Social workers from oppressed minority group treating majority group's clients: A case study of palestinian social workers

This article discusses minority-majority practice relations on the basis of a case study analysis of the dynamics and strategies reported by 32 Palestinian social workers living in Israel regarding their practice with Jewish clients. The described encounters reflect the charged political reality and are loaded with many tensions, fears, anger, and hatred. The results indicate five major categories, reflecting perceived mutual reactions: Avoidance, power reversal, confrontation and anger, minimizing differences, and exploiting differences. The article discusses the need for a context-informed practice theory as well as training and supervision to change the emotional encounters from a potential battleground to a growth-enhancing experience within minority-majority practice relations.