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Introductory Social Work Texts
The long awaited new edition of this hugely popular text has been heavily revised to reflect the current needs of students on the first year of their social work degree. With ten new chapters and a wealth of expert contributors, this text looks exclusively and in detail at the topics that matter.
Bringing together theory and practice discussion in rich combination, this significantly updated text provides a comprehensive and integrated approach to contemporary social work. Incorporating key theories and vivid case material, this text's powerful practice focus makes it indispensable for students and practitioners alike.
This radically revised text (previously known as Social Work Futures) is uniquely tailored to fit the needs of final year social work trainees. With an emphasis on refining and deepening professional skills, the text offers clear guidance on hot topics and higher order skills such as research-based practice and leadership.
In an extensive update to reflect the recent developments in theory and practice, the new edition of Understanding Social Work covers the basics in an easy-to-comprehend style. It is an ideal preparatory text for those considering a career in social work, students just starting their degree and in preparation for the first placement.
Significantly expanded, yet still supremely clear and accessible, the third edition of People Skills is an essential guide to the basic knowledge and skills needed for effective practice in the ‘people professions’ – that is, those occupations that involve dealing with people and their problems. It covers an extensive range of topics underpinning the work of a wide variety of staff, identifying key issues of concern to students, practitioners and managers. A central feature of the book is its emphasis on the need for issues of equality and diversity to be integrated into all aspects of practice. This thoroughly revised edition includes six entirely new chapters. It is essential reading for everyone working, or training to work, with people and their problems and will be invaluable in such diverse fields as health care; social work and social care; community and youth work; criminal justice; counselling, pastoral care and advice work; as well as management, supervision and human resources.
People Problems aims to equip students, practitioners and managers with an understanding of the factors that contribute to a range of problems, such as conflict, stress, relationship difficulties and poor communication. It introduces fifty problem-solving techniques, with a commentary on how they can be effectively used in a variety of contexts and plenty of suggestions for further reading. The book offers an invaluable source of ideas and is an ideal companion volume to People Skills. Its generic approach will appeal across a wide readership, in health and social care and beyond.
This crisp text, by one of social work’s most highly regarded commentators offers the perfect entry point into the complex world of social work theory. Written in a clear conversational style and organised into short, clearly labelled chapters, students and practitioners will find this an invaluable point of refreshment and reference.
This timely new edition of a best-selling text identifies the important skills integral to effective communication in social work. Lishman offers an extended account of the subject by paying more attention to the diverse contexts of social work and the range of clients and users with whom practitioners come into contact.
Assessment is a vital social work task. This popular text gives a clear overview of the complex issues it raises and the essential theory professionals need to conduct meaningful and effective assessments. The third edition includes two brand new chapters on assessment in children's and adults' services and an attractive new design.
'Throughout, the authors maintain the focus of the work upon the service user and promote their full involvement if social workers are to promote their empowerment and to provide anti-discriminatory practice in every area.' - Helen Jenkins, Social Policy and Social Work
This new textbook examines the knowledge, skills and values that underpin and inform current social work practice and processes. With a clear focus on skills, social work processes and the suitability of different methods, Watson offers students a toolkit for applying theoretical frameworks to actual practice situations.
This text provides a practical but theoretically informed foundation for meeting the challenges of social work practice. Thompson offers a truly contemporary way of conceptualising social work, providing readers with a taste of what social work is really like. All social work students and qualified practitioners will find this text indispensable.
This is a practical, user-friendly text addressing the anxieties and challenges faced by social work students at the start of their course. Offering wide-ranging yet accessible coverage of the core topics along with important advice on study skills, this Companion is the essential survival guide for social work students.
Social work has laboured too long under a 'deficit' model that focuses on failings and problems of practice. Emphasising best practice, strengths and collaborative partnership this ambitious book seeks to redress the balance. Undergraduate and post-qualifying social work students alike will find it a useful resource.
'Clearly written, this text is useful to students, managers, and practitioners alike - and not just those in social work, but in any other "people-orientated" professions.' - Lynda Hassall, Community Care
This book is an essential introduction to the values, knowledge and skills required for working with different groups in a variety of social work and social care settings. Accessible and comprehensive, it will be invaluable for students and practitioners in social work and the caring professions wanting to learn more about this key practice technique.
Power is an unavoidable issue in social work. This important text explores these complex issues, both at a conceptual and applied level, in order to give students a clear understanding of the theoretical frameworks relevant to practice and to help them begin to think through the challenges they are likely to face and how they will deal with these.
Students of social work need to understand the contribution of research, as part of this evidence base, to effective practice. This textbook introduces students to a range of research methods at a practical level and sensitises them to the political dimension of research.
This book presents the case for making critical gerontology central to contemporary social work with older people. It brings together the latest research in critical gerontology with social work knowledge and practice to provide an accessible source for students, academics and those interested in underpinning practice with research evidence.
Best selling author Malcolm Payne analyzes the skills of social care practice, showing how social care is a valuable form of social work and reflects the core values and methods of social work. Incorporating the varying contexts in which social care takes place, this text is stimulating reading for social work students and practitioners.
