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As a social worker, you must make sense of complex situations and determine the needs of various individuals. As star constellations offer a guide by which to navigate, social work theories offer ways to make sense of practice. Tackling the major theories used within social work, this book gives a concise and engaging overview of how practice is influenced by each approach described. The book outlines the origins and historical context of social work, which allows the reader to see how theoretical fashions have changed and adapted to certain times, and offers advice on the best way forward for the modern-day social worker. Packed with thought-provoking case studies and reflective questions on each topic, readers will be encouraged to question the theories outlined – a skill crucial to being a truly effective social work practitioner. The book is ideal for quick reference in lectures, on placement or in practice. Whether you're a student, a newly qualified social worker or a'seasoned'professional, you will return to this indispensable text time and time again.A Brief Introduction to Social Work Theory is also available in audiobook format from audiobook retailers.

This textbook provides a grounding in complexity theory, demonstrating how it can influence and shape social work interventions in policy, management, and practice, as well as forming an epistemological and methodological basis for research. It provides a contemporary theoretical basis for social work practice, equipping social workers to work in a 21st-Century world. The authors argue that the history of social work demonstrates the profession's engagement with the social and structural problems of each era since its emergence 150 years ago. However, in the 21st Century, such things as globalisation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change have highlighted that existing theories and practice models are insufficient to the task of working with the complicatedness of contemporary life in a fast-changing world. Distilling the central tenets of Complexity Theory and the notion of complex adaptive systems in partnership with pragmatism, the book provides practice perspectives and guidelines which build on social work's enduring commitment to understanding the person-in-context. The recognition that social workers require conceptual and theoretical agility to work across micro, meso and macro'levels'remains central, but the argument is made that their focus and practice must primarily be at the meso level. The authorship of combined academic and practice expertise enables such perspectives to be brought to life through the theoretical and practical analysis of conceptual and'real-world'challenges. The book consists of 13 chapters organized in three sections:Part I: Complex Practice in a Complex WorldPart II: Thinking Complexity in PracticePart III: Thinking Complexity in Public Policy, Research and EducationComplexity Theory for Social Work Practice encourages social workers to'think complexity'and'act pragmatically'. It is intended for final-year social work students; academics and researchers working in a range of disciplines, primarily in the social work field but also in the areas of sociology, psychology and anthropology; and practitioners in policy, research, management and practice settings.

This book shapes a situated body politics to re-think, re-write, and de-colonise social work as a post-anthropocentric discipline headed towards glocalisation, where human and non-human embodiments and agencies are entangled in glocal environmental worlds.It critically and creatively examines how social work can be theorised, practised, and written in renewed ways through dialogical and transdisciplinary practices. This book is composed of eight essayistic spaces, envisioning social work through embodied, glocal, and earthly entanglements. By drawing on research-based knowledge, autobiographical notes, stories, poetry, photographs, and an art exhibition in social work education, these essays provide readers with analysis and strategies that are useful for research, education, and practice as well as life-long learning.The book constitutes key literature for researchers, educators, practitioners, and activists in social work, sociology, architecture, art and creative writing, feminist and postcolonial studies, human geography, and post-anthropocentric philosophy. It offers the readers sustainable ways to re-think and re-write social work towards a glocal- and post-anthropocentric more-than-human worldview.

This book discusses complex motivational conditions and strategies on macro, meso, and micro levels promoting reflectivity in interpersonal professional practice. The increasing demands made on practitioners in social and health services, as illustrated by the COVID-19 pandemic, can lead to great uncertainty over how to find'the right response'to complex expressions of need and how to account for ethical professional decisions in view of prevailing strategies of'risk reduction'and managerial accounting. Reflectivity has been recognised as being of central importance for guiding practitioners towards situationally differentiated and accountable practice. However, it is a complex process made up not only of different psychological components and their interplay with educational and organisational contexts, but also of multilevel interactions and purely situational conditions that can have positive or negative effects. The individual and team reflectivity can be learnedand supported through various educational and managerial opportunities, sensitively guided personal and professional experiences and specific patterns of interaction which are reviewed in the book. Reflective supervision in the workplace plays a pivotal role in enabling individual and team reflective processes. However, there are also social and organisational factors that can hinder the development of individual and team reflectivity. The particular value of this publication is that the authors focus on complex research findings from several consecutive studies and critically review and discuss the conditions for reflectivity from various perspectives and with the background of rich academic literature and research. Their research-derived empirical and analytical insights were submitted to managers and educators, and effective and realistic strategies and methods to enhance different levels of reflectivity in students and practitioners were discussed and are summarised in this volume. Among the topics covered: The significance of reflectivity in professional social and health care in relation to changing socio-political contexts Gender aspects of reflectivity in the social and healthcare field Operationalisation of reflectivity for research by personal, team and organisational scales Cultural and communicational patterns of interaction enabling professional reflective processes Enhancing Professionality Through Reflectivity in Social and Health Care is pertinent reading for professors of professional academic training programmes for social workers, nurses, supervisors, trainers in non-formal learning settings, students, and managers of social and health services with an interest in enhancing organisational cultures.

