Social Work Management and Practice

Andy Bilson is Director of the Centre for Europe's Children at Glasgow University. He is involved in research, monitoring and evaluation of child care at national and international level. Sue Ross is Director of Social Work for East Renfrewshire Council. Her particular professional interests are the development of social work as a profession and the way services are managed and delivered. Both authors have published articles on child care training, research, group work, family therapy and management.

In a context where the old monolithic services have been broken up and new organisations, such as primary care groups, are in their nascent stages, Bilson and Ross' book, which tries to get us out of thinking in a straight line and towards focussing on patterns and connections, is very welcome. This book will be very useful for both tutors and students on Diploma in Social Work courses, and practitioners taking on post-qualifying awards.

• Preface to second edition. 1. A history of systems ideas in social work. 2. Key principles of a systems approach. 3. The application of Bateson's ideas in family therapy and wider systems. 4. Towards an ecology of social work practice. 5. Case studies in social work practice. 6. A systems approach to management of social work. 7. Managing organisational change: case studies in social work management and organisational change. 8. A systems approach to social work education. 9. Developments in systems ideas. Bibliography. Index.