Intelligent Kindness examines and rehabilitates the concept of the 'welfare state'. Despite, or perhaps because of, relentless prescriptive regulatory and structural reforms, scandals continue. Staff are increasingly alienated. Drawing upon narratives and case studies, this book examines what is at stake from perspectives including ethology, psychoanalysis, group relations, and social psychology.
The front line of health and social care can be bleak, despite the many rewards of the work, often leaving staff demoralised and exhausted. Their continued well-being, while delivering compassionate and effective care, depends on the cultivation of a culture of kinship, mutuality and collaborative relationships.
The authors provide practical, achievable advice that will support and sustain healthy organisational culture and effective, humane practice. Grounded in lived experiences and observations, Intelligent Kindness is a powerful argument for the welfare state and a valuable approach to service reform.
Industry Reviews
The thread of intelligent kindness needs to weave through and throughout all our lives. Humans are the carers of everything, and we urgently need help. This book is it.' Phil Hammond, NHS doctor, campaigner, comedian and author of Staying Alive - How to Improve your Health and Your Healthcare
'A hopeful, enticing and thoroughly practical blue-print for a better way forward. It is essential reading for anyone who came into social care to make the world a truly better place.' Nick Andrews, Research and Practice Development Officer, Wales School for Social Care Research
'This wonderful book is an urgent plea for kindness as both the driving force and the touchstone of healthcare in the NHS ... If I ruled the world, I would arrange for everyone who wields any power in the NHS to be locked in a room until they had read it. But then, of course, that is precisely the sort of dictatorial behaviour that the authors see as the antithesis of intelligent kindness, and so I am obliged to fall back on an unrestrained enthusiasm that I hope will prove infectious.' Iona Heath, Past President of the Royal College of General Practitioners
'Let us encourage our clients to build intelligent kindness systematically within organisations, communities and institutions as an effective strategy for better futures for all.' Hetty Einzig, Coaching Perspectives
'The book proposes to help healthcare professionals and educators to integrate the concept of kindness with knowledge and skills necessary to deliver high-quality care. These are worthy objectives and are met through exemplars and case studies.' Carole A. Kenner, Doody's Book Review Service
'... well written and accessible to a non-professional audience.' J. D. Moon, Choice