Over the past decade cultural theory has seen a number of'turns'- the materialist turn, the animal turn, the affective turn - that address the human as an affective, embodied, and ultimately vulnerable animal embedded in dense webs of more-than-human relations, in short as a posthuman phenomenon. Care philosophy shares this focus on embodiment and vulnerability in its insistence on interdependence as the defining condition of human life, making it well positioned for a posthuman turn. To this end, Curious Kin in Fictions of Posthuman Care draws together contemporary narrative fictions that challenge humanist conceptions of care in their imaginative depiction of more-than-human affective bonds, arguing for an expansion care philosophy's central figure: the embodied, embedded, and encumbered'human'. Fictional narratives of care between humans and robots, bioengineered creatures, clones, nonhuman animals, aliens or inanimate things, highlight the limits of humanist ethical models'capacity to register and accommodate posthuman relational intimacies, while gesturing towards a model of care able to accommodate networked interdependencies that extend beyond the human realm. Texts by Margaret Atwood, Louise Erdrich, Louisa Hall, Eva Hornung, Kazuo Ishiguro, Bhanu Kapil, and Jesmyn Ward, along with films and television programmes like Robot and Frank, Under the Skin, and Real Humans, depict a range of scenarios in which more-than-human care relations not only supersede human-human relationships, but suggest new human/animal/machine ways of being that offer novel insights into the possible presents and futures of posthuman care. Curious Kin in Fictions of Posthuman Care reveals how these fictions do their own theorizing, imagining the politics, ethics and aesthetics of specific, contextualized scenarios of posthuman contact and companionship. Interweaving posthuman theory, care philosophy and contemporary fiction, Curious Kin in Fictions of Posthuman Care offers generative visions of care that make room for the incredible range of affects, energies, behaviours, attachments and dependencies that produce and sustain life in more-than-human worlds.

This popular and innovative core text book explores contemporary social work theories and perspectives in a systematic way, using an integrated and flexible framework to link context, theory, and practice approaches. Healy expertly provides an applied guide to social work theory across a range of organisational contexts, showing social work as a diverse activity that is profoundly shaped by professional purpose, public policy, and practice locations. This edition has been comprehensively updated to reflect developments in the contexts and theorising of social work practices. This is ideal reading to support and develop undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules on Social Work Theories and Methods on qualifying professional programmes. Its international breadth and supportive pedagogical features have ensured the book's value to students of social work all over the world.New to this edition:- New sections on post-humanism and eco-social work- Coverage of a broader range of critical approaches including feminist and anti-racial social work- Additional practice exercises drawn from realistic case studies.

Interpelaciones, problematizaciones y apuestas epistémicas recorren los capítulos desde un sentipensar-hacer situado para la construcción y consolidación de un Trabajo Social feminista, descolonial, intercultural, indisciplinado y emancipador.

This book is a theoretical and practical guide for mental health professionals who wish to utilize existential principles in their social work and clinical practice. Existential questions concerning life situations, such as anxiety, suffering, choosing, authenticity, are at the heart of the craft of any helping profession. The book aims to confront students and practitioners with the need to be simultaneously philosophical and experiential in their clinical approach. Written in an accessible tone, Eisikovits and Buchbinder bridge existential-philosophical concepts often seen as removed from everyday practice and the practical concerns of therapy. Each chapter presents a concept from existential philosophical tradition, such as anxiety, meaning making, time, and space, and then demonstrates their use by drawing from real-life clinical examples and interventions. The book illustrates their implementation in social work practice with reference to values such as client participation, self-determination, and free will. The book is intended for courses and advanced training in existential social work and therapy. It is essential reading for training social workers, counselors, therapists, and other helping professionals interested in existentialism.

