Social work in Britain today is currently being redefined in the face of new legislation on care in the community, the Criminal Justice Act and the Children Act. The wide range of methods of intervention now used by social workers means that the public at large expects clearer and more detailed explanation of social work approaches than ever before. Social workers will increasingly be called upon to explain to the public and users what they are doing and how they go about it. Practising Social Work is a valuable contribution to the current debate on social work technique and method since it provides a systematic exploration of a range of social work approaches, with each chapter focusing on a single theme and explaining the practice implication of particular methods. Taking in a range of client groups, from young offenders to elderly people, the book includes chapters on anti-racist work, a feminist approach, and working with service-users. Other chapters look at crisis intervention, alternatives to custody, family therapy, community work, systems theory, task-centered work, behaviouralism, groupwork, case work, welfare rights, and contract work.
Practical in its approach, Practising Social Work will appeal to practitioners and students alike. It is designed to help social workers acquire greater professional knowledge, and to enable them to fulfil their prescribed roles, sensitive to their limitations but appropriately active in the service of the client. It will be essential reading for students and lecturers in social work and social policy, as well as for all professionals in the social work field.