Editorial

Fabio Folgheraiter

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy

Dear Reader,

it is with pleasure that I present the latest issue of the Relational Social Work journal.

The issue opens with a reflection on the Relational Foundations of Social Work that I had the pleasure of writing together with my colleague Professor Maria Luisa Raineri. The article is the result of a shared reflection made on the occasion of the 12th European Conference on Social Work Research held last April at the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan.

Next, we have a colleague from the St. Joseph’s University of Bangalore (India), Princess Lavanya, who proposes a reflection on the post Covid-19 pandemic vulnerabilities faced by the elderly. Starting from a three case studies of elderly literally especially women facing vulnerabilities, the author refers that there is an urgent need to address any such vulnerability faced by the elderly anywhere.

Seungjong Cho and Kayla R. Branch, from the Texas Tech University (USA), propose a review of 40 empirical studies on the relationship between neighborhood stressors and depressive symptoms. There is potential for the reduction of depressive symptoms that can be seen in assessing and addressing poverty, investing in violence prevention and other related programs, and increasing social support.

The next article takes us to Greece where Emanuela Fato, a researcher on green social work issues, presents the experience of a non-profit organisation engaged in promoting social work interventions inspired by sustainability. This experience is a good example of what can be done by social work in this direction.

Finally, Francesca Lamedica, a social worker, offers us a reflection on nonviolent communication in social work, in particular in the helping relationship in child protection, and to prevent burnout. The article emphasises benefits of the nonviolent communication for the wellbeing of service users, practitioners, the professional environment and organisations.

This issue hosts contributions on different topics by authors from different parts of the world. While thanking the authors, we would like to emphasise the richness of such a wide variety of topics presented and the breadth of the international perspective on social work that allows us to learn and grow as a professional community.

Milan, October 2023