Practice Skills in Social Work and Welfare More Than Just Common Sense

by Maidment, Jane; Egan, Ronnie

• ISBN13: 9781741757149
• ISBN10: 1741757142
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2009-03-01
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Summary

Human service workers need more than just common sense to make sure their practice is both competent and effective. This volume offers a comprehensive introduction to practice skills required across the human service sector. Practice Skills in Social Work & Welfare systematically outlines the key stages of interaction with clients - building the helping relationship, collaborative assessment, taking action, evaluation and closure. It also examines the skills needed for working with different types of clients - individuals, families, and community groups - and explores the dilemmas faced in daily practice, including the challenges of working with involuntary clients, clients from different cultural backgrounds, and clients in crisis situations. Fully revised and updated to reflect recent shifts in services, this is an essential volume for anyone involved in the human service professions.

Author Biography

Jane Maidment has been a social work practitioner in mental health and has taught practice skills in Australia and New Zealand. She is a senior lecturer in the School of Health and Social Development at Deakin University. Ronnie Egan has extensive experience as a social work practitioner and supervisor in the community sector. She lectures in Social Work at Victoria University, Melbourne.

Table of Contents

Tables and figures	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. viii
Contributors	p. ix
Preparing to learn practice skills	p. 1
Introduction: The integrated framework	p. 3
Skill-based learning	p. 18
Anti-oppressive and strengths-based practice	p. 35
Delivering helping services online and over the telephone	p. 48
Preparing for practice	p. 62
Phases of the helping relationship: Engagement	p. 79
Developing the helping relationship: Engagement	p. 81
Engaging with clients in different contexts	p. 101
Engagement with families involved in the statutory system	p. 114
Phases of the helping relationship: Assessment	p. 131
Introduction to collaborative assessment	p. 133
Conducting risk assessments	p. 148
Collaborative assessment from a cross-cultural perspective	p. 170
Working with families	p. 181
Phases of the helping relationship: Intervention	p. 203
Taking action: Intervention	p. 205
Facilitating change through groupwork	p. 219
Using constructive challenge during intervention	p. 239
Phases of the helping relationship: Evaluation and termination	p. 259
Understanding endings: Evaluation and termination	p. 261
'Finishing well'	p. 275
More than 'just the end': Closure work with clients	p. 292
Conclusion	p. 305
Conclusion	p. 307
Bibliography	p. 313
Index	p. 339
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