Facilitative leadership is a fundamental skill for social workers, especially in macro practice situations. Identified roles in social work practice commonly include enabler, mediator, coordinator, manager, educator, analyst/evaluator, broker, facilitator, initiator, negotiator, and advocate. The skills required to fulfill these roles are called upon every day in work with clients and colleagues. The role of facilitative leader incorporates pieces from many of these roles. This book enables the reader to understand the concept of facilitative leadership, shows how it relates to the social work code of ethics, and clarifies the facilitative leader’s role and distinguishes it from a trainer, consultant, or chairperson. It explores the concepts of leadership and shows how they apply to social work in group process. The book demonstrates how to develop skills in performing facilitative leadership without sacrificing a stakeholder position and how to identify the phases of group development and their significance. It discusses communication and intervention techniques and their situational value to others who perform facilitative leadership tasks and enables to gain comfort and demonstrate competence in the use of group process techniques. The book also enables the reader to learn to be a facilitative leader of group process regardless of the formal role he/she has been assigned in the group.

Health care delivery is complex and scientifically grounded, and requires its practitioners to possess considerable knowledge and expertise. This book guides the reader through a conceptual framework for building effective patient relationships. Based on concepts of mindfulness, it provides a kind of mental scaffolding or operating platform on which to build thoughts, perspectives, and skills that help the busy clinician to achieve inner composure, attain greater self-awareness, and develop critical interpersonal skills that result in satisfying and compassionate patient care. In the first section of the book, mindfulness principles are embedded in discussions of the critical elements of interpersonal effectiveness, such as hope, empathy, and listening. The second section discusses how to navigate professional communication challenges. The third section provides chapters in which mindfulness principles are applied to challenging clinical situations. The fourth section describes effective approaches with challenging populations. Together, the applications in third and fourth sections give the reader concrete examples of mindfulness in action. The scenarios depicted throughout the book involve practitioners primarily from medicine and nursing. Nurses and physicians, trainees, social workers, and others are also presented in examples. However, with slight modifications, the scenarios are applicable across disciplines. Although the roles of nurses, social workers, and physicians certainly vary, the fundamental principles for establishing effective patient-provider encounters remain constant. And although the primary aim of the book is to promote mindfulness as a powerful method of enhancing patient-provider communication, the secondary aim is to promote mindfulness as a means of enhancing cross-disciplinary understanding.

Adolescence is an extremely unique and critical stage of development. In order to provide the helping professional with a clear understanding of typical adolescent development, and to fill the gap many have in understanding adolescence in general, this book offers a concise, in-depth, scientific overview of adolescent development specifically geared toward those applying the information in the helping professions. The intended audience for the book is helping professionals such as psychologists, mental health counselors, social workers, marriage and family therapists, educators, and nurses. The book covers adolescent developmental theories that provide a basis for understanding observations about the nature of adolescents. These theories include the intrapsychic, cognitive, behavioral/environmental, and biological theories. Puberty is also the signal indicating the beginning of physical and neurological growth. The hormonal changes of puberty initiate drastic growth in the body and organs of adolescents. The book reviews several aspects of overall adolescent health, including the issue of adolescent sleep and its importance and how adolescent diet and nutrition impact development. In addition to the “hardware” transformation in an adolescent’s brain, adolescents undergo important changes in their ability to think. The book also examines Piaget’s adolescent stage of cognitive development, the formal operational stage, and how changes in the way adolescents think impact their interactions with others. It introduces the multiple social changes with family and friends that occur during adolescence and examines how adolescents interact with TV, media, and technology and deals with the issue of cyberbullying and reviews the most common adolescent problems, such as drug use, risky behaviors, eating issues, and depression. Each chapter integrates several features to guide helping professionals in applying adolescent development in practice.

