Animals in Social Work Why and How They Matter

by Ryan, Thomas

• ISBN13: 9781137372284
• ISBN10: 1137372281
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2014-10-29
• Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan

Summary

The invisibility of animals in social work practice has been such a longstanding feature of the discipline since the early twentieth century that it is assumed to be thoroughly consistent with social work's function and raison d'etre. Indeed suggestions to the contrary are almost invariably met with a quizzical 'What do animals have to do with social work?'

Animals in Social Work: Why and How They Matter represents a pioneering collection of essays dedicated to providing a critical and practical corrective to the almost routine dismissal of animals in social work practice and thought. The various contributors argue persuasively why and how it is that animals ought to matter to social work, by way of theoretical and philosophical argument, and practical applications. Moving the discussion well beyond a focus upon animal-assisted therapies, the essays importantly serve to focus direct attention upon the wellbeing and welfare of animals in and of themselves.

Author Biography

Thomas Ryan is in his third decade of continuous full time social work practice in north-east Tasmanian rural communities. He is an associate fellow of the Oxford Centre for Animal Ethics, and author of Animals and Social Work: A Moral Introduction (2011).

Table of Contents

Series Editors' Preface
Notes on Contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction; Thomas Ryan
PART I: THE WHY: PHILOSOPHICAL AND THEORETICAL EXPLORATIONS
1. Deep Ecological 'Insectification': Integrating Small Friends with Social Work; Fred H. Besthorn
2. The Meaning of Animals in Women's Lives: The Importance of the 'Domestic'; Jan Fook
3. Integrative Health Thinking and the New One Health Concept: All for 'One' or 'One' for All?; Cassandra Hanrahan
4. My Dog is My Home: Increasing Awareness of Inter-Species Homelessness in Theory and Practice; Christine H. Kim and Emma K. Newton
5. Social Justice beyond Human Beings: Trans-Species Social Justice; Atsuko Matsuoka and John Sorenson
6. The Moral Priority of Vulnerability and Dependency: Why Social Work Should Respect Both Humans and Animals; Thomas Ryan
PART II: THE HOW: PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS
7. The Impact of Animals and Nature for Children and Youth with Trauma Histories: A Neurodevelopmental Theory; Eileen Bona and Gail Courtnage
8. Animal-Assisted Therapy for Children and Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders; Shanna L. Burke and Dorothea Iannuzzi
9. 'How is Fido?': What the Family's Companion Animal Can Tell You About Risk Assessment and Effective Interventions – If Only You Would Ask!; Lynn Loar
10. The Place and Consequence of Animals in Contemporary Social Work Practice; Maureen MacNamara and Jeannine Moga
11. No One Ever Asked Me That: The Value of Social Work Inquiry into the Human-Animal Bond; Nina Papazian
12. Stray Dogs and Social Work in Mauritius: An Analysis of Some Concerns and Challenges; Komalsingh Rambaree
13. Liquid Love – Grief, Loss, Animal Companions and the Social Worker; Adrienne Elizabeth Thomas
14. Domestic Violence and Companion Animal Welfare: The Issues, Risks and Implications for Practice; Deborah Walsh
Select Bibliography
Index