Now in its fourth edition this book continues to offer in-depth coverage spanning both conceptual debates about empowerment and a range of practice issues. The clarity and accessibility, as well as new examples reflecting varied global contexts and material on empowering children and adults, make it an essential resource at all levels of study.>
Drawing on his own professional experience, Alan Twelvetrees addresses the needs of students, field-level community workers and managers. Both theory and practice are described in a highly readable and honest way and the updated fourth edition of this bestseller includes placing community work at the centre of neighbourhood renewal.
'The book has always been a perfect jumping off point for students'- Social Work Practice
This fourth edition of Veronica Coulshed's classic text has been meticulously revised to reflect the latest changes in social work education. Generic skills and processes such as communication and assessment are discussed alongside models and settings of practice. The relationship between theory, evidence and practice is fully explored throughout, ensuring this remains an ideal introduction for all beginning social work students as well as a handy refresher and companion for practitioners.
This successful textbook has been thoroughly updated to include new debates and developments in the theory and practice of anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive social work, including discussion of language, the diversity approach and misinterpretations of PCS analysis. References, reading lists and recommended websites are all carefully revised. This fourth edition continues to offer support, guidance and insight on a complex subject and is an ideal starting point or refresher for students, practitioners and managers alike.
The third edition of this popular book has been updated to take account of the latest developments in policy and social work practice in the UK and other countries. It includes new sections on radical/emancipatory and postmodern approaches to ethics, analysis of the latest codes of ethics from over 30 different countries, additional case studies of ethical problems and dilemmas and practical exercises and annotated further reading lists at the end of each chapter.
Psychology provides an essential backdrop to social work practice but there are few sources that summarize its theories and findings in a way that is easily accessible to students. This compact and practical text answers this need in applying key ideas, skills and research from psychology to contemporary social work in a variety of settings. Substantially revised to take account of the latest developments, this is a wide-ranging and authoritative introduction to a complex subject.
This third edition of a classic text has been brought right up-to-date to meet the needs of today's social work students, professionals and service managers. Management in Social Work explores an area of rapid change that is central to professional practice. It has been thoroughly revised to reflect current legislation, policy, procedure and concerns, with additional material included to develop readers' confidence and skills in the context of learning organizations.
Introductory Social Policy Texts
Updating the successful first edition, this book offers an insightful comparative study of welfare provision throughout the developed world. Written by international experts, the book explores policy development, organization, changes and trends. This is an indispensable resource for all students and scholars of global social policy.
'Superb updated edition. You cannot study social policy without reading this.' - Lynne Brown, Belfast Institute of Higher and Further Education, UK
Understanding social policy can be a daunting task. This book guides students and trainees through the subject, making complex ideas easy to digest. Packed with updated questions, tasks and resource lists, it provides important material on major new areas of debate, including pension provision and rising NHS costs.
The Social and Legal Context of Social Work
This book provides a comprehensive and critical introduction to the relationship between social policy and social work. It examines a range of social policy sectors as they impact on the work of professionals in the particular fields of social work, social care, community care and residential care. Overarching issues such as the financing, organisation and delivery of welfare services, the relationship between social policy and social divisions, and key stakeholders in service provision are also discussed. It is a key text for students and practitioners in the welfare field.
In this revised and updated edition, Neil Thompson presents a clear and accessible analysis of the complexities of discrimination and oppression and the challenges of making equality practice a reality. Critical of the orthodoxies and oversimplications of 'political correctness', Promoting Equality combines analysis and understanding of the latest theory with practice examples and insights. This important book will be of value to students, practitioners, managers and educators in a variety of professions and settings concerned with people and their problems, and will play a major part in promoting equality and valuing diversity.
This book, by one of the leading theorists of social work, tackles a subject of crucial importance to students and practitioners alike: how social workers can enable their clients to challenge and transcend the manifold oppressions that disempower them (whether through poverty, disability, mental illness, etc.). It moves from a discussion of social work's purpose and ambitions to an exposition of theory and, from there, to the practice arenas of working with individuals, in groups, within organisations, and within a wider social and political context.
Families, Children and Younger People
Comprehensive in its coverage, the text examines the core areas of childcare practice, considering the various strengths and weaknesses of both policy and practice. With an emphasis on reflective practice, this text is insightful reading for all those studying childcare from advanced undergraduate level upwards.
This text explores the challenges and possibilities of working with asylum seeking children and young people, including the different aspects of resettlement, and development and sustainability of good standards of practice. It is a valuable resource for students and practitioners wanting to understand current debates and support unaccompanied minors.
Kohli offers a comprehensive overview of what is known about the resettlement of young asylum-seekers, answering social work practitioners' need for a fuller understanding. After reviewing existing approaches, research evidence and current practice, students and practitioners are presented with a new conceptual framework for social work.
Carol Hayden reviews evidence about children in trouble across a range of circumstances, demonstrating the tensions between welfare and justice, care and control in the treatment of these vulnerable young people and evaluating the implications of the current 'what works' debate within social policy. This book will be invaluable to all students and professionals working with children in social work, teaching or the criminal justice system.