Direct practice social work is an approach for helping others that emphasizes a strengths perspective and focuses on person to person contact with individuals, groups, or families (Saleebey, 1996, 2011). The primary goal of direct practice social work is to provide assistance to vulnerable populations within our society. Direct practice social workers are required to be licensed by the state in which they reside and are regulated by a state board. The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has established standards and guidelines for conducting the services that direct practice social workers provide. This book is organized into ten chapters. The first chapter provides an introduction to direct practice social work. The second chapter discusses the values and ethical foundations of social work practice. The third chapter presents social work theories, practice models, and the strengths-based direct practice framework. Chapter four describes the engagement process, which refers to the initial interactions between the social worker and the client. The fifth chapter focuses on assessment and goal formulation using a strengths-based approach. The sixth chapter details the factors that must be considered when identifying interventions and outlines a few of the more prevalently used modalities such as evidence-based practice, crisis intervention, cognitive restructuring, and group interventions. Chapter seven outlines the various ways social workers can evaluate progress with clients as well as guide practitioners through the process of terminating the helping relationship. The eight chapter describes strengths-based direct practice documentation. Chapter nine presents challenging practice conditions. It is designed to provide some of the basic knowledge to be used with a variety of specific client circumstances. The final chapter examines practice implications for the strengths-based direct practice professional. It focuses on typical obstacles that social workers must be alert to as well as methods for navigating them.

The chapters in this book represent an effort to create a foundational textbook for social workers that introduces the student to justice informed social work practice and is an initial step — a starting point – for considering how to center oneself in justice oriented practice across systems and structures. Within the social work profession, justice is conceptualized as a constellation of social, economic, and environmental justice. Although population based books are common in social work scholarship, the authors have intentionally opted for a different approach. This text focuses on structural oppression and inequities connected to our clients' engagement in systems and structures that, although often purported to support them, frequently are broken and inflict harm. It starts with an overview of key concepts and theoretical underpinnings that provide foundational knowledge and then moves into chapters that focus on human rights, and varying systems related to education, criminal justice, housing, the environment, poverty, finances and wealth, and food insecurity. One will learn about the ways that injustice presents itself in the various systems in which social workers practice. Structural discrimination has systemic implications and systemic consequences as well. The book offers us foundational knowledge and tangible recommendations that one can apply and transfer to best fit the work we are doing in the multiple of practice settings, and with the diverse client populations with/in which one work. This book should also leave us with more questions than when one began reading and the authors hope will solidify our commitment to our life-long education, unlearning, and discovery around just practice. Within each chapter, context for understanding oppression and injustice today is interwoven with an understanding of how policies and programs, over time, have created and perpetuated inequity.

The book examines various theories of aging including a contrast between the strengths-based person-in-environment theory and the pathologically based medical model of psychological problems. It advocates truly engaging with the older client during the assessment phase, and discusses a variety of intervention modalities. The book integrates an advanced clinical social work practice with in-depth knowledge of evidence-based practice as well as geriatric medicine, psychiatry and gerontology. The social worker must evaluate the status of the client’s housing, transportation, food, clothing, recreation opportunities, social supports, access to medical care, kinship and other factors considered important by the social worker or the client. Constructivist theory is a conceptual framework that is foundational to existential therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), and narrative therapy, which are effective for older adults. Stigma associated with race, ethnicity, and sexual orientation produce psychosocial stressors that converge on older clients. The book discusses several medical conditions affecting older adults such as Alzheimer’s disease, arthritic pain, diabetes and various types of cancers. Older adults may also suffer from substance abuse-related problems, hypersexuality, and various types of abuse such as neglect. The book also highlights the problems faced by the older adult LGBT community and those suffering from HIV disease. It ends with discussions on care and residential settings for the older adults, and palliative care and euthanasia.

