Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Social Work (MSW)

Department

Social Work

Faculty/School

Lyle S. Hallman Faculty of Social Work

First Advisor

Bree Akesson

Advisor Role

Supervisor

Abstract

Hate and violent extremism persist in communities, online environments, and societies across the globe. In addition to their most violent expressions, including hate crimes, extremist and terrorist violence, these phenomena wield severe negative, detrimental, traumatic, and intergenerational impacts. Grounded in evidenced-based policy, comprehensive prevention and intervention efforts, as well as the transfer of knowledge across scientific disciplines, a whole-of-society approach is fundamental to prevent and counter hatred, violence, and extremism. Although violent radicalization and associated societal problems are advancing at unprecedented speeds, preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) is an emerging intervention field in behavioural health and social sciences. While multi-sectoral collaboration, interdisciplinary scholarship and research has significantly increased in recent decades, the role of social work in clinical countering violent extremism intervention services is currently unclear and has not yet been studied systematically. Informed by grounded theory methods, this study deployed a narrative literature review to examine the nexus between social work and clinical countering violent extremism secondary and tertiary interventions. Findings of this study illustrate various themes in social work research and practice, which put forth a critical examination of securitization and multi-agency collaboration, as well as stronger emphasis on social work theories and ethics in clinical countering violent extremism efforts. This thesis contributes to the development of a nuanced understanding of clinical countering violent extremism as social work scholarship and practice. It furthermore informs multi-sectoral and interdisciplinary P/CVE efforts while discerning the importance of including social work scholarship and practice in broader P/CVE research, program development, as well as clinical practice.

Convocation Year

2024

Convocation Season

Spring

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Available for download on Tuesday, March 04, 2025

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