Barriers to Change in Social Work: Breaking the Cycle
Change isn’t just necessary—it’s urgent. Every day that we delay, more families slip through the cracks, more professionals burn out, and more harm is done under the guise of safeguarding. The cost of inaction isn’t just inefficiency—it’s real people, real lives, and real consequences. Yet in social work, real progress can feel impossible. The very systems designed to support people often do the opposite, trapping professionals and families in cycles of fear, defensiveness, and rigid hierarchies. Reflection takes a backseat. Adaptation feels like a risk. And so, we keep doing the same things, over and over, expecting different results. If only they had listened………… – Our Patch
If we don’t step back and rethink our approach, we’re not just failing to improve—we’re reinforcing the very problems we’re trying to solve.
Fear and Threat Response in Practice
Fear runs deep in social work. (Ask any social worker who has worked in an LA and made the step to a different style of SW) The fight-or-flight response isn’t just a biological reaction—it’s embedded in our systems, our workplaces, and the way we interact with families. Fear of getting it wrong, fear of criticism, fear of losing your job or damaging your reputation. It’s everywhere.
And what happens when fear takes the wheel?
• Avoidance behaviours – Complex cases get pushed aside, and new approaches are avoided because mistakes feel too dangerous.
• Defensive attitudes – Feedback feels like a personal attack, so learning and reflection shut down.
• Perfectionism – The pressure to be ‘right’ all the time stifles innovation. If the risk of failure is too high, people stop trying new things.
• Lack of reflection – If every mistake feels like a threat, there’s no room to step back, assess, and improve.
When we operate in survival mode, we don’t grow—we just protect. Over time, this erodes confidence, fuels burnout, and leads to increasingly reactive decision-making, where short-term crisis management takes precedence over meaningful, long-term change. Families remain unsupported, professionals feel powerless, and the system continues to function in damage control rather than proactive improvement. And that’s exactly how we stay stuck.
Defensive Practice as a Barrier to Growth
Under pressure, social workers often shift into self-protection mode. It’s understandable—when scrutiny is high, and mistakes carry consequences, people focus on covering themselves rather than doing what’s best for families. But defensive practice doesn’t serve anyone in the long run.
Here’s how it plays out:
• Rigid, policy-driven practice – Decisions are made based on procedures and checklists rather than what’s actually needed. The system feels safer, but service users lose out.
• Fear of blame – When every action is judged, confidence plummets. People become hesitant, second-guessing choices instead of acting in the best interests of those they support.
• Task-focused work – Hitting targets and closing cases becomes more important than meaningful engagement with families.
The result? A lack of real reflection. If we never take the time to question what’s working and what’s not, we’ll just keep repeating the same patterns. Defensive practice doesn’t fix anything—it just maintains the illusion of control while real problems go unaddressed.
How Families Experience This Cycle
Fear-based responses aren’t just a professional issue—families experience them too. When parents engage with social care, they often feel scrutinised, judged, and backed into a corner.
• Defensive reactions – Parents feel like they’re constantly justifying themselves, leading to heightened emotions in meetings and assessments.
• Distrust in the system – If families feel they are being assessed unfairly, they withdraw, making genuine engagement harder.
• Emotional exhaustion – Living in constant defence mode is overwhelming, impacting both family relationships and interactions with professionals.
Leadership and Hierarchy: The Role of Organisational Culture
Managers and leadership set the tone, and when fear drives the system, they reinforce these cycles. While many leaders genuinely want to improve practice, the pressures of budgets, targets, and accountability often create barriers to real change.
• A reluctance to embrace change – Big shifts in practice feel too risky or disruptive.
• Resistance to feedback – Many organisations struggle with open discussions about what isn’t working.
• A focus on reputation over process – Performance indicators and outcomes often take priority over long-term improvements.
Ken Blanchard, a leadership expert, highlights how ego can make leaders more focused on their own security than on the needs of those they serve. This isn’t about blame—it’s about recognising the pressures that exist at all levels of the system and how they prevent progress.
Why Fear-Based Practice Persists
At its core, this entire cycle is fuelled by fear—fear of failure, fear of criticism, fear of losing jobs, fear of reputational harm. It leads to:
• Rigid professional hierarchies
• Anxiety around making mistakes
• A reluctance to try new approaches
• A focus on compliance over innovation
• Limited opportunities for meaningful reflection
The result? A system that resists change—not because people don’t care, but because the environment makes progress feel impossible.
Lived Experience: Seeing Every Side
I see all of this because I’ve lived it. My trauma response has always been to assume I’m in the wrong—the outsider, the guilty one. Reflection became my coping strategy—a life jacket at times, keeping me afloat, but just as often a weighted anchor, dragging me down, depending on which part of my mind was steering the conversation.
I know what it feels like to be trapped in a social work spiral of fear-based practice—where you’re so scared of failing that you have to follow. The pressure to conform, to tick the boxes, to do what is ‘safe’ rather than what is right, becomes suffocating. Fear keeps everyone in their place, and change feels too risky. That’s why I stepped away from LA practice.
I know what it feels like as an adoptee—to not be wanted by the woman who gave birth to me. It’s not the same as my children’s journey, but it’s still loss, grief, and something beyond words. It turns you inside out, creates an internal spin that is hard to break free from.
I know what it feels like to be an adopter in crisis, swimming against every tide. I know how it feels to be desperate for love to be enough, desperate to be enough, desperate to prove to yourself and the world that you are a capable parent. And I know what it feels like when the system that is meant to help you harms you instead.
Breaking the Cycle: A Collaborative Approach
Empathy needs to be at the centre of everything we do. That doesn’t mean ignoring the failings, the harm, or the damage caused by poor practice. It doesn’t mean I’ll stop challenging the system or holding those in power accountable. And it certainly doesn’t mean I’ll ignore the anger I feel when I think about how my own local authority failed me. But I also know that real change happens one step at a time.
So where do we start? By putting humanity back into the system. By rebuilding trust. By making reflection part of the process, not an afterthought.
Here’s how:
• Embedding reflective practice at all levels – Learning and discussion should happen without fear of blame or retribution.
• Bringing lived experience into policy-making – Decisions should be informed by the people directly affected, not just by those in offices.
• Promoting transparency – Families and professionals should feel safe to express concerns and challenges openly.
• Moving away from a culture of fear – Leadership should foster growth and learning instead of punishing mistakes.
• Prioritising relationships over processes – Trust and collaboration must come before paperwork and targets.
Thoughtful Change
Recognising these patterns is the first step, but recognition alone isn’t enough. If we don’t push for change, the consequences are clear—families will continue to feel unheard, unsupported, and judged, while professionals will remain trapped in a cycle of stress, fear, and burnout. The system will keep prioritising survival over meaningful progress, and those who need help the most will suffer the most. Without action, the same mistakes will be made, and the same harm will continue unchecked. The barriers are real, but they are not immovable. We need to build a culture that values reflection, supports innovation, and encourages open dialogue. If we keep operating from a place of fear, nothing will change. If we shift towards trust, learning, and accountability, we might finally start breaking the cycle for good.