Social Work Diagnosis In Contemporary Practice

One of the challenges for today's practitioner is keeping abreast of the rapidly expanding body of knowledge contained in important social work periodicals in circulation. This book brings together some of the best work published since 2000, each reflecting new insights into understanding psychosocial situations.

Reflects insights into understanding psychosocial situations and innovative methods of applying knowledge and skills in an effective manner. Each of the 79 articles in this volume highlights some of the critical dimensions of contemporary social work practice, guiding clinicians to address four key aspects in order to craft an accurate diagnosis.

Seasoned practitioner-scholars Jacqueline Corcoran and Joseph Walsh provide an in-depth exploration of 14 major mental disorders that social workers commonly see in practice, including anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. They skillfully integrate several perspectives in order to help practitioners meet the challenges they will face in client assessment and present a risk and resilience framework that helps social workers understand environmental influences on the emergence of mental disorders and the strengths that clients already possess.

How can you make necessary professional judgments without being judgmental? Assessment and diagnostic skills are essential professional tools for the social worker, but all too often they are neglected or downplayed. Diagnosis in Social Work argues for the reinstatement of social diagnosis to its former place as an essential concept in social work. This courageous book demonstrates the detrimental impact of the loss of diagnostic skills on the quality of social work intervention. Combining meticulous history with insightful analysis, Diagnosis in Social Work shows how the concept of diagnosis in social work has been misunderstood. It examines the negative, narrow definition of diagnosis offered in commonly used texts. Diagnosis in Social Work includes the tools you need to use the power of correct, careful diagnosis, including: case examples of social work diagnoses a thorough profile of the judgments constituting a social work diagnosis suggestions to enhance diagnostic acumen an analysis of diagnosis as a process and a fact ways to use computers in diagnosis an assessment of the risks of diagnosis Diagnosis in Social Work includes everything social work practitioners need to know about the process and meaning of this sorely neglected part of the field. It is an ideal textbook as well, and it offers suggestions for further research.

Social Work Treatment remains the most popular and trusted compendium of theories available to social work students and practitioners. This treasure trove of practice knowledge equips professionals with a broad array of theoretical approaches, each of which shine a spotlight on a different aspect of the human condition.

While many psychosocial interventions used in social work practice have strong research evidence supporting their efficacy, a surprising number do not, potentially resulting in harmful outcomes. In this book, the authors cast a critical eye on the reality of commonly used scientific and pseudoscientific practices in social work today. Stressing the need for separating research-based practices from those not supported by adequate levels of evidence, they examine the scientific and pseudoscientific bases for popular social work interventions used in a variety of treatment settings. The text describes the history and characteristics of pseudoscience, along with the misuse of legitimate research. It examines pseudoscience practices in clinical assessment; working with children, adolescents, and adults; treating individuals with developmental difficulties; and how social work education training can and should discourage pseudoscience. The concluding chapter describes pathways through which social work practice can become more firmly grounded in contemporary scientific research. With the aim of promoting critical thinking among social work students and practitioners regarding the research behind popular interventions, this engaging book will be of value for courses in critical thinking and EBP and useful for all social work students and practitioners. Key Features: Promotes critical thinking regarding the evidence-based research-or lack thereof-behind a variety of social work interventions Written by renowned social work educators Addresses the history and characteristics of pseudoscience Examines pseudoscience practices in assessment and work with children, adolescents, adults, and individuals with developmental difficulties Presented in a clear and engaging style

People all over the world are confronted by issues such as poverty, a lack of access to quality education, unaffordable and or inadequate housing, and a lack of needed health and mental services on a daily basis. Due to these issues, there is a need for social workers who have access to relevant and timely scholarly materials in order to meet the needs of those facing these issues. The social, psychological, and biological factors resulting from these issues determine the level of a person's mental health at any given point in time and it is necessary for social workers to continue to evolve and develop to the new faces and challenges of the times in order to adequately understand the effects of these issues. In the first and second editions of the Social Workers' Desk Reference, the changes that were occurring in social work practice, education, and research were highlighted and focused upon. This third edition continues in the same tradition and continues to respond to the changes occurring in society and how they are impacting the education, research, and practice of social work as a whole. With 159 chapters collaboratively written by luminaries in the profession, this third edition serves as a comprehensive guide to social work practice by providing the most recent conceptual knowledge and empirical evidence to aid in the understanding of the rapidly changing field of social work. Each chapter is short and contains practical information in addition to websites and updated references. Social work practitioners, educators, students, and other allied professionals can utilize the Social Workers' Desk Reference to gain interdisciplinary and interprofessional education, practice, and research.

The fourth edition of The Practice of Generalist Social Work continues to teach students to apply micro, macro, and mezzo social work skills. This new edition strengthens the connection between the three levels of practice and is fully updated to the 2015 EPAS. This edition also contains more illustrations of theory and more context for deciding which type of intervention is a good fit. Most chapters now open with a case study and continually refer back to the case to provide additional connections between theory and real-life practice. Each chapter also incorporates a link to a Grand Challenge of Social Work from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare, which shows the connection between social work and the most significant societal challenges of today. The Quick Guides within the text offer students guidance for their field experience and practice after graduation. The text also comes with a rich companion website that includes support materials and six unique cases that encourage students to learn by doing. Go to www.routledgesw.com to explore the cases and additional resources.