Personalisation

by Peter Beresford (Editor)

Personalisation has become the policy buzz-word of the twenty-first century. Supporters claim it offers service users choice and services attuned to meet their specific needs, moving away from 'one size fits all' state services. In this short form book, part of the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series, Peter Beresford, one of Britain's foremost social work academics, challenges the personalisation agenda and its consequences on service users. Although critical of 'one size fits all' services that deny service user voice, Beresford argues that personalisation turns service users into 'consumers' of services within a care market and hence reinforces the commodification of care which sees vast profits made by a small number of providers at the expense of good quality services for those who use them.

88 pages, Paperback

First published October 23, 2013

About the author

Peter Beresford OBE, FAcSS, FRSA (born 1 May 1945) is a British academic, writer, researcher and activist best known for his work in the field of citizen participation and user involvement, areas of study he helped to create and develop. He is currently professor of citizen participation at the University of Essex and emeritus professor of social policy at Brunel University London. Much of his work has centred on including the viewpoints, lived experience and knowledge of disabled people, mental health and other long term service users in public policy, practice and learning. [Wikipedia]