Overview:

An ideal companion for the field/practicum experience, this book guides students through their field placement while reinforcing the link between social work theory and practice. It includes detailed information on the field/practicum experience from start to finish, including: establishing a professional identity; working safely; making the most of practicum supervision; organizational issues; micro, mezzo, and macro social work practice; social work and the legal system; and terminating effectively from the practicum.

What Reviewers Have to Say…

The applications are excellent. What I particularly like is that they are not academic, but practical. This text is excellent and thorough and could be used for graduate students, unlike most of the existing practicum texts. I am going to recommend this text to our students for their foundation field experience even though we do not have a seminar in the MSW program. I am also going to recommend it to the undergraduate program director. It is the BEST that I have seen and can only get better when updated.

I have found this text to be very useful for first year graduate students who do not have a BSW and little or no prior social work practice experience. I appreciate the step-by-step approach used by the authors in introducing the student to the field practicum experience, the various roles of those involved in their field education, as well as practice application exercises.

This is the best Field practicum text we have used in our social work program and intend to use it in our BSW program. It is thorough and deep in subject matter, it is extremely well written, it covers those topics most important for students in Field practicum, it approaches the materials and concepts from the viewpoint of students, and it utilizes learning tools that interest today's students.

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Each chapter includes “Introduction,” “Summary,” “Student Scenario Postscripts,” and “References.”

Preface.

1.Getting Started on Your Social Work Practice Career.

Getting Started in Your Practicum.

Practice Application #1: “Learning and Teaching Style Exercise.”

Practice Application #2: “Self-Assessment: What Do I Know and What Do I Need to Know?”

Practice Application #3: “Watch Your Body.”

Integrative Practice Seminar.

Practice Application #4: “Seeing My Practicum Site with Different Eyes.”

Practice Application #5: “Seeing My Field Instructor with Different Eyes.”

2.Socialization into the Social Work Profession.

Me? A Social Worker?

Practice Application #1: “Often-Asked Client Questions.”

Strategies for Your Socialization as a Social Worker.

Practice Application #2: “Social Work from Your Own Perspective.”

Practice Application #3: “Social Work from Many Perspectives.”

Pulling It All Together – How Can I Juggle All the Roles?

Setting Professional Boundaries.

Stress: Bane or Boon?

Practice Application #4: “How Well Is Your Well-Being?”

Self-Care as Professional Development.

The Transitions of Professional Socialization.

Practice Application #5: “A Day in the Life of a Social Worker.”

Practice Application #6: “Thinking Like a Social Worker.”

3.Safety in Social Work Settings.

The Scope of Personal Safety Risks in Social Work.

Reasonable Concerns and Caution.

Practice Application #1: “Gathering Information.”

Practice Application #2: “Gaining Skills.”

Practice Application #3: “Assessment and Reflection.”

Assessment of Potentially Violent Clients.

Specific Guidelines for Safety within the Office.

Interacting with Clients within the Home and the Community.

Practice Application #4: “Role-Play: Off-Site Safety Rules.”

Working with Angry, Resistant, or Aggressive Clients.

Follow-Up to Crises.

Ethical Dilemmas Involving Safety Issues.

Sexual Harassment.

Practice Application #5: “Safety: Your Comfort Zone.”

Practice Application #6: “Role-Play: Sexual Harassment.”

Helping to Ensure Client Safety

4.Making the Most of Your Practicum Supervision.

What Is Practicum Supervision?

What Can I Expect from Practicum Supervision?

Practice Application #1: “Forewarned Is Forearmed.”

Practice Application #2: “Supervision from the Other Side of the Desk.”

Ethical and Interpersonal Issues in Supervision.

Practice Application #3: “What Are You Saying and What Are You Really Saying to Your Field Instructor?”

Strategies for Maximizing the Effectiveness of Your Practicum Supervision.

Practice Application #4: “Supervision: Expectations and Assessment.”

Practice Application #5: “Use of Self: Finding Trends in Interactions?”

Practice Application #6: “Questions to Consider.”

Practice Application #7: “A Student's Worst Fear.”

5.Organizational Issues.

The Importance of Organizational Knowledge.

Internal Elements of an Organization.

Governmental (Public) Organizations.

For-Profit Organizations.

Nonprofit Organizations.

Agency Size.

Practice Application #1: “Reflections on Practice Context.”

Management Theory.

The Role of Social Work within the Organization.

