Pia Bülow

Research

Pia Bülow’s research focuses on communication and institutional discourse in welfare settings, such as social services. The core of her interest is the meeting and interaction between individuals and institutional representatives. Her research is concerned with people’s stories, storytelling, and communicative processes during such meetings.

Pia Bülow's ongoing research is about older people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their lifestories, and their needs for support over time. With colleagues from HHH and JIBS, she studies the integration process regarding the Swedish labour market for people who have migrated to Sweden (Sofia Wixe is the project manager). In another project the housing support for people with severe mental illness are studied (project leader is Monika Allgurin). All three projects are funded by Forte.

Another project focuses on the process of work rehabilitation from the perspectives of clients, professionals and care mangers respectively. In addition, the project Children's participation in the problem formulation in contact with the social services' outpatient care (project manager Mikael Skillmark) studies conditions limits for service initiatives and the exercise of authority concerning children. and projects funded by the Children´s Welfare Foundation Sweden. This project, as well as a study of preventive family support conversations in parental mental illness, are funded by Children´s Welfare Foundation Sweden. Pia Bülow is involved in studies of letter stories about being cared for in a sanatorium during the first half of the 20th century (with Staffan Bengtsson), and in studies of emotions in institutional conversations (with Monika Wilińska).

Biography

Pia Bülow is a professor of social work. Since 2020, she has been Dean and Chairman of the Committee for Education and Postgraduate Education (NUF). She has been involved in teaching exchange programs at the University of Botswana and the University of the Free State in South Africa where she is appointed as Research Fellow. Pia is a member of the international research network DANASWAC (Discourse and Narrative Approaches to Social Work and Counseling).

Often cited articles

Bülow, P. H. (2004). Sharing Experiences of Contested Illness by Storytelling. Discourse & Society, 15(1), 33-53.

Bülow, P. H., & Hydén, L.-C. (2003). In dialogue with time: identity and illness in narratives about chronic fatigue. Narrative Inquiry, 13(1), 71-97.

Hydén, L.-C., & Bülow, P. (2003). Who's Talking: Drawing Conclusions from Focus Groups - Some Methodological Considerations. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 6(4), 305-321.