Negative capability and social work: insights from Keats, Bion and business

Despite the great amount of information social workers are expected to assimilate from a range of diverse sources, the experience of practice appears to be marked less by clear and precise knowledge and more by uncertainty and change. In this paper I suggest that in responding to uncertainty constructively, the concept of ‘negative capability’, first used by the poet John Keats and developed since, may provide a concise yet rich expression of some of the characteristics of effective practice. After discussing negative capability briefly in its original context, this paper considers its key elements and how these may be applicable to contemporary social work, drawing on insights from psychoanalysis and business and noting links with reflective practice and emotional intelligence. It emphasizes that negative capability's components of open-mindedness, attentiveness to diversity and the suspension of the ego are helpful, both in defining important aspects of effective and person-centred practice and in providing a counterpoint to managerialism by emphasizing the centrality of the relationship between worker and service user.