Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice

About the Author Neil Thompson has held full or honorary professorships at four UK universities, and is now a sought-after consultant and conference speaker. He runs the Avenue Professional Development Programme, an online learning community and tutorial group for people professionals. His website and blog are at www.neilthompson.info. Product Description Focusing on the challenges of achieving good practice, this popular textbook reflects recent developments in social work within the context of contemporary society, law and policy. Getting to the heart of what this profession is all about, Understanding Social Work continues to offer an excellent foundation for readers for anyone wanting a better understanding of the social work role. What is social work? How is it carried out? What skills does it require?New to this edition:- Updates include new material on the importance of social media, resilience, the impact of austerity, rising case-loads, and the increase pressure on social workers Review “As Social Workers we are increasingly working with higher levels of social deprivation, social need and dwindling resources. This book is a handy reminder of the importance of retaining the underpinning knowledge, values, skills and models which help to shape, develop and maintain our professional identity and practice.” ―Amanda Hill, Cumbria University, UK“This book makes following the why, what, when, and how of social work very straightforward. Students often struggle to see the match between all the elements of social work as a process and at the same time think of the knowledge, skills and values required to do the job. This book is such an easy fit with their requirements.” ―Paul McCafferty, Ulster University, UK Review As Social Workers we are increasingly working with higher levels of social deprivation, social need and dwindling resources. This book is a handy reminder of the importance of retaining the underpinning knowledge, values, skills and models which help to shape, develop and maintain our professional identity and practice. – Amanda Hill, Cumbria University, UKThis book makes following the why, what, when, and how of social work very straightforward. Students often struggle to see the match between all the elements of social work as a process and at the same time think of the knowledge, skills and values required to do the job. This book is such an easy fit with their requirements. – Paul McCafferty, Ulster University, UK From the Back Cover