Practice Skills in Social Work and Welfare: More than just common sense

Practice Skills in Social Work and Welfare has established itself as the essential text to prepare students for the wide-ranging challenges they will face in today's human service sector. This new third edition continues the text's core strength of combining grounded theory with practical examples to build the reader's confidence and expertise in key areas of practice. Part I outlines the anti-oppressive and strengths-based practices that underpin the book's approach and provides the context for learning practice skills in a group setting, during community development projects and with individuals. Part II focuses on developing effective relationships with clients, illustrating through realistic scenarios how social work and human service workers can apply their practice skills in a range of settings. In Part III the essential elements of client assessment are explored, including risk assessment and cross-cultural perspectives. Issues surrounding intervention are examined in Part IV from working with families and groups to challenging constructively and safely, while research, evaluation and facilitating closure are covered in the final part. This third edition is fully revised and updated, and features new material on using information technology, working with Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and Maori, and engaging with families in the statutory system. 'The main strength of the book is the consistency of its themes throughout the text.' - Karen Heycox in Australian Social Work

Table of Contents:
Tables and figures Acknowledgements Contributors PART I: LEARNING PRACTICE SKILLS - THEORY AND CONTEXT 1 Introduction: The integrated framework - Jane Maidment and Ronnie Egan 2 Critical anti-oppressive and strengths-based practice - Ronnie Egan and Angelika Papadopoulos 3 Learning and teaching practice skills in social work and welfare - Susie Costello 4 Social work using information and communication technology - Liz Beddoe 5 Social work practice with communities - Robyn Mason and Uschi Bay 6 Preparing to work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: Decolonisation for social work practice - Lorraine Muller PART II: ENGAGEMENT 7 Developing the helping relationship: Engagement - Ronnie Egan 8 Engaging with clients in different contexts - Helen Cleak and Ronnie Egan 9 Engagement with families involved in the statutory system - Robyn Miller PART III: ASSESSMENT 10 Assessment: Framework and components - Jane Maidment 11 Critically examining the process of risk assessment - Christine Morley 12 Collaborative assessment from a cross-cultural perspective - Lynne Briggs 13 Working with families - Yvonne Crichton-Hill 14 Assessment with Maori - Sharyn Roberts PART IV: INTERVENTION 15 Taking action: Change and intervention - Ronnie Egan and Christine Craik 16 Challenging constructively and staying safe - Delia O'Donohue 17 Social change through group work - Ken McMaster PART V: EVALUATION AND CLOSURE 18 Evaluation and research in social work practice - Raewyn Tudor 19 Facilitating closure - Hannah Mooney and Michael Dale Appendix 1: Family Safety Risk Assessment Tool Appendix 2: Barwon Health Mental Health Risk Assessment Bibliography Index

About the Author :
JANE MAIDMENT has over twenty years' experience of teaching practice skills and working in field education with students and practitioners. She is Associate Professor at the Department of Human Services and Social Work at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand. RONNIE EGAN has extensive experience as a social work practitioner and supervisor in the community sector. She is an Associate Professor in Field Education in the School of Global, Urban and Social Sciences at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.

Review :
"The main strength of the book is the consistency of its themes throughout the text . . . I would like to commend the editors of this book for the contribution it should make to practice teaching with social work and welfare." --Karen Heycox, Australian Social Work