This book introduces social practitioners - community development workers, social workers, organisational change facilitators, social, ecological, cultural and political activists - to a phenomenological tradition of reflective practice. Critiquing reductionist, linear and ossified thinking in the social and ecological fields, the book offers an exciting new alternative that is honouring of the uncertainty of all living and therefore emergent social processes. Linking phenomenology and Goethe's ‘delicate empiricism', the book challenges practitioners to observe and work with living processes. As such, the book charts two stories, two inquiries. One personal and the other social. The first is the personal phenomenological inquiry into the author's own practice, a search to make sense of the nuanced and subtle practice that he brings to the social world. The second journey is the inquiry into how this social practice, shaped as it is by a confluence of three rivers – dialogue and community, soul and depth psychology, Goethe and ‘delicate activism', along with other thinkers on ‘observation'and ‘aliveness'– can be understood in the context of a wider phenomenological reflective practice. This second journey draws on years of experience and research in Brazil, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and parts of Europe. Presenting a philosophical, personal and practical analysis, it offers a new approach to observation and action, while working with aliveness and complexity within the social and ecological fields. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of social work and community development and particularly courses on social complexity.

Social work rests on complex philosophical assumptions that should be central to practice, education, and training. In this book, Frederic G. Reamer explores how these issues bear on the purpose, methods, and perspectives of social work and their far-reaching implications for practice and scholarship.Reamer examines major themes across the domains of moral and political philosophy, logic, epistemology, and aesthetics. He raises questions such as: How can ethical theories inform social workers'moral judgments? In what ways are canons of inductive and deductive logic relevant to social workers'thinking about their work? To what extent can scientific inquiry help social workers understand the nature and effect of their interventions? How can concepts related to aesthetics shed light on the nature of social work? Reamer's nuanced inquiry never loses sight of the concrete applications of philosophy to social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities, or to broader goals of social change.This second edition of The Philosophical Foundations of Social Work is revised and updated throughout to address contemporary challenges. It focuses especially on newer thinking about the role of non-Western philosophical perspectives and the relevance of philosophy to social workers'commitments to multiculturalism, feminism, and antiracism.

Social work today is a widely differentiated structure of institutionalized support services in the social field. The hypothesis at the basis of this book is that underlying social work, there is a complex of reasons why and in relation to what goals people are to be helped & the philosophy of social work. The reconstruction of that philosophy presented in this book offers not a homogeneous theoretical construct, but rather a nuanced theoretical landscape. However, this has the common feature that it promises a?good life= for everyone, the nature of which is analysed in greater detail here. Those with an interest in social work will be able not only to plunge into the intellectual and historical background of the (late) modern age here, but also to obtain a good overview of important theories of social work down to the present day.

Puzzled by terminology, skills, law, or theory? Revising for your placement or exam? Then look no further! This series of concise and easy-to-use A-Zs will be your guide. Designed for both students and newly-qualified social workers, this book will introduce you to over 350 key theories, theorists and concepts in a concise and no-nonsense way. Careful cross-referencing will help you make important connections, while selected further reading will provide you with a springboard to further learning.

A step-by-step guide to the underpinning theoretical knowledge in social work helping your students to confidently apply theory in practice. - Exercises will help them get to grips with the essentials and reflect on learning. - Case studies from eight fictional social workers located in a busy local authority office will allow them to explore a range of different practice experience, theoretical perspectives and approaches to understanding situations and identifying possible courses of action. - The authors'own experiences will show the importance of reflection, supervision and continual learning to help them prepare for the reality of practice.

Just Practice: A Social Justice Approach to Social Work provides a foundation for critical and creative social work that integrates theory, history, ethics, skills, and rights to respond to the complex terrain of 21st century social work. Just Practice puts the field of social work's expressed commitment to social justice at center stage with a framework that builds upon five key concepts: meaning, context, power, history, and possibility. How do we give meaning to the experiences and conditions that shape our lives? What are the contexts in which those experiences and conditions occur? How do structures and relations of power shape people's lives and the practice of social work? How might a historical perspective help us to grasp the ways in which struggles over meaning and power have played out and to better appreciate the human consequences of those struggles? Taken together, these concepts provide a guide for integrative social work that bridges direct practice and community building. The text prepares readers with the theoretical knowledge and practice skills to address the complex challenges of contemporary social work from direct practice with individuals and families, to group work, organizational and community change, and policy analysis and advocacy. Each chapter includes learning activities, reflection moments, practice examples, and the stories and voices of practitioners and service users to engage students as critical thinkers and practitioners. The author encourages teachers and students alike to take risks, move from safe, familiar, pedagogical spaces and practices, challenge assumptions, and embrace uncertainty.

