This book demystifies the reflective process and provides a straight forward knowledge base to enhance professional development.

Reflective practice is at the heart of becoming a competent and confident social work professional. This book demystifies the reflective process and provides a straight forward knowledge base to enhance professional development. Whether you are a qualifying social work student, a practitioner with supervisory responsibilities, or are engaged in professional post qualifying education and training, this book will help you to understand and evidence your development as a reflective practitioner, and guide the assessment of others’ ability to reflect. Topics covered include: How to develop a professional identity and an understanding of professional culture A summary of key theoretical explanations of the concepts of ‘reflection’ and ‘reflective practice’ The significance of Emotional Intelligence for social work practice and how the reflective process can enhance interpersonal and intrapersonal competence How to overcome common obstacles to reflective practice, including low motivation and lack of confidence in your reflective abilities How to write reflectively in order to evidence development of reflective practice to others How to create a learning environment that enables growth and development through reflection and provides accurate assessment outcomes Written in a straightforward and engaging way, with reflective activities and resources throughout, this key resource will develop your knowledge, understanding and application of reflective practice. "This is a well-written text that provides much-needed clarity around a central process within professional social work. Students, practitioners and managers will learn lots about how to use reflection effectively. Linda Bruce writes with authority and a deep understanding - she has done an excellent job." Steven Hothersall, Head of Social Work Education, Edgehill University, UK "This is an extremely important area of practice in the current complex world of social work practice and social care. It takes students and practitioners through the relevant knowledge and theory base and appropriate tools for reflection. I thoroughly recommend it." Joyce Lishman

What is a mistake in social work and how can we turn it into a positive learning experience? Simply going over the events of the day is often not enough and can become overwhelming. Learning from professional errors is, however, vital for successful reflective practice. This important book presents a theoretical framework that underpins this learning, along with a series of strategies for social workers to use either by themselves or as part of a group. These include creating questions and narratives to enhance learning, assertive techniques for receiving and offering criticism and organisational learning from mistakes. With plenty of practice examples and questions for reflection, this is essential reading for both social work students, and practitioners and managers at all stages of their career.

?Packed full of case studies, activities and tools for real-life practice, this book covers all the main topics in the first year of both the undergraduate and postgraduate degree in social work. To provide a holistic view of the field, it used an integrated approach combining theory, policy and practice.

Professional leadership is increasingly recognised as being vital to enhancing social work’s reputation and effectiveness. Although professional leadership is one of the nine domains of the professional capability framework in England, sometimes leadership is assumed to be the prerogative of managers rather than the responsibility of all professional social workers. The participation of social workers and social work educators in shaping professional cultures within organisations through practice innovation, practitioner research and workforce development is thus crucial. Drawing on theories that challenge hierarchical concepts of leadership, this book will enable experienced social work practitioners and educators to develop their professional leadership to more expert levels. Throughout the book there are case examples illustrating examples of advanced professional leadership in action, research highlights and exercises utilising self-reflection, action planning, creative writing and imagery to provide practical support to the reader.

The study of ‘risk’ in social work involves complex interplay between human behaviour, emotion, evidence of fact, professional values and organisational systems. This book brings together contributions from key social work researchers and theorists from the UK, USA, New Zealand and Italy, writing with a focus on aspects of risk within social work. It examines key debates concerning risk in contemporary social work practice, including ethical dilemmas, approaches to decision-making and the challenges of ignorance and errors. Contributions range from the perennial challenges of how one uses formal knowledge when assessing risk to emerging risks arising from the counterterrorism agenda. This book will enable practitioners, policy makers and researchers to appreciate the complexities of risk in different settings and apply this understanding to their own practice. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Social Work Practice.

This new and fully updated edition of a hugely popular textbook is a practical and user-friendly guide that lets students know what to expect from their course and will be there every step of the way as a reference tool. Written by experts in the field, the book guides the reader through from their academic study on social work courses to entering the field as a practitioner. The Social Work Companion is the essential survival guide for students on qualifying courses in social work and a helpful resource for experienced practitioners. New to this Edition: - A indispensable wide-ranging yet accessible coverage of the core areas of theory and practice studied on a typical social work degree course - A wealth of guidance on study skills, advice about possible career directions, and extensive signposting to sources of further information

How important is it to be a reflective practitioner in education today? This book examines the reflective practitioner role and the scope of reflective activities in professional practice, revealing that critical thinking is rooted in a philosophical debate about notions of truth linked to differing learning approaches.

Designed to support training and CPD in compulsory mental health work, this book looks at assessment, detention, compulsion and coercion in a variety of mental health settings. It focuses on decision making in a variety of professional roles with people from a diversity of backgrounds. With emphasis on theory into practice, the book is essential reading for those looking to develop their reflexive and critical analytical skills. Relevant for all professionals making decisions under mental health legislation and those developing, teaching and supporting practitioners in the workplace, it includes: - critical reflection techniques; - 'editors' voice' features at the start and close of each chapter, summarising key themes.

This succinct and insightful guide to reflective practice is designed for students and practitioners across a range of professions in the human services - social work, healthcare and related fields. In seven compact chapters, it takes the reader through the main theories and principles of reflective practice, drawing on concepts and findings from across the associated literature. Its clear and careful integration of both the 'thinking' and 'doing' elements of the complex and often challenging task of practising reflectively makes this an ideal text for students and practitioners alike. New for this edition: New material which covers how pandemic-induced remote working has affected opportunities for spontaneous group reflection. New content which looks at the significance of reflective practice for management and leadership Clearer links across reflective learning, personal growth and spirituality