The Life Model of Social Work Practice

Alex Gitterman has set his sights on nothing less than defining social work practice in its broadest sense and at the same time providing details that allow us to understand our work with specificity. He has truly engaged the enormous quantity of knowledge that has emerged since the publication of the last edition, and his ability to incorporate all of this into one book is masterful. He has captured social work at a time in which our profession is increasingly difficult and has found a way to help us reason through the 'wicked problems' we face in an uncaring and frequently oppressive society. -- Jacqueline Mondros, dean, Hunter College School of Social Work Alex Gitterman and the late Carel B. Germain are seminal thinkers on this topic, and their extremely comprehensive, scholarly text is a refreshing break from many of the social work practice texts that are available. Its scholarship is first-rate. -- Meredith Hanson, Fordham University, Graduate School of Social Service

Alex Gitterman is Zachs professor and director of the doctoral program at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He is the coeditor of Mutual Aid, Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, and the Life Cycle, Third Edition, and author of The Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, Second Edition, which won the Robert Wood Johnson Award for excellence in end of life content. Currently, Professor Gitterman serves on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups and as a commissioner on the Commission of Education and Curriculum Innovation and chair for the group work symposia of the Council on Social Work Education. The late Carel B. Germain was emerita professor of social work at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of Human Behavior in the Social Environment and editor of Social Work Practice: People and Environments.

Preface Acknowledgments Part 1: Overview 1. Social Work Practice and Its Historical Traditions 2. The Ecological Perspective 3. The Life Model of Social Work Practice: An Overview 4. Assessment, Practice Monitoring, and Practice Evaluation Part 2: The Helping Process in Life-Modeled Practice Initial Phase 5. Preparation: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills 6. Beginnings: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills Ongoing Phase 7. Helping Individuals, Families, and Groups with Stressful Life Transitions and Traumatic Events 8. Helping Individuals, Families, and Groups with Environmental Stressors 9. Helping with Dysfunctional Family Processes 10. Helping with Dysfunctional Group Processes 11. Reducing Interpersonal Stress Between Worker and Client Ending Phase 12. Endings: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills Part 3: Life-Modeled Practice at Community, Organization, and Political Levels 13. Influencing Community and Neighborhood Life 14. Influencing the Practitioner's Organization 15. Influencing Legislation, Regulations, and Electoral Politics Appendix A: Individual, Family, and Group Assessments Appendix B: Practice Monitoring: Records of Service Appendix C: Practice Monitoring: Critical Incidents Notes References Index