This book offers an ecological foundation for social work and for care provision in general. It presents the ecosocial approach according to its origins, distinguishing it from other theoretical social work approaches and applying it to various areas of care for welfare. The ecological anchoring of social welfare and common care is an emerging topic in political, organisational, and person-related development of human services and social work. In an era of crisis, this anchoring is an essential contribution to the study of sustainable social provision. The book embeds the dispositions about it in the ecology of the protection and securing of common life. Ecology of Common Care: The Ecosocial Approach as a Theory of Social Work and Human Service is an essential text that should engage the academic community of educators and researchers in social work and other human services professions, as well as students in bachelor's and master's programmes in these professions.

Now in its fifth edition, this international best-selling textbook is a classic in its field. Written by one of the leading names in social work, it provides a comprehensive and critical overview of the main practice theories that will act as a companion for students throughout their course and their career as a practitioner. In this substantially reworked and updated edition of his best-selling text, Malcolm Payne presents clear and concise evaluations of the pros and cons of major theories that inform social work practice, and comparisons between them.This is the ideal text for theory, methods and practice modules on qualifying social work courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level, as well qualified social work practitioners taking post-qualifying and CPD courses.New to this Edition:- Theory chapters divided up based on the three objectives in the IASSW/ISFW global definition of social work- New content on whiteness theory, post-colonial approaches and critiques of multicultural and anti-racist theories- Full treatment of Relational Practice and Attachment Practice in separate chapters- More space given to Green social work and environmental approaches

Der Umgang mit Anderen, die in belasteten Situationen wie Migration, Flucht oder Behinderung stehen, ist das zentrale Thema dieser sozialtheoretischen Reflexion. Christian Wevelsiep diskutiert Spannungen und Wertekonflikte, die als Grunddilemma das Helfen bei jeder Intervention im sozialen Raum beeinflussen und setzt sie in Bezug zu den Grundlagen des methodischen Handelns in der sozialen Arbeit Im Vordergrund seiner Überlegungen stehen zunächst die Bedingungen, unter denen wir über Andere sprechen, sie ins Licht rücken, anerkennen oder verkennen. Dazu gehören kulturelle und religiösen Kontexte ebenso wie gesellschaftliche Ordnung und Gewalt. Die weiterführende Sozialphilosophie wird im Anschluss an diese elementaren Aspekte näher bestimmt.

Originally published in 1980, Social Welfare: Why and How? is a collection of papers contributing to the subject of welfare philosophy, and to philosophising about and doing welfare. It advances emerging arguments concerning the growth grounds and uses of social welfare. The book is divided into two main sections, the first looks at the growth and the grounds of social welfare and the second looks at the practice of social welfare. The collection of papers provides a multi-disciplinary look at the subject through the lens of philosophy, social policy, social work and economics.

Was ist im Rahmen der praktischen Sozialen Arbeit unter einer Situation, einem Problem und einem Fall zu verstehen? Was bedeutet Soziale Diagnostik und welche Verfahren sind wie und wann sinnvoll einsetzbar? Soziale Diagnostik ist ein zentraler Bestandteil der Praxis Sozialer Arbeit. Peter Pantucek-Eisenbacher stellt in der 4., aktualisierten Auflage bewährte sowie weiterentwickelte Verfahren dar. Das Inklusions-Chart liegt in der 4. Version vor. Grundlagen zur Diagnostik des Sozialen und zahlreiche Features, wie Softwarelösungen, Gesprächshinweise und Interpretationsleitfäden für z. B. die Netzwerkkarte oder den Biografischen Zeitbalken werden vorgestellt. Der Band bietet grundlegende Erörterungen sowie wertvolle Hilfsmittel für die Praxis und ermöglicht somit einen einfachen Einstieg in die Soziale Diagnostik.

This book offers a critical, sociological analysis of the domino effect of neoliberalism and austerity politics on the role of social work and wider welfare provision. It argues that social work should move away from the resultant emphasis on risk management and bureaucracy, and return to a focus on relational and community approaches as the cornerstone of practice. Applying theoretical frameworks to practice, including those of Bourdieu and the recent work of Wacquant, the book examines the development of neoliberal ideas and their impact on social welfare. It explores the implications of this across a range of areas of social work practice, including work with children and families, working with asylum seekers and refugees and mental health social work.

