Social Work Practice (3RD 13 Edition)

The first textbook to emphasize the importance of critical thinking skills to practice, this third edition of the classic Social Work Practice retains its unique focus on thinking critically about decisions that social workers make daily. Organized around the phases of helping, this hands-on introduction highlights the decision points that social workers encounter during assessment, intervention, and evaluation. This text, together with its companion website, provides students with a wealth of hands-on exercises for developing and assessing their practice skills. Most importantly, it helps students enhance client well-being by becoming critical thinkers and evidence-informed practitioners.

Eileen Gambrill, PhD, is the Hutto Patterson Charitable Foundation Professor in Child and Family Studies at the University of California, Berkeley.

Prologue: Social Workers at Work

Part I. Getting Oriented

1. Social Work: An Introduction

2. Clients and Services

3. Values, Ethics, and Obligations

Part II. Thinking about Knowledge and How to Get it

4. Different Views of Knowledge

5. Critical Thinking: Integral to Evidence-Based Practice

Part III. Thinking about Problems and Causes

6. Competing Views of Personal and Social Problems and Their Causes

7. Taking Advantage of Research Findings about Behavior and How it is Influenced by the Environment

Part IV. A Decision-Focused Practice Model

8. Problem Solving and Decision Making: Integral to Helping Clients

9. Evidence-Based Practice: A Decision-Making Process and Philosophy

10. Posing Questions and Searching for Answers

11. Critically Appraising Research: Thinking for Yourself

Part V. Getting Started

12. A Contextual Assessment Framework

13. Beginning: A Practice Guide

14. Engaging Clients

Part VI. Relationship Skills

15. Interpersonal Helping Skills

16. Creating and Handling Challenging Social Situations

Part VII. Gathering and Organizing Information

17. Where to Look: Deciding How to Gather Needed Information

18. Observation: Learning to See

19. Reviewing Resources and Obstacles

20. Putting it All Together

Part VIII. Selecting Plans and Assessing Progress

21. Selecting and Implementing Service Plans

22. Evaluating Outcomes as Integral to Problem Solving

23. Planning for Endings

Part IX. Intervention Options

24. Empowering Clients: Providing Information and Skill Building

25. Helping Clients Learn Positive Behavior Change Skills

26. Working with Groups and Families

27. Organizations and Communities

Part X. The Long Run

28. Maintaining Skills and Staying Happy in Your Work

References

Index