Breaking Out of the Box Adventure-Based Field Instruction

by Ward, Kelly; Mama, Robin Sakina; Moore-Bembry, Natalie

• ISBN13: 9780197764312
• ISBN10: 0197764312
• Edition: 5th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2025-02-14
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Moving from the classroom to the field is often a daunting transition for social work students. In this new edition of their celebrated text, Kelly Ward and Robin Sakina Mama are joined by Natalie Moore-Bembry. They address student fears and concerns with a straightforward, adventure-based instruction method. The book's exercises allow students to become comfortable using vital social work tools and theories outside of the classroom. Emphasis on individual decision-making within group settings fosters independence and confidence in addition to proficient group work and leadership skills.

Previous editions of Breaking Out of the Box have been commended for their direct and honest approach to a wide array of concerns shared by social workers and students. The fifth edition returns to this mission with an increased focus on diversity through rituals and a new chapter on cultural competence, new coverage of AI's impact on communications, and a continued emphasis on ethics and human rights.

Author Biography

Kelly Ward, PhD, LCSW (NJ, MN, NC), has a BSW from Eastern Michigan University, an MSW from Rutgers University in New Jersey, and her PhD from Fordham University in New York. She has practiced social work in a variety of settings including residential care with adolescents, inpatient mental health with adult MICA clients, and private practice primarily working in addictions with teenagers and their families before entering social work education more than thirty years ago. She began her teaching career as an Adjunct Professor and has been a BSW Director, MSW Director, and Chair of Social Work. Today, she proudly serves as a core faculty member at St. Mary's University of Minnesota. She has received numerous awards for her distinguished teaching, service, and course design work and is passionate about the profession. Dr. Ward considers it a privilege to prepare the next generation of social workers each and every day.

Robin Sakina Mama, PhD, MLSP, MSS, BSW, is Dean Emerita of the School of Social Work and Professor Emerita at Monmouth University, in West Long Branch, New Jersey. She serves as a representative of the International Federation of Social Workers to the United Nations in New York City.

Natalie Moore-Bembry, EdD, MA, MSW, LCSW, is the Director of the Camden Bachelor of Arts in Social Work Program at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. With more than twenty-five years experience in the profession, she has worked in developmental disabilities, dual diagnosis, child welfare, juvenile justice, education and training, and private practice. At Rutgers, Dr. Bembry teaches in the BASW and MSW generalist curriculum. Dr. Bembry is passionate about education and has spent several years sharing her research and zeal for cultural humility with all disciplines.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction to Cultural Humility
2. Getting Started in your internship: Orientation to the Field and to the Profession of Social
3. Developing the Professional Persona: Professional Use of Self
4. Are You People Smart? Social and Emotional Intelligence
5. Teamwork: Your Supervisor and You
6 Building Professional Relationships
7. Communication: Building Bridges, Not Walls
8. Insight Into Your Clients' Perceptions
9. Put It In Writing!
10. Pick a Theory, Any Theory
11. Intervention Planning
12. Working Together as a Team
13. Boundaries: The Invisible Lines of Trust
14. Difficult Issues and Difficult Situations
15. Self-Evaluation?
16. Termination and Evaluation of Client Progress
Appendices
A: Home Visit Checklist
B: Feeling Words
C: UN Declaration f Human Rights
D: Biopsychosocial Assessment
E: The Genogram Format for Mapping Family Systems
F: Ecomap
G: Process Recording for Individuals and/or Families
H: Resources for Ethical Practice