Existentialism and Social Work provides a clearly-expressed and well-argued exposition of Sartrean existentialism as a theory base for social work practice. It introduces the key concepts and themes of the philosophy and relates them to social welfare theory and practice. Existentialism is a valuable means of making sense of many of the complexities, contradictions and dilemmas which social work staff encounter. The book explores the relationship between theory and practice and examines how existentialism can help to bridge the gap. A number of theoretical perspectives are evaluated from an existentialist perspective and links are drawn between Sartre's philosophy and aspects of commonly used theories and methods. But this is not simply a theoretical analysis. Neil Thompson also explores the use of existentialism as a guide to day-to-day practice and draws up a set of Principles for Practice. The ultimate aim is to present existentialism as a concrete philosophy of praxis.

Die Etablierung der Sozialen Arbeit als Wissenschaft ist mittlerweile ausreichend oft fundiert begründet worden. Das vorliegende Buch geht daher einen Schritt weiter und bildet den derzeitigen Stand der Wissenschaft Soziale Arbeit anhand ihrer theoretischen Grundlagen, der normativen Dimensionen und ausgewählter Theorieentwürfe ab. Dabei wird die grundsätzliche Frage nach der Notwendigkeit von Theorien genauso beantwortet wie die Frage nach dem Gegenstand Sozialer Arbeit und der theoretischen Begründung von Methoden.

This masterly text is a classic in its field and will be a reliable companion throughout the course of your studies and your career as a social work practitioner. In this substantially reworked and updated fourth edition of his best-selling text, Malcolm Payne presents clear and concise evaluations of the pros and cons of major theories that inform social work practice, and comparisons between them. Modern Social Work Theory is now more accessible and comprehensive than ever, offering: the most complete coverage of social work theory, from classic perspectives to the very latest ideas, including a new chapter dedicated to strengths, narrative, and solutions approaches; a host of brand new case examples showing how theories can be applied to everyday practice; new analysis of the ethical dimensions of different social work theories and what common values they share; Pause and Reflect questions to encourage you to draw on your own experience and develop your thinking; and updated Example text sections which summarize the most current thinking and help bridge the gap between introductions to each theory and more specialist writing.

Contemporary social workers continue to face growing challenges of complex and diverse issues such as child maltreatment, poverty, unemployment, oppression, violence, mental illness, and end-of-life care across varied contexts. Wendy L. Haight and Edward H. Taylor present their book Human Behavior for Social Work Practice, Second Edition as a core text that will help students implement a consistent framework through which to approach multifaceted social issues in any environment, whether it be in inner city schools or rural nursing homes with individuals of different ages, ethnicities, and socioeconomic status. Human Behavior for Social Work Practice, Second Edition uses the developmental, ecological-systems perspective as an analytic tool to show students how social scientific evidence helps us understand human development and enhances social work practice. Students will learn that by effectively connecting theory to practice, they can develop successful strategies to use as they encounter complex issues currently facing social workers. The authors have reorganized and expanded this new edition to better illustrate developmental thinking in social work practice throughout the lifespan. This book also now includes special topic chapters on human brain development and the increasing relevance of neuroscience to social work practice as well as important social justice issues specific to race and gender that occur throughout the lifespan. Also new to this edition, Haight and Taylor have developed instructor's materials that can be tailored to include the social work experience of the instructor. It is comprehensive so that no additional resources are needed, and it is dynamically structured so information can be added where relevant to the course material.

In order to practice effectively in today's complex and changing environment, social workers need to have an understanding of how contemporary cultural and philosophical concepts relate to the people they work with and the fields they practice in. Exploring the ideas of philosophers, including Nietzsche, Gadamer, Taylor, Adorno, MacIntyre, Zizek and Derrida, this text demonstrates their relevance to social work practice and presents new approaches and frameworks to understanding social change. Key Debates in Social Work and Philosophy introduces a range of concerns central to social work and social care, with chapters looking at questions such as:- What is the ‘self'?- How are communities formed?- Why is ‘choice'important?- Are certain rights really applicable to all humans?- What are the political and ethical implications of documenting your practice?- What does it mean to be a professional social worker?Each chapter focuses on a particular area of dispute, presenting the relevant philosophical theories, and considering how relevant social work examples and research can be used to further inform theoretical debate, and includes questions to prompt discussion and reflection.The only book to examine the philosophical ideas that underlie and inform contemporary issues for social work and social care practitioners, this is a useful resource for those studying social work theory, policy and practice.

