Using Psychodynamic Principles to Advance Professional Practice, Education and Research in Health, Social Care and Social Work
A special issue of Social Sciences (ISSN 2076-0760).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 February 2026 | Viewed by 61
Special Issue Editors
Interests: social work; inclusive; integrated pedagogies; mental health; social work education
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
This Special Issue invites original research papers, practice reflections, and theoretical contributions exploring the application of psychodynamic concepts to enhance practice, education, and research in health and social care and social work.
Contemporary health and social care environments face unprecedented challenges: staff shortages, systemic pressures, financial austerity, increasingly complex patient and service user needs, and burgeoning organisational strain. In this context, psychodynamic approaches offer valuable frameworks for understanding the human relationships, team dynamics, and organisational and leadership culture that are fundamental to promoting humane quality care delivery.
Topics may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Application of psychodynamic concepts to understand and address contemporary health and social care challenges;
- Psychodynamic approaches to student/staff support, supervision, and professional development;
- Applying psychodynamic concepts to working with team dynamics, leadership, and organisational culture;
- Educational innovations incorporating psychodynamic thinking with students and practitioners;
- Research methodologies exploring practice and/or education informed by psychodynamic principles;
- Intersectional perspectives on applying psychodynamic thinking;
- Case studies demonstrating practical applications.
Papers should demonstrate practical relevance while maintaining theoretical rigour. We particularly welcome submissions that make psychodynamic concepts accessible to diverse audiences and challenge perceptions of the approach as elitist or outdated.
Dr. Patricia Cartney
Dr. Shelly Allen
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Social Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- psychodynamic approaches
- professional practice
- social work education
- social care
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