The limited evidence suggests that social workers are generally
able to manage these complex interviews relatively well. Platt (2006)
and Spratt and Callan (2004) identified that parents were generally
satisfied with their worker. Both studies emphasised the importance
of the worker ‘establishing and maintaining a relationship’ (Platt,
2006, p. 277) as central to their ability to manage the complex and
potentially contradictory imperatives of their role. However, the use
of retrospective interviews limits the ability of these studies to comment
on how social workers achieve this in practice. Retrospective
accounts are likely to be influenced by a desire to justify actions or
to portray oneself in a positive light (Silverman, 2001). For this
reason what social workers, parents and others claim happened
is unlikely to be accurate. Indeed, some studies—such as that
by Sheppard with Kelly (2001)—found the accounts of different
parties to be completely irreconcilable