Cet ouvrage retrace les principaux concepts issus de la sociologie, de la philosophie et des sciences politiques qui constituent désormais des fondements sociopolitiques du service social. La première partie présente le service social et la manière dont cette profession intègre la pensée critique dans sa pratique quotidienne. La deuxième partie campe les diverses théories issues des sciences humaines et sociales en les classant selon qu'elles sont basées sur le système ou sur l'acteur ou encore qu'elles tentent de réconcilier les deux approches. Enfin, la troisième partie s'intéresse aux questions contemporaines, d'abord les pratiques anti-oppressives ou inclusives en service social pour terminer par le phénomène actuel de la mondialisation et de ses effets. L'ouvrage reprend aussi quelques essais réalisés par des étudiants et des étudiantes au fil des ans. Chacun de ces essais analyse une œuvre classique sous l'angle de son application possible afin de mieux comprendre la réalité vécue par une minorité qui subit une forme d'oppression.

This masterly text is a classic in its field and will be a reliable companion throughout the course of your studies and your career as a social work practitioner. In this substantially reworked and updated fourth edition of his best-selling text, Malcolm Payne presents clear and concise evaluations of the pros and cons of major theories that inform social work practice, and comparisons between them. Modern Social Work Theory is now more accessible and comprehensive than ever, offering: • the most complete coverage of social work theory, from classic perspectives to the very latest ideas, including a new chapter dedicated to strengths, narrative and solutions approaches• a host of brand new case examples showing how theories can be applied to everyday practice• new analysis of the ethical dimensions of different social work theories and what common values they share•'Pause and Reflect'questions to encourage you to draw on your own experience and develop your thinking• updated'Example text'sections which summarise the most current thinking and help bridge the gap between introductions to each theory and more specialist writing.

Using theory, research evidence and experiential knowledge is a critical component of good social work. This unique text is designed to help social work students and practitioners to integrate theorizing into practice, demonstrating how to search for, select and translate academic knowledge for practical use in helping people improve their lives and environments.Presenting 32 core skills, Skills for Using Theory in Social Work provides a conceptual foundation, a vocabulary, and a set of skills to aid competent social work theorizing. Each chapter outlines the knowledge and action components of the skill and its relationship to core practice behaviours, along with learning and reflection activities. The lessons are divided into four parts: Section one discusses foundational material, including self-identification as a theorist-practitioner, the deliberate use of the term theory, and a social work approach to the selection of knowledge. Section two focuses on the adept use of theorizing skills. It covers identifying assumptions, using concepts, formulating propositions, organizing theory elements inductively or deductively, summarizing and displaying the elements of a theory, gathering and organizing assessment information and communicating with clients and colleagues about tentative theories. Section three includes lessons preparing social workers for the construction of useful middle-range theories including causal theories and interpretive theories and for testing and sharing these practical theories. Section four presents skills to develop critical thinking about theoretical knowledge. These include avoiding the misuse of theory, judging a theory using scientific standards, judging a theory by professional standards, critiquing theory in its cultural and historical context and making judgments about the likely long-term impact of a theory. This key text will help readers to demonstrate their expertise in reflective, competent, and theory-informed practice. It is suitable for all social work students and practitioners, particularly those taking practice, theory and human behaviour in the social environment courses.

Sorge und Sorgearbeit sind in ihrer Gefährdung zu gesellschaftlich und soziologisch bedeutsamen Themen geworden. In internationalen Sozialdiagnosen und Weiterführungen des Forschungsstandes vermisst der Sonderband der Sozialen Welt das Forschungsfeld neu und nimmt Ursachen der Veränderungen wie Herausforderungen für die Soziologie in den Blick.Die Autoren: Ursula Apitzsch, Erna Appelt, Brigitte Aulenbacher, Jim Barry, Regina Becker-Schmidt, Orly Benjamin, Elisabeth Berg, Monica Budowski, John Chandler, Diego Compagna, Maria Dammayr, Klaus Dörre, Martin Ehrlich, Thorsten Euler, Michael D. Fine, Eva Fleischer, Ute Gerhard, Peter Hammerschmidt, Tine Haubner, Cornelia Klinger, Ellen Kuhlmann, Christa Larsen, Helma Lutz, Rianne Mahon, Michael Meuser, Elena Moore, Martha C. Nussbaum, August Österle, Ewa Palenga-Möllenbeck, Birgit Pfau-Effinger, Sara Picchi, Romy Reimer, Birgit Riegraf, Yayoi Saito, Sebastian Schief, Jeremy Seekings, Karen Shire, Annamaria Simonazzi, Hildegard Theobald, Joan Tronto.

