This book examines how religion and related beliefs have varied impacts on the needs and perceptions of practitioners, service users, and the support networks available to them. The authors argue that social workers need to understand these phenomena, so that they can become more confident in challenging discriminatory and oppressive practices. The centrality of religion and associated beliefs in the lives of many is emphasised, as are their potentially liberating (and potentially negative) impacts. In line with the Social Work in Practice series style, the book allows readers to explore issues in depth. It focuses on knowledge transmission, and the encouragement of critical reflection on practice. Each chapter is built around 'real-life' case scenarios using a problem-based learning approach. This book is the first to deal with social work and religion so comprehensively and will therefore be essential reading not only for social work students, but also for practitioners in a range of areas, social work academics and researchers in the UK and beyond.

A comprehensive introduction to ethical decision making with practical guidance regarding professional misconduct.

Social Work and Social Welfare: An Invitation is a best-selling text and website for introduction to social work courses. It provides students with the knowledge, skills, and values that are essential for working with individuals, families, groups, organizations, communities, and public policy in a variety of practice settings. The fifth edition of Social Work and Social Welfare is in full color, with more visuals and photos throughout. As with previous editions, this book is an up-to-date profile of the world in which today’s social workers practice, with current demographic, statistical, legislative, policy, and research information; and sensitive discussions of contemporary ethical issues. The text includes exercises from six interactive cases.Visit www.routledgesw.com for the detailed cases and companion materials that teach students about social work through practice. In this book and companion custom website you will find: ■■ An emphasis on a strengths-based perspective and attention to diversity, social environment, theory and theoretical frameworks, levels of social work practice, and an array of fields of practice. ■■ The histories of social welfare and the social work profession presented as the intertwined phenomena that they are. ■■ A profile of the contemporary landscape of the society in which social workers practice. ■■ Social work practice within the framework of planned change, encompassing: engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation and termination. ■■ The opportunity to hear from social work practitioners working in fourteen diverse and challenging practice settings. ■■ Six unique, in-depth, interactive, easy-to-access cases that students can easily reach from any computer, provide a “learning by doing” format unavailable with any other text(s). Students will have an advantage unlike any other they will experience in their social work training. ■■ A wealth of instructor-only resources provide: full-text readings that link to the concepts presented in each of the chapters; a complete bank of objective and essay-type test items, all linked to current CSWE EPAS standards; PowerPoint presentations to help students master key concepts; annotated links to a treasure trove of social work assets on the internet; and a forum inviting all instructors using texts in the series to communicate with each other, and share ideas to improve teaching and learning.

Faith-based organizations continue to play a significant role in the provision of social work services in many countries but their role within the welfare state is often contested. This text explores their various roles and relationships to social work practice, includes examples from different countries and a range of religious traditions and identifies challenges and opportunities for the sector. Social Work and Faith-based Organizations discusses issues such as the relationship between faith-based organizations and the state, working with an organization’s stakeholders, ethical practice and dilemmas, and faith-based organizations as employers. It also addresses areas of debate and controversy, such as providing services within and for multi-faith communities and tensions between professional codes of ethics and religious doctrine. Accessibly written by a well-known social work educator, it is illustrated by numerous case studies from a range of countries including Australia, the UK and the US. Suitable for social work students taking community or administration courses or undertaking placements in faith-based organizations, this innovative book is also a valuable resource for managers and religious personnel who are responsible for the operation of faith-based agencies.

The updated third edition of the definitive text on health social work Thoroughly revised and updated, the third edition of Handbook of Health Social Work is an authoritative text that offers a comprehensive review of the diverse field of health social work. With contributions from a panel of international experts in the field, the book is theory driven and solidly grounded in evidence-based practice. The contributors explore both the foundation of social work practice and offer guidance on effective strategies, policies, and program development. The text provides information that is essential to the operations of social workers in health care including the conceptual underpinnings and the development of the profession. The authors explore the practice issues such as theories of health behavior, assessment, communication and the intersections between health and mental health. The authors also examine a wide range of examples of social work practices including settings that involve older adults, nephrology, oncology, and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, HIV/AIDS, genetics, end of life care, pain management and palliative care, as well as alternative treatments, and traditional healers. This is the only handbook of its kind to unite the body of health social work and: • Offers a wellness, rather than psychopathological perspective and contains treatment models that are evidence-based • Includes learning exercises, further resources, research suggestions, and life-course information. • Contains new chapters on topics such as international health, insurance and payment systems, and implementation of evidence-based practice • Presents information on emerging topics such as health policy in an age of reform, and genomics and the social environment • Reviews new trends in social work and health care including genetics, trans-disciplinary care, and international, national, and state changes in policy Written for social work educators, administrators, students, and practitioners, the revised third edition of Handbook of Health Social Work offers in one volume the entire body of health social work knowledge.

