Essentials of Social Work Practice: A Concise Guide to Knowledge and Skill Development introduces readers to core concepts and skills that are vital to cultivating a successful social work practice. Unique in approach, the book clearly connects human behavior theories to engagement, assessment, goal-setting, intervention, and evaluation, while also illustrating the fluidity between micro, mezzo, and macro level activities. Over the course of eleven engaging chapters, students are introduced to the helping process, ethical standards, and strategies for working with individuals, groups, and families. They learn about contemporary service delivery models and cutting-edge programs that exemplify strength-based, ethically-oriented, and culturally relevant practice. Narratives and dialogues throughout provide detailed depictions of the use of core skills to bridge the gap between concepts and practice. A variety of creative tools and techniques are offered for use with diverse clients. Every chapter features self-care strategies to facilitate coping with common stressors in social work. The final chapter emphasizes lifelong learning and informs readers of vital resources for on-going professional development. Essentials of Social Work Practice prepares future social workers to employ strategic interventions, reflect upon their strengths and needs as a practitioner, and maintain personal health and wellness throughout their career. The book is an exemplary resource for foundational courses in social work. For a look at the specific features and benefits of Essentials of Social Work Practice, visit cognella.com/essentials-of-social-work-practice-features-and-benefits.

A concise overview of the policy practice information social workers need to advocate for policy changes within an organization and at local, state, and national levels Given the nature of their work, social workers must understand social problems and the ways social welfare policies are established. Written by a leading expert in social work policy, Essentials of Social Work Policy Practice presents specific tactics for policy practice as well as instructions on how to implement it at several different organizational and government levels. Focusing on developing skills, Essentials of Social Work Policy Practice is a practical resource that includes step-by-step guidelines for putting a plan into action and working efficiently within a system. Techniques are presented for handling a number of related topics including effective interpersonal communication and participation, utilizing technology and the media in policy practice, creating change within organizations, and many more. As part of the Essentials of Social Work Practice series, this book is an indispensable resource that offers a concise yet thorough overview of policy practice, numerous tips for best practices, and valuable advice that must be at one's fingertips to practice knowledgeably, effectively, and ethically. Each chapter features numerous callout boxes highlighting key concepts, bulleted points, case examples, and extensive illustrative material, as well as vignettes that promote critical thinking around policy practice planning.

"Essential Skills of Social Work Practice: Assessment, Intervention, and Evaluation, third edition, by Thomas O'Hare, PhD, MSW, is written for advanced BSW and beginning MSW students who intend to work primarily in the mental health field. The book consists of three parts. Part I covers foundation concepts, including linkages among assessment, intervention, and evaluation; the relationship between research and practice; and essential ethics in social work practice. Part II addresses essential practice skills used throughout social work practice: supportive and relationship-building skills, cognitive-behavioral skills, and case management skills. Part III describes how these essential skills are combined as evidence-based practices targeting specific problems and disorders, including major mental illnesses, substance abuse and personality disorders, couples in conflict, and both internalizing and externalizing disorders in children and adolescents. The chapters focusing on disorders of children and adolescents emphasize family-based interventions. The final chapter addresses the profession's transition to evidence-based practices and related challenges given that their adoption is now expected in professional mental health practice"--

Presenting a different approach to the realities of everyday social work practice, this text includes exercises, case examples, chapter summaries, and practice notes, enabling students to apply theory to practice as they progress.

This thoroughly updated resource is the only comprehensive anthology addressing frameworks for treatment, therapeutic modalities, and specialized clinical issues, themes, and dilemmas encountered in clinical social work practice. Editor Jerrold R. Brandell and other leading figures in the field present carefully devised methods, models, and techniques for responding to the needs of an increasingly diverse clientele. Key Features Coverage of the most commonly used theoretical frameworks and systems in social work practice Entirely new chapters devoted to clinical responses to terrorism and natural disasters, clinical case management, neurobiological theory, cross-cultural clinical practice, and research on clinical practice Completely revised chapters on psychopharmacology, dynamic approaches to brief and time-limited clinical social work, and clinical practice with gay men Content on the evidentiary base for clinical practice New, detailed clinical illustrations in many chapters offering valuable information about therapeutic process dimensions and the use of specialized methods and clinical techniques Accompanied by Robust Ancillaries. The password-protected Instructor Teaching Site of the companion site includes a test bank, recommended readings, and relevant Internet websites. The open-access Student Study Site offers chapter summaries, keywords, recommended Web sites, and recommended readings. The extensive breadth of coverage makes this book an essential source of information for students in advanced practice courses and practicing social workers alike.