This popular and innovative core text book explores contemporary social work theories and perspectives in a systematic way, using an integrated and flexible framework to link context, theory, and practice approaches. Healy expertly provides an applied guide to social work theory across a range of organisational contexts, showing social work as a diverse activity that is profoundly shaped by professional purpose, public policy, and practice locations.This is ideal reading to support and develop undergraduate and postgraduate students taking modules on Social Work Theories and Methods on qualifying professional programmes. Its international breadth and supportive pedagogical features have ensured the book's value to students of social work all over the world.New to this Edition:- A greater focus on service user perspectives - Coverage is extended to include solution focused therapy and empowerment theories as well as discussion of the evidence-based practice debate - Discussion of the use and limits of critical reflection in practice

The second edition of this celebrated book by two of the world′s leading researchers in social work introduces readers to the main theories, theorists and perspectives that contribute to the debate on social work theory and social work methods. It brings together some outstanding international researchers in social work to challenge the reader to critically question how they think about social work. The new edition includes a focus on the psychosocial perspective, with three new chapters on: - Cognitive behavioural approaches - Attachment theory and psychoanalytic social work - Ecological approaches Each chapter allows the reader to relate the theories and methods discussed to their own personal experiences. This reader friendly book includes student questions, glossaries and recommended reading so that students and practitioners can reappraise and expand the knowledge they have learned. This book will be valuable for undergraduate and postgraduate students taking courses in social work theory and research methods, social work interventions and perspectives as well as post qualifying students and researchers in social work.

Alla ricerca del senso del lavoro di operatori sociali: è questo l'intento del presente saggio, edito in formato bilingue (inglese e italiano). L'occasione è stata fornita dal processo di revisione della Definizione Ufficiale approvata a Montréal nel 2000 dalle principali Organizzazioni rappresentative del Social Work internazionale (IASSW e IFSW). Il testo ha l'ambizione di andare alla radice del «mistero» che da sempre caratterizza il Lavoro Sociale, vale a dire la difficoltà a concettualizzarne l'essenza in poche e semplici parole. Mentre per tutte le altre professioni (sanitarie soprattutto) è intuitivamente chiaro di che cosa si occupino, per il Lavoro Sociale non è mai stato così. La Teoria relazionale è usata come chiave di lettura illuminante, non solo per mettere in risalto le ambiguità e qualche limite concettuale dell'attuale Definizione, ma soprattutto per suggerire spunti utili in vista di possibili formulazioni alternative.

Reflective practice is an essential skill for those working in health and social care, but why is it so vital and how can it be learned? As inter-disciplinary working becomes more common, finding shared ways of reflection on practice are becoming more and more important. How do we share our ideas and thoughts to enrich both professionals and their client base?This book uses stories and exercises to enable readers to develop their skills. Its emphasis is on the practical, from how to construct a reflective essay to the ethical ambiguities of whistleblowing and constructing a professional persona. The book is written with the needs of students of health and social care in mind. For those who want to develop their skills beyond the scope of the book, each chapter ends by with a step-up suggestion enabling them to build on what they have already learned.

An essential toolkit that helps students, qualified nurses and other healthcare professionals to become confident reflective practitioners. Developing Reflective Practice is suitable for students and practitioners in a variety of fields, including nursing, psychology, social work, therapeutic child care, and education. The book offers a simple three-stage reflective cycle that will enable students and practitioners to incorporate reflective practice into their workplace and to help them feel confident and competent when confronted with complex and emotionally demanding situations in their practice. Introduces reflective practice and provides a range of reflective methods and techniques. Invites readers to acquire and develop skills by working through practical reflective activities. Illustrates concepts and techniques with extended worked examples. Encourages structured reflection with journal exercises. Provides practical advice on team working, case supervision and recognising and avoiding stress and burnout. Students and qualified practitioners will benefit from reading this book and working through the reflective exercises that accompany the text. From Reviews:'...In this book the clinical psychologist Natius Oelofsen describes the processes of learning and the three-step reflective cycle, explaining how keeping a reflective journal offers insights into self and behaviour, and using critical analysis to reflect on even ordinary, everyday incidents. He shows how the insights of understanding help our interactions with patients and colleagues. Reflection helps us work together, offer support and see where we are able to fit in as team members. The chapter'All for one and one for all: building supportive teams'is particularly illuminating. There is so much in this book, including getting the most from supervision, ethical issues and dealing with work-based stress, as well as exercises, activities and case examples.'Nursing Standard, Vol. 26, No. 48, August 2012'Developing Reflective Practice is a thorough and concise book enabling students, qualified nurses and any other health professional to become confident reflective practitioners within their own field.... A well-written and educational tool particularly for a nursing student and even a social work student.'Nursing Times, 11 October 2012