In a unique and student-friendly package, Ethics and Values in Social Work offers a series of learning modules that will ensure graduates receive a comprehensive ethics and values education. Designed to be easily incorporated into any curriculum, each module helps students integrate the knowledge, skills, self-awareness, and critical thinking abilities required for dealing with ethical issues. From applying basic ethical standards of practice to managing complex ethical dilemmas, this textbook equips readers with a range of tools and strategies for responding to ethical questions and concerns. Traditional ethics textbooks provide students with a model for ethical decision making. This breakthrough textbook goes beyond ethical decision making by providing students with a strategic framework for managing ethical issues that includes guidelines for engaging others in ethical discussions and using conflict resolution theory to promote collaborative solutions. Some textbooks introduce students to ethical theories, such as deontology, teleology, and virtue ethics. This textbook goes beyond describing these theories by providing students with opportunities to apply, compare, and contrast these approaches as they relate to various contexts of social work practice. A wealth of case scenarios, discussion questions, and role-play exercises make this an engaging, thought-provoking teaching and learning tool. At a basic level, this textbook teaches students the essential principles and standards that define ethical practice. At a more profound level, Ethics and Values in Social Work inspires students to reach for the highest values of profession: service, dignity and worth of the person, human relationships, integrity, competence, social justice, human rights, and scientific inquiry.

This timely Routledge Handbook creates a much-needed space to explore what makes social work uniquely African, as well as shaping, informing, and influencing a new culturally relevant era of social work. The specific focus on social work education offers approaches to transition away from the hegemony of Western literature, knowledge, and practice models underpinning African social work education. The authors identify what is relevant and meaningful to inform, influence, and reconceptualise culturally relevant social work curriculum. Covering Botswana, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Malawi, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, the Handbook comprises both empirical and conceptual chapters, multiple approaches, case studies, and key debates on social work education. It is structured in four parts: • Approaches to Indigenising, Decolonising and Developing Culturally Relevant Social Work Education • Social Work Education: Evolution across Contexts • Embedding Field Practicum into Social Work Education • Knowledge Exchange between the Global South and Global North. The range of indigenous, local knowledge that the Handbook presents is crucial to social work evolving and facilitating for reciprocal learning and knowledge exchange between the Global South and Global North. Whilst the context of the Handbook is Africa, the topics covered are relevant to a global audience engaged in social justice work across social work, social welfare, social development, and sustainability.

This international volume provides a comprehensive account of contemporary research, new perspectives and cutting-edge issues surrounding religion and spirituality in social work. The introduction introduces key themes and conceptual issues such as understandings of religion and spirituality as well as definitions of social work, which can vary between countries. The main body of the book is divided up into sections on regional perspectives; religious and spiritual traditions; faith-based service provision; religion and spirituality across the lifespan; and social work practice. The final chapter identifies key challenges and opportunities for developing both social work scholarship and practice in this area. Including a wide range of international perspectives from Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Ireland, Israel, Malta, New Zealand, South Africa, Sweden, the UK and the USA, this Handbook succeeds in extending the dominant paradigms and comprises a mix of authors including major names, significant contributors and emerging scholars in the field, as well as leading contributors in other fields of social work who have an interest in religion and spirituality. The Routledge Handbook of Religion, Spirituality and Social Work is an authoritative and comprehensive reference for academics and researchers as well as for organisations and practitioners committed to exploring why, and how, religion and spirituality should be integral to social work practice.

This book provides social work students and professionals with core knowledge of the most important concepts in the social sciences. Offering a straightforward guide to diverse and complex disciplines, the book will equip and encourage you to delve further into the way societies function and individuals behave.

This text identifies factors that influence children and adolescents and indicates how professionals can help young people as clients in a variety of settings. The strengths of the text include a pragmatic focus on both children and adolescents, a broad conception of practice, an emphasis on assessment, the use of historical, organizational, and developmental perspectives, and a major social problems focus. The text is divided into three parts to identify the context of social work with children and adolescents, examine the helping process, and discuss applications of that process.