This essential resource, written for social workers by a social worker, discusses the etiology, epidemiology, assessment, and intervention planning for common disorders. Austrian goes beyond a linear classification approach, instead emphasizing a broad bio-psychosocial ecosystems perspective, which takes into account each client's unique situation. In addition to including the most up-to-date information on new medications, biochemical data on disease causes, and diagnostic tests, the thoroughly updated second edition also gives an overview and critique of managed care as it relates to the treatment of mental disorders.
An understanding of the most important laws and ethical issues that have shaped the profession is essential for the effective practice of social work. Thus this comprehensive approach to health and mental health care for social workers centers on ethical and legal issues. The book includes critical information regarding the systems and organizations in which social workers practice; the nature of the relationship between social workers and clients/consumers/communities; planning, contracting, and strategizing functions; intervention techniques using advocacy, brief work, case management, and group work; and evaluation. Armed with this knowledge, social workers have the ability to intervene as advocates as well as to evaluate their work and their clients' progress.
This work is the most comprehensive volume to focus on new directions in professional practice with families of people with mental illness. It offers a multidisciplinary systems-oriented examination of theory, research, and practice in the area. Unique features include a consideration of life-span and family system and subsystem perspectives, as well as the inclusion of powerful personal accounts of family members. It is written from the perspective of a competence paradigm for clinical practice, which offers a constructive alternative to the more prevalent pathology models of the past.
The editors of this volume have assembled recent articles discussing elements of each of the several commonly used psychosocial interventions -- including relapse prevention therapy, community reinforcement, voucher-based programs, self-help therapies, and motivational enhancement therapy--in addition to research-based articles that demonstrate the efficacy of these approaches. The selections in this book will provide the reader with a broad overview of the field as well as the specific information needed to use these therapies in a variety of clinical settings.
The profession of social work has, since its inception, stressed the importance of the family system in practice and policy development. Even though the family has always been central to effective social work practice, the framing of the family system from a holistic health perspective is new to the field. This collection develops a family health perspective that will facilitate effective social work practice and policy development.