This book aims to rethink systemic intervention to enhance its relevance for supporting social change in the 21st Century. It offers a new systems philosophy and methodology, focusing upon the fundamental importance of exploring value and boundary judgements as part of the intervention process. A pluralist practice is also promoted, and the reader learns how s/he can draw upon a wide variety of theories and methods to maximise flexibility and responsiveness during interventions. Four detailed examples of the practice of systemic intervention are also provided, each of which is used to illustrate a different aspect of the methodology outlined in the book.

Während der Begriff „Soziale Arbeit“ in der Regel für die inhaltliche und strukturelle Einheit sozialpädagogischer und sozialarbeiterischer Praxis steht, führen Fragen nach der disziplinären Zuständigkeit einer „Sozialen Arbeit als Wissenschaft“ zu vielerlei Kontroversen. Vor allem die in den 1990er Jahren geführten Diskussionen um eine neue, autonome „Sozialarbeitswissenschaft“ spiegeln die Ambivalenzen im wissenschaftlichen Selbstvergewisserungsprozess Sozialer Arbeit wider. Die daraus resultierenden Konfliktlinien zwischen der Sozialpädagogik und der Sozialarbeitswissenschaft beziehen sich dabei auf eine Vielfalt unterschiedlicher Diskursebenen, die in diesem Band retrospektiv analysiert und auf der Basis wissenschaftstheoretischer Überlegungen (neu) bewertet werden.

This practical book provides a basic introduction to the most commonly used theories and methods in social work practice.

This book traces the changing fortunes of radical and critical social work, and examines the theory, context and application of such approaches. Radical social work of the 1970s declined as the rise of neoliberalism over subsequent decades changed the nature of the welfare state along with what social workers do and how. A looser critical approach developed, although practitioner demoralisation and disillusionment led to the ‘second wave'of radical social work in the late 2000s. Despite challenges, critical practice is both necessary and possible in the neoliberal world. Core areas of practice with children and families are covered, including some real life case studies, key point summaries and suggestions for further reading. The essential argument is for an emancipatory practice geared to meeting immediate needs, as well as having some vision of a future, more socially just and equal society. The book will be invaluable to undergraduate and postgraduate social work students, experienced practitioners, educators, managers and policy makers.

Kirwin Maclean Associates is delighted to be launching a new series of books. Social Work Pocket Guides are an entirely new concept in social work. They are designed to help busy practitioners to get to the bottom of the What? Why? and How? of the chosen subject. The first Pocket Guide is available to buy now. The Social Work Pocket Guide to Reflective Practice summarises theory and research in an accessible way and offers practical suggestions for skill development. Reflective practice is a key component of social work practice. This Guide explores what is meant by reflective practice and why it is important in social work as a profession. Recognising the need for social workers and students to both develop their skills in reflective practice and to produce critically reflective assignments, a range of tips and guidelines are provided for the reader. This is a book which everyone in social work should have.

Kirwin Maclean Associates is delighted to be launching a new series of books. Social Work Pocket Guides are an entirely new concept in social work. They are designed to help busy practitioners to get to the bottom of the What? Why? and How? of the chosen subject. The first Pocket Guide is available to buy now. The Social Work Pocket Guide to Reflective Practice summarises theory and research in an accessible way and offers practical suggestions for skill development. Reflective practice is a key component of social work practice. This Guide explores what is meant by reflective practice and why it is important in social work as a profession. Recognising the need for social workers and students to both develop their skills in reflective practice and to produce critically reflective assignments, a range of tips and guidelines are provided for the reader. This is a book which everyone in social work should have.