Decision-making in Social Work

Decision-making is a core skill in social work; it is crucial both to effective professional intervention and to successful practice outcomes. Yet it is a surprisingly neglected subject in the social work literature. This text offers a focused and systematic account of this complex and sometimes hazardous skill with the aim of providing practitioners with a clear and supportive framework for navigating their way successfully through difficult and demanding practice situations. Written in an accessible style and making imaginative use of case illustrations, it develops a framework chapter by chapter that addresses the social, organisational and psychological context of professional decision-making; the interests of different stakeholders; issues of power and oppression; and the processes involved in arriving at a decision and evaluating the outcome. By identifying the components of sound decision-making and linking these with the realisation of long-term goals, the text highlights how to improve the quality of social work and promote the wellbeing of clients while recognising that in a world of scarce resources, contradictory demands and social inequalities, the best-informed and most considered decisions will not always lead to good outcomes. This text is essential reading for all those involved in social work, whether as students, practitioners, managers or educators.

Table of Contents:
Making Decisions Decision-Making Contexts Involving the Client Stakeholders Meeting Together Thought and Emotion in Decision-Making Framing the Decision Situation Choice of Option Evaluating Decisions Conclusion

About the Author :
TERENCE O'SULLIVAN is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Lincolnshire and Humberside. An experienced researcher and practitioner, he has taught extensively on courses on decision-making for social workers.

Review :
'A unique multidisciplinary approach to the understanding and explanation of decision making in social work practice.' - British Journal of Social Work 'Decision Making in Social Work provides a comprehensive analysis of the subject, which re-emjphasis the skill of the social worker, who makes (at least) half a dozen impossible decisions before lunchtime.' - Rachel Wooller, Community Care 'Terrence O'Sullivan's work provides a timely focus on decision making, as we seek ways to embrace research findings and risk management concepts more fully into professional practice. It will be particularly valued by social workers undertaking their Post Qualifying Award, who are seeking a theoretical framework for decision making to underpin and develop their practice.' - Brian Taylor, Northern Health and Social Services Board, Northern Ireland '[T]his book is definitely a significant contribution to social work literature, and is written with clarity and a lucid style, without over-simplification. Readers will find the decision-making framework that Terence O'Sullivan has developed, instrumental in helping them arrive at a sound decision. It will undoubtedly be essential reading to a wide audience including students in the health and social care fields, academics, frontline social workers and managers.' - Chui Wing Hong, Asia Pacific Journal of Social Work 'Decision making, with all its associated perils, is such a fundamental part of social work practice that it is remarkable that it has not received more attention in the social work literature. Decision-Making in Social Work provides a comprehensive analysis of the subject, which re-emphasises the skill of the social worker, who makes (at least) half a dozen impossible decisions before lunchtime.' - Community Care