Working styles and employment consciousness are changing drastically due to industrialization. And the problems arising from the mental health problems of workers are increasing, reflecting the changes in the social situation and industrial structure. In particular, the situation where there are supporters involved in the social welfare field is serious. For supporters in the interpersonal support profession who help people, physical and mental disorders are accompanied by a decline in the well-being of the helper himself, and are directly linked to a decline in the quality of social welfare services.
In this paper, the concept of “support for supporters” that can maintain and promote experts who can provide high-quality services to users and further improve the supporter’s own healthy condition was presented and the necessity was considered.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the serious situation in which the supporters are placed. In particular, they appealed for the necessity of supporting supporters by identifying the risk that applicants’ mental and physical problems could lead to deterioration in the quality of social welfare services provided to users. Chapter 2 compares the Japanese policy ‘Guidelines for the maintenance and improvement of mental health of workers’ and examines the necessity of “support for supporters” considering that the target of social welfare services is people. Furthermore, the relationship between supporters and the quality of social welfare services was examined based on theoretical grounds. Chapter 3 discusses the direction of “support for supporters” by reviewing the practice and research trends related to EAP (Employee Assistance Program) in the industry and support for applicants in the social welfare field. In addition, Chapter 4 examined the supporters of the positive self-change and transformation that only supporters mentioned in Chapter 1 should have as a clue to the practice of “support for supporters”. In the final chapter, the discussions from chapters 1 to 4 were organized and a conceptual framework of “support for supporters” was tried.
産業化による働き方や就業意識が大きく変わりつつあり、その社会情勢や産業構造の変化を反映したように労働者におけるメンタルヘルスの不調から生じる問題が増加している。特に社会福祉領域に携わっている援助者が置かれている状況は深刻であり、人を助ける対人援助職の援助者にとって心身不調は援助者本人のウェルビーイングの低下を伴い、さらに社会福祉サービスの質の低下に直結となる。
本稿では、このような課題に対して利用者への質の高いサービスが提供できる担い手の体調が保持でき、さらに援助者本人の健全な心身を維持することができる「援助者支援」の考え方をあげ、理論的概念への構築を試みた。1章では、援助者が置かれている深刻な状況を概観した。特に援助者の心身不調は、利用者に提供する福祉サービスの質の低下につながる危険性を捉えて「援助者支援」の必要性を訴えた。2章では,日本の施策である「労働者の心の健康の保持増進のための指針」を照らし、社会福祉サービスの対象は人であることを踏まえて「援助者支援」の必要性が持つ当為について検討し、さらに援助者と社会福祉サービスの質との関係を理論的根拠を踏まえた考察を加えた。3章では、産業分野の「EAP(Employee Assistance Program)」と社会福祉分野における援助者支援と関わる実践および研究動向を検討して「援助者支援」への方向性を明らかにした。なお、4章では、1章で言及した援助者こそ持つポジティブな自己変化や変容を、援助者支援に実践していく手がかりとしての有用性を考察した。5章では 1~4 章までの議論を整理して「援助者支援」の概念的枠組みの提案を試みた。