This brilliantly systematic and comprehensive textbook provides an integrated approach to social work theory, methods and skills as the bedrock of all social work practice. Recognizing social work as a diverse activity that is rooted in common foundations, it explains how practice both shapes and is shaped by professional purpose. The text also explores the diverse range of social work practice methods available and aims to equip the reader with a foundation in the history and application of these varied approaches. Offering a step-by-step discussion that will empower readers to critically develop and refine their professional toolkit for purposeful and innovative intervention, this original rationale is an essential resource for any social work student or practitioner looking to build, or consolidate, their understanding of the range of methods and skills available for effective professional practice.

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Creating Change in Social Work Practice: Four Essential Tools is strategically designed to help readers hone their ability to understand and create change within their social work practice. The text employs the Knowledge, Ability, and Skill model to assist readers in conceptualizing, envisioning, and creating change. Readers learn to identify the various stages in the process of creating change, as well as how to handle the challenges of change and plan appropriate treatment for change. Each chapter explores the history and efficacy of a featured tool, underscores its unique components and characteristics, provides readers with activities to develop their ability to use the tool, and offers assessments to ensure they know how to effectively exercise all of the pieces of the tool. The specific tools introduced throughout the text include: the conceptualization of change using the Transtheoretical Model to understand behavioral change; creating change using the Solution-Focused Approach; combating challenges to change through Motivational Interviewing; and finally, treatment planning for change. The closing chapter consists of advanced case studies and activities designed to build upon the ability gained from each chapter and foster mastery of the tools. Creating Change in Social Work Practice is an ideal supplementary text for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in the discipline. Practitioners in the field can also utilize this text to enhance and strengthen their personal practice. Philip Mongan is an associate professor of social work and the graduate coordinator of the Master of Social Work Program at Radford University.

Principles of Social Work Practice is the first textbook to deal exclusively and thoroughly with the significant principles of social work practice and methods that integrate these principles into the common base of practice. You will learn from case examples how to apply crucial ethical, personal, and methodological principles to different practice areas. As you increase your understanding of the nature of professional social work and the essence of its value base and Code of Ethics, you also learn to develop approaches to social work practice that are sensitive to a multicultural clientele. You will leave this book with useful skills and a flexibility that allow you to work not only with individuals but also with families, couples, groups, organizations, and communities. As you read Principles of Social Work Practice, you will heighten your sensitivity to the professional worker-client relationship and its role as a primary instrument of positive change. Using this book as a guide, you can develop your own strategies for facilitating change and growth that will result in the satisfaction of long-term personal and social goals. Simultaneously, you will build a framework for social work practice that has at its foundation a strong sense of individual worth and dignity. A unique combination of theory and practice, readers gain insight into: confidentiality the nonjudgmental attitude controlled emotional involvement self-determination respect for the individual empowerment Principles of Social Work Practice illustrates for advanced undergraduates and graduate students how to effectively intervene in the conflicts that evolve between clients’ needs for well-being and development and the demands or restrictions of public attitudes or social policy. You will sharpen your skills and construct indispensable methods for helping individuals establish vital links with their communities.

This book provides an in-depth and very modern approach to clinical social work with clients in mental health settings. This is a revision of a book originally titled Clinical Social Work Practice in Community Mental Health. The "community mental health" approach is now dated, and this revision features "behavioral" mental health, which is a newer and "postmodern" approach. The postmodern perspective is client-oriented, and helps the practitioner to be aware of underlying biases. This perspective is explained in Chapter 1 and is included in every chapter by featuring clients' "voices," particularly at the beginning and end of the chapters. Important new topics include managed care and measurement of outcomes, both of which are woven throughout and featured in Chapters 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 13. For social work practitioners specializing in mental health.