Practice Application #2: “Gathering Information.”

The Informal Organization

Practice Application #3: “Reflection on Explicit and Implicit Rules.”

Socialization into the Social Service Organization.

Practice Application #4: “Reflections on Your Organizational Socialization.”

Uncovering Staff Violations.

Practice Application #5: “Reflections on the Organization.”

Practice Application #6: “Reflection through Illustration.”

Practice Application #7: “Learning about Agency Structure through the Lens of Service Area/Client Issue.”

Practice Application #8: “Tying Together the Agency and Social Work Values and Principles.”

6.Micro Social Work Practice in the Field: Working with Individuals and Families.

Expectations for Student Learning in Micro Practice.

Learning the “Business” of Micro Practice.

Practice Application #1: “Documentation: Your Turn.”

Learning the “Process” of Micro Practice.

Practice Application #2: “Application of Evidence-Based Theory to Practice: Testing Your Knowledge.”

Practice Application #3: “How to Handle Ethical Dilemmas.”

Practice Application #4: “Case Reenactment.”

Practice Application #5: “Learning from the Client: When Listening Is Not Enough.”

Practice Application #6: “Developing the Critical Self: Taking the Pain Out of Feedback.”

Practice Application #1 Follow-Up.

7.Mezzo Social Work Practice in the Field: Working with Groups.

Expectations for Student Learning in Mezzo Practice.

Practice Application #1: “Groups, Groups, Groups.”

Learning the “Business” of Mezzo Practice.

Practice Application #2: “How Do Documentation Styles Compare?”

Practice Application #3: “Group Facilitator Self-Assessment.”

Learning the “Process” of Mezzo Practice.

Practice Application #4: “Application of Evidence-Based Theory to Group Practice: Testing Your Knowledge.”

Working with NonClient Groups.

Practice Application #5: “Facilitating Your Own Interdisciplinary Group Meeting.”

Practice Application #6: “Documenting Group Process: When the Obvious Isn't Obvious.”

Practice Application #7: “Need a Mezzo-Level Practicum Experience? Start Your Own Group.”

8.Macro Social Work Practice in the Field: Working with Organizations and Communities.

Expectations for Student Learning in Macro Practice.

Learning the “Business” of Macro Practice.

Practice Application #1: “Gathering Information.”

Practice Application #2: “Socialization into Macro Practice.”

Practice Application #3: “Professional Socialization in a Smaller Community.”

Learning the “Process” of Macro Practice.

Practice Application #4: “Reflections on the Use of Conflict in Social Advocacy.”

The Impact of Contemporary Social Policy on Social Work Practice and Practica.

Practice Application #5: “Community Analysis through Observation.”

Practice Application #6: “Community Analysis through Illustration.”

Practice Application #7: “A Macro Approach to the Educational Needs of Homeless Children.”

Practice Application #8: “Role-Play – Social Advocacy.”

Practice Application #9: “Contact with an Influential Person.”

9.Social Work Practice and the Legal System.

Legal Terms.

Grievance Procedures and Legal Resources for Clients.

Professional and Student Malpractice Issues and Liability.

Practice Application #1: “Agency Records as Legal Documents.”

Practice Application #2: “Personal Notes as a Legal Document.”

Special Legal Issues in Practicum.

Social Work Ethical Violations and Grievance Procedures.

If You Are Sued.

Professional Court Involvement.

Practice Application #3: “NonCustodial Parental Right to Review School Records.”

Practice Application #4: “Reflections on the Legal System and Vulnerable Populations.”

Practice Application #5: “The Courts: How Much Do You Know?”

Follow-Up to Practice Application #3 “Author's Suggested Resolution”.

10.Termination: The Beginning of an End (or the End of a Beginning?)

What Has This Practicum Experience Meant?

Practice Application #1: “What Is Social Work and Where Do I Fit?”

Beginning the Termination: Where Do I Start?

Practice Application #2: “Termination through Journaling.”

Practice Application #3: “Termination through Presentation.”

Practice Application #4: “Termination through Illustration.”

Practice Application #5: “Termination through Simulation.”

Practice Application #6: “Termination through Activation.”

The Nuts and Bolts of Termination with Clients, Agency, Your Field Instructor, and Social Work Program.

Professional Development: Where Does It Begin and Where Does It End?

Appendix: Criteria for Determining the Best Graduate Program for You.

Index.