Social workers today operate in an increasingly ethnically diverse society, yet many of the models that they use fail to reflect that diversity. Lena Robinson's exciting and innovative text draws on literature from Britain and North America to explain child development from a cross-cultural, black and ecological perspective. Using practice examples to illuminate key points for social workers, she considers a range of key topics from attachment to identity and communication to socialization. This will be essential reading for social workers at all stages of their careers who want to develop strength-based, anti-racist and culturally sensitive practice.
Cases of child neglect raise complex assessment dilemmas. This book considers causes and effects of child neglect and the personal, professional and organizational factors influencing identification and assessment. Practical suggestions are made to improve practice and the importance of effective multidisciplinary working is emphasized throughout.
This exciting book offers a survey of the field of child abuse and neglect from the perspective of modern developmental attachment theory. The book opens with an account of the theory and describes the ways in which attachment difficulties manifest themselves in children's behaviour. The following three sections look at abuse, neglect, and compound cases of abuse and neglect, backing this up with empirical research evidence and vivid case material. The final section provides a comprehensive review of attachment-based interventions. This is a clear and compelling textbook, anchored in research evidence and geared in its structure to answer the kinds of questions practitioners and student practitioners specialising in child welfare are most likely to ask.
'...this excellent book...should be required reading for all professionals involved in childcare and protection. It deserves to have a significant impact on how child and family social work is taught, not least because of the case material, an all too rare commodity in the social work literature.' - Harry Ferguson, British Journal of Social Work
'...this is a very well-edited book, and nearly every contribution is succinct, informative and well-referenced....taken together they offer a comprehensive, genuinely multi-disciplinary overview of current thinking about children in European society' - Social Work Education
This Reader presents a fresh look at mental health, following on from the hugely popular Mental Health Matters. It provides new and exciting user perspectives across the full range of mental health issues. This is a rich and diverse resource for all students and practitioners of mental health.
This lively book explores current dilemmas and debates on the use, effectiveness and adverse effects of psychiatric drugs, from the perspectives of people who have taken them. It includes groundbreaking research into experiences of trying to come off drugs with particular emphasis on interactions between service users and mental health practitioners.
Encompassing information and ideas from the whole spectrum of mental health services, this text provides a unique and comprehensive overview of UK mental health policy and practice. Reviewing a wide range of adult mental health services, the text highlights examples of successful evidence-based practice and discusses how services can be changed and improved. With reflective exercises to reinforce key messages, this is a clear and practical guide for students and practitioners.
This guide to community care, aimed at both health and social care practitioners, offers a clear, structured and reader-friendly introduction to present policy and practice. It is illustrated throughout by pertinent case material. The first edition was well-received and popular with students and this second edition updates each chapter with the latest policy developments and new literature.
The second edition of this key text for social work students brings it fully up-to-date by incorporating the latest policy and practice issues in community care as well as reflecting the latest developments in social work education. In particular, it includes: a review of the social work role and values; greater emphasis on the skills and tools of assessment; guidance on risk, protection and support; discussion of the impact of the Human Rights Act and other recent legislation; exploration of issues around funding, regulation and standards and joint working. The new edition also offers greater pedagogical support in the way of annotated lists of further reading/additional sources and systematic use of exercises and case material.
'An excellent introduction to, and summary of, both the historical origins of community care, and current and emerging issues.' - Melanie Henwood, Community Care
This new edition has been updated to reflect recent shifts in community and social care whilst still providing the authoritative account of its historical development. Particular attention is paid to partnerships between health and social care, the regulation of social care, direct payments and individual budgets and user/carer empowerment.
Understanding Poverty provides a comprehensive and accessible introduction to the analysis of poverty and social exclusion covering the definition, measurement, distribution and causes of poverty and the policies developed to combat it. The third edition has been extensively rewritten and expanded to include recent developments in research and policy while maintaining the successful broad approach of earlier editions. In particular coverage of poverty dynamics and social exclusion has been expanded, with chapters covering targeted anti-poverty action and the new programmes developed since 1997.
This book introduces students to the diversity of theoretical perspectives on welfare, both illuminating the distinctiveness of each ideology and highlighting important continuities in thought. It goes on to illustrate how these theories are reflected in and challenge the development of welfare policy.
In this sequel to the acclaimed Welfare Theory (Palgrave, 2001), Tony Fitzpatrick examines the most recent, influential and cutting edge ideas influencing policy studies today. Clearly structured to enable students to make theoretical connections between apparently diverse areas, it provides an invaluable synthesis of the most important theoretical innovations in the discipline in recent years. Comprehensive, engaging and authoritative, New Theories of Welfare will appeal to all those interested in social and public policy, politics, sociology and philosophy.
In this long awaited new edition Oliver draws on his own experiences to paint a vivid picture of both the practical challenges of disablement and the theoretical understandings of disability. This approachable text is core reading for social work, nursing, health and social care and social science students taking modules in disability studies.
