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Foundations of Interpersonal Practice in Social Work
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Foundations of Interpersonal Practice in Social Work
Promoting Competence in Generalist Practice

Third Edition
October 2010 | 616 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
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This text takes a broad based approach to basic generalist practice methods that emphasize the common elements in working with individuals, families and groups. The goal of the book is to teach social work students how to enhance clients' social functioning by helping them become more proficient in examining, understanding, and resolving clients' social problems. The authors pay special attention to enhancing social justice by working with individuals and families who have been historically oppressed. This edition includes specific integrated coverage of the Council on Social Work Education's (CSWE) latest Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS).

Intended Audience

This core text is designed for advanced undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the introductory Direct Practice and Generalist Practice courses in BSW and MSW programs of social work.
 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
1. Interpersonal Practice in Social Work: Nature and Scope
Definition of Social Work

 
Interpersonal Practice

 
Use of Ecological Concepts

 
The Scope of Practice

 
The Bases of Interpersonal Practice

 
Summary

 
 
2. Basic Assumptions and Concepts
Rationale

 
Underlying Assumptions

 
Metaphors

 
Basic Concepts: Client, Worker; Target, and Action Systems

 
Summary

 
 
3. Values, Ideology, and Ethics of Professional Social Work
The Ideology of the Social Work Profession

 
The Social Work Code of Ethics

 
Value Conflicts in Practice

 
Practice Cases With Ethical Issues

 
Summary

 
 
4. Interpersonal Practice Beyond Diversity and Toward Social Justice: The Importance of Critical Consciousness by Beth Clover Reed, Peter A. Newman, Zulema E. Suarez, and Edith A. Lewis
What is Critical Consciousness?

 
Mayor Dimensions of Multiculturalism and Some Terminology

 
Key Social Group Categories and Related Terminology

 
How Do Multiple Identities Work?

 
Routes to Critical Consciousness and Multicultural Competence

 
The Application of Critical Consciousness to Practice

 
Summary

 
 
5. Violence and Trauma
Recognition of Violence and Trauma

 
Types of Trauma

 
Assessment of Trauma

 
Consequences of Trauma: Symptoms of Psychological and Emotional Injury

 
Treatment Options

 
Risk Screening Protocols

 
Summary

 
 
6. Engagement and Relationship
Definition of the Social Work Relationship

 
Power Dimensions in Professional Relationships

 
Stages of the Professional Relationship

 
Transactional Nature of the Professional Relationship

 
Why Is Relationship So Important?

 
Conscious Use of Self

 
Importance of Hope

 
The Initiation of Relationships

 
Relationships in Group Situations

 
Relationships in Family Situations

 
Summary

 
 
7. Becoming a Client
Definition of a Client

 
Overview of the Clienthood Process

 
Pathways to Clienthood

 
The Entry Process

 
The Worker's Tasks With Applicants

 
Tasks With Nonclients

 
"Significant Others" in the Client's Life

 
Defining the Client in a Multiperson Client System

 
Agency Conditions and Definitions of Client

 
Continuance and Discontinuance

 
Orientation to the Client Role

 
The Initiation of Problem Solving

 
The Preliminary Contract

 
Summary

 
 
8. Contracting
Components of a Social Work Contract

 
Characteristics of a Social Work Contract

 
Value of the Contract Approach

 
Limits of Contracting

 
Contracting With Families and Groups

 
Summary

 
 
9. Monitoring and Evaluating Change
Monitoring

 
Evaluation

 
Side Effects

 
Summary

 
 
10. Assessing Individuals
Purposes of Assessments

 
Issues in Use of Sources

 
Individual Assessment Framework

 
Stress Assessment

 
Crisis Assessment

 
Assessment as a "Label"

 
PIE - The Person-in-Environment System

 
Summary

 
 
11. Individual Change
The Context of Interpersonal Change

 
Interventive Roles

 
Overcoming Barriers

 
Crisis Intervention

 
Role Solutions

 
Summary

 
 
12. Assessing Families
What Is a Family?

 
Measurement of System Variables

 
Family Assessment

 
The Process of Family Assessment

 
Obtaining Family Assessment Data

 
Categorizing Family Circumstances

 
Ways of Portraying Family Conditions

 
Summary

 
 
13. Family Change
Occasions for Family Interventions

 
Prior to the First Family Session

 
The Initial Sessions

 
The Family Change Stage

 
Phase of the Family Life Cycle

 
Endings

 
Summary

 
 
14. Assessing Groups
Types of Groups

 
Therapeutic/Effectiveness Variables

 
Group Development

 
Assessing Group Dynamics

 
Summary

 
 
15. Group Change
Working With Elders in a Support Group

 
First Group Session

 
Second Group Session

 
The First Session of a Closed Group

 
Leadership Interventions

 
Interpersonal Conflict in Groups

 
Conclusion

 
Summary

 
 
16. Assessing Organizations and Communities
Organizational Assessment

 
Community Assessment

 
Summary

 
 
17. Change in Organizations and Communities
Ethics of Organizational and Community Change

 
Theories of Organizational Change

 
Community Change

 
Summary

 
 
18. Termination
The Tasks of Termination

 
Termination Issues in Group Work

 
Termination Issues With Families

 
Worker Termination

 
Problematic Terminations

 
Summary

 
 
Bibliography
 
Index
 
About the Authors

There are some applicable chapters to courses, however, not enough to have students buy the book. We are redesigning the course completely from scratch and will include more social/public health/communication topics in the course. Therefore, we will reconsider this book as a recommended text for the students at our medical school.

Dr Tania Arana
Medical Education, Texas Technology University Health Science - El Paso
December 28, 2011
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Some useful ideas and theories but overall the slant is towards American practice, whihc whilst still relevant does have its differnences from UK practice. However, some of the writing will be useful in teaching and learning about relationships within the SW setting and I will be citing it in my teaching.

Mrs Kerry Fidler
School of Social Work, University of Leicester
July 8, 2011
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I love the flow of the book and the ease of moving students through the engagment process to the evaluation process!

Dr Margaret Counts-Spriggs
School Of Social Work, Clark Atlanta University
April 26, 2011
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Key features

New and Retained Features

  • Weaves content about diversity issues throughout and includes a separate chapter, written by renowned experts, on economically and socially oppressed groups
  • Emphasizes the value and ethical considerations that underlie interpersonal practice, with an emphasis on enhancing individual-environmental transactions
  • Features practice case examples in each chapter, including challenging cases involving an applicant who is mandated to see the practitioner, to encourage students to act as the interpersonal practitioner and to comment on the actions taking place in the case narrative · Offers two new chapters focusing on social work values and contemporary practice issues, including a chapter on violence and trauma
  • Includes a full chapter devoted to the importance of monitoring and evaluation in practice that can be readily implemented, such as the new Visual Analogue Scale (VAS)
  • Opens each chapter with a case example, quote, or exercise that introduces primary themes and draws the reader into the chapter's content

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