Clinical Sociology In the Age of Polycrisis: Ethics, Interventions, and the Transformation of Normative and Professional Orders

In an era increasingly described as one of polycrisis, encompassing climate change, political instability, institutional fragilization, and growing social inequalities, intervention-oriented disciplines are undergoing significant transformation. Clinical sociology, traditionally situated at the intersection of analysis and intervention, is confronted with renewed expectations and tensions.

This session explores how the age of polycrisis challenges and reshapes the ethical foundations, modalities of intervention, and professional positioning of clinical sociology. Particular attention will be given to emerging ethical frameworks emphasizing vulnerability, interdependence, and ecological responsibility, as well as to the diversification of interventions, from individual-focused care to group, community-based, and more explicitly engaged or activist forms.

The session also invites contributions examining the transformation of normative and professional orders. In contexts marked by multiple and sometimes conflicting normative frameworks (legal, institutional, ethical, practical), how do practitioners navigate uncertainty and complexity? How are boundaries between clinical sociology, social work, and social development?

Finally, the session raises a broader question: do turbulent times represent primarily a challenge, or also an opportunity for the renewal and expansion of clinical sociology? By bringing together theoretical, empirical, and practice-based perspectives from diverse contexts, the session aims to foster critical dialogue on the future trajectories of clinical sociology in a rapidly changing world.