading interviewees to stop when they might have had 
more to say. They also stacked questions, making it difficult for inter-
viewees to know which to respond to first and they frequently revealed 
their own personal feelings about an issue, potentially hindering in-

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terviewees from sharing their own experiences and perspectives.
          Process recordings, which require students to reflect critical-
ly with a trained supervisor on interactions with clients, are an im-
portant aspect of social work training (Neuman & Friedman, 1997). I 
found that adapting the process recording tool was also helpful in 
working with research staff to improve data collection. The research-
ers and I reviewed their earlier interview transcripts together, explor-
ing why they might have asked a question in a particular way, what 
the implications might be for interviewees’ replies, and how they 
could support more free-flowing interviewee responses. In some cas-
es, I learned that cultural norms dictated the interviewing style that 
a researcher had chosen. In others, by dissecting and analyzing their 
communication through this adaptation of a simple social work learn-
ing tool, the research staff seemed to become more aware of their 
own roles in shaping interviewee responses. Eventually, this practice 
helped improve the data that we collected and, more importantly, 
created a space for interviewees to more freely share their stories.

The Ending Phase: Termination

          Given the emotional content of their discussions and the fact that 
our research involved intense contact and disclosure over an extend-
ed period of time, many of the researcher/interviewee relationships 
had become quite close (Bordeau, 2000). One interviewee had named 
her daughter after a research  staff member, others had invited re-
searchers to their wedding ceremonies. The research staff similarly 
shared that they had become attached to the interviewees and felt 
guilty about leaving them once the study ended. 
       Bordeau (2000) suggests that the sensitive nature of some qual-
itative research can contribute to many of the same dynamics of a 
therapeutic relationship. In direct social work practice, termination 
refers to the process of formally ending a social worker/client rela-
tionship. Ideally, this process recognizes that separation involves 
mixed feelings for both social workers and clients, and helps pre-
pare clients for a future in which the gains from the social work re-
lationship will be maintained (Hepworth et al., 2006). While not 
required as part of the study, facilitating appropriate and mean-
ingful termination between researchers and interviewees seemed 
important given that we were conducting the final phase of a 
year-long study, during which close relationships had developed.
           Early on, the research team and I began to discuss how interview-

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30 / International Social Work in Practice



ees and the staff themselves might feel about and react to the study 
ending. As a result of these discussions, we added space at the end of 
our interview guide for researchers to share what they had gained from 
the year-long process, as well as explicit questions to allow interview-
ees to discuss their feelings about ending. Some interviewees chose 
not to use this time, but others shared many feelings, including sad-
ness, disappointment, contentment, or hope for the future. To address 
some of these feelings and draw on a strengths perspective, which 
asserts that the strengths and resources of people in their environ-
ments rather than their problems or deficits should be the focus of the 
helping process, we also devoted time to helping interviewees iden-
tify strengths and supports that they could call upon after the study 
was over (Chapin, 1995). Combined, these efforts helped us actively 
prepare for and make more meaningful the study’s inevitable ending.

Recommendations 

       Though neither a statement on what all international social work 
is or should be, nor a complete description of my work in Lira, I have 
sought to provide just a few examples of how social work tools and 
frameworks influenced my efforts to facilitate group cohesion, 
problem-solving, and the completion of research in an international 
context. In hindsight, I might have applied lessons from social work 
even further; facilitating, for instance, more explicit group discus-
sions about how individual, cultural, and social power dynamics af-
fected my relationship – as a white supervisor from an American 
university – with the Ugandan research staff, as well the relation-
ships of interviewees – mostly poor with limited formal education – 
with the university-educated researchers (Sakamoto & Pitner, 2005). 

 More than any academic exploration of international social work 
could, reflecting on both what I did and what I might have done dif-
ferently in Lira has helped me clarify the potential that social work has 
to contribute to both the managerial and technical aspects of work 
in an international context. To further move international social work 
from an academic debate to a more recognized and relevant field of 
practice, a combination of action, promotion, and education is need-
ed (Cox & Power, 2006). When appropriate, traditional social work 
interventions, tools, and methods of supervision can be thought-
fully adapted to new professional and cultural contexts. Social work-

          

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31 / Pesso

ers currently in the humanitarian and development fields should do 
more to articulate and promote the advantages that our professional 
training brings to bear. Social work schools and professional associa-
tions must offer more international field practica to help students and 



Journal of student soCial Work, volume vii

recent graduates learn to apply the skills gained from courses and 
domestic fieldwork. Though neither academic study nor short-term 
practicum opportunities alone can ensure culturally sensitive, high 
quality, and locally appropriate international efforts, such opportu-
nities have the potential to considerably benefit students, the social 
work profession, and the international community more broadly. 

Notes
1   Throughout this paper, “study participants” and “interviewees” are used interchange-
ably.
2  The IASC issued these draft Guidelines in 2007 with the stated goal of enabling humani-
tarian actors to “plan, establish and coordinate a set of minimum multi-sectoral responses   to  
protect and improve people’s mental health and psychosocial wellbeing in the  midst of an 
emergency” (IASC, 2007, p. v).

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