This book provides an overview of the three areas of family violence (i.e., child abuse, intimate partner abuse, and older adult abuse). It includes plentiful case examples, real-life stories, keywords, and discussion questions; the Test Bank is updated to align with changes in the chapters. In the area of child abuse, expanded information is provided on the various agencies working with abused children and on being an expert witness for the courts. In the area of intimate partner violence, additional information is provided on male victims of female perpetrators along with theoretical underpinnings, assessment instruments, and treatment options for both male and female victims and perpetrators. A section is added on the use of social media in precluding and enabling perpetrators. At-risk populations are expanded to include sex-trafficking victims; veterans of war suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD); middle-class families; Native Americans; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) families. In the area of older adult abuse, chapters reflect recent policies and terminology to make clearer distinctions in the information contained within the chapters. Major changes in understanding old age assistance are made with emphasis on the different typologies of behaviors of various abusers, thus reducing the focus on caregiver stress as synonymous with older adult abuse.

Field education has been identified as the “signature pedagogy” social work education. The practice of having students working alongside community practitioners is almost as old as the social work profession itself. Field education, which involves students working with practicing social workers to learn the knowledge, skills, and values of the social work profession, brings the intellectual content of the classroom into focus with everyday tasks and responsibilities. Therefore, the work of community-based practitioners who supervise social work interns is essential to our profession. This book includes content on how to recruit a practicum student, as well as useful information about effective supervision, learning assessment planning and development, integration of theory and practice, helpful evaluation techniques, and teaching social work ethics. It provides an introduction to the practice of field education, along with useful recommendations about how to maximize the learning experience of practicum students. College and university social work programs provide regular orientations to their field education programs. Students should adhere to agency expectations regarding dress, language, and boundaries. Once students are aware of the agency culture, they should be held accountable for meeting those expectations. Effective communication between the academic institution and the field instructor/agency setting is indispensable to the social work practicum process. Several models exist to help students determine an ethical course of action or to resolve an ethical dilemma. Practicing as an ethical social worker requires not only knowledge of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) Code of Ethics, but also the ability to apply sound decision-making strategies to everyday situations encountered in social work practice.

This book vividly portrays the personal and professional lives of social work luminaries from the 19th to the present century. It links their groundbreaking contributions in social work to current Council on Social Work Education core competencies. The book focuses on leaders who shaped the field across modern American history — the Progressive Era, the Great Society, the New Deal, the Postwar period, and others—and examines their lives in the context of the social and historical environment, their contributions to social work, and lessons from their experiences that are still relevant to social work today. Through detailed, engaging life stories and photographs, readers—including undergraduates, graduate students, and practicing social workers—will learn about the profession’s rich history rooted in charitable work, “friendly visitors”, and social justice advocacy. The book also touches upon the contributions of early social work pioneers as well as those leading us forward in the 21st century. The social work leaders explored are Dorothea Dix, Ellen Gates Starr, Mary Richmond, Frances Perkins, Whitney Moore Young Jr, Katherine Anne Tuach Kendall, Dr. Nazneen Sada Mayadas, and Barbara Mikulski. It provides important historical groundwork for classes in social welfare policy, introduction to social work, and social work history courses. Chapters include discussion questions and activities to facilitate professional growth and personal development.

This book is intended as an approachable reference guide for one of the most common neurological conditions, Parkinson’s disease and the spectrum of Parkinson-like syndromes. Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressing neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects older adults. The book outlines the new advances in the management and treatment of the Parkinson patient, comparing risks and benefits as well as efficacy of new and older anti-Parkinson’s disease drugs. The task of diagnosing Parkinson’s disease and providing comprehensive guided treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach. Those involved in the diagnosis and care of the patient include neurologists; nurse practitioners; nurses; physical, occupational, and speech therapists; sleep medicine specialists; neuropsychologists; psychiatrists; radiologists; nutritionists; and social workers. The book is divided into seventeen chapters spread across four sections. The first section, Parkinson’s Disease, describes the following: neurobiology of Parkinson’s disease, patient exam, idiopathic Parkinson’s disease, imaging and advanced studies, neuropsychological analysis, and additional evaluations. The second section, Parkinsonisms, discusses Parkinson-plus syndromes and other Parkinsonisms. The third section, Treatment of Motor and Non-Motor Symptoms in Parkinson’s Disease, describes treatment of motor symptoms and non-motor symptoms such as autonomic dysfunction, sleep disturbances, disturbances of thought, and neuropsychiatric symptoms. The final section, Alternative Therapies and Other Considerations, talks about exercise, complementary and alternative therapies, nutrition, and caregiver burden. The book provides additional details such as Hoehn and Yahr Scoring scale, drugs that should be avoided in patients with Parkinson’s disease, patient-prepared information, standardized intake questions for evaluating a Parkinson’s patient, standardized questions for evaluating the patient in a follow-up visit, and resources in the appendices.

Informed by a social justice approach, this user-friendly text for social work students provides a comprehensive introduction to contemporary school social work practice structured around the 2022 CSWE EPAS Competencies. With a focus on skills development, this innovative text is competency-based and encompasses professionalism, cross-disciplinary collaboration, research applications, theoretical foundations, policies, engagement, assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Following a brief historical overview and introduction to the discipline, the book delves into school social work practice and delivers timely content regarding professional identity, supervision, anti-racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice. Practice knowledge is examined through social work theory, evidence-informed practice, use of data, and policies regarding school, children, and families. The text addresses the full range of client engagement, service provision, the multi-tiered system of supports, trauma-based practices, social emotional learning, termination, and transition-planning.

This fourth edition of the book covers basic and advanced concepts related to the delivery of social work services in health care settings. When health care is responsive to those in need, the provision of services must be equitable, safe, timely, efficient, effective, evidence-based, and patient-centered while simultaneously exemplifying best practices for all. As pressure for quality services continues to increase, however, the equitable distribution and availability of affordable health care has changed. This has left many providers and patients alike filled with expectation and speculation as to what constitutes essential health care service delivery. The book advocates a proactive stance for health care social workers and is designed to serve as a practical guide for understanding and addressing the philosophy of practice in our current health care environment. Suggestions are made for achieving ethical time-limited, evidence-based social work practice in these settings. At the end of each chapter, a “Summary and Future Directions” section is provided that will help social workers to understand what can be expected and how to prepare for the practice changes needed in order to remain viable clinical practitioners. The book is designed as a practical guide to help social workers understand the roots of social work practice, stressing the importance of the person-in-environment and person-in-situation while utilizing strength’s perspective employing this information as a foundation for embracing the changes to come. As a skilled professional, the incorporation of evidence-based social work practice will need to serve as the cornerstone of all we do while always taking into account the uniqueness and situation-based strategy needed to help each individual patient/client/consumer.

This book differs greatly from earlier versions because of two main changes. The first is the adoption of an intersectional approach in working with families. It underlines the importance of an intersectional approach to working with families that, in addition to culture and ethnicity, also considers socioeconomic class, gender, age, religion, immigration status, and sexual orientation as important factors. Additionally, the text expands its direct-practice view with the addition of four new chapters written by psychologists, plus a new chapter on health issues in multicultural families and access to health services. The book is updated with the latest knowledge and research, along with new and revised case vignettes demonstrating culturally competent practice. It provides a new intersectional approach to assessment and treatment and adds the perspectives of psychologists in four completely new chapters. The book includes a new chapter on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fifth edition from a multicultural perspective, plus new chapters on health and access to health services and offer the most up-to-date knowledge and research. It provides new and updated case vignettes and reflects changes in the family unit over the last quarter century and how it impacts treatment. The book addresses distinct sociopolitical issues affecting immigrants and undocumented families and focuses on the most important emerging issues of multicultural families. It covers multicultural mental health across the lifespan and encompasses the distinct perspectives of different ethnic and racial groups, and those of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender families. The book also discusses domestic violence and substance abuse in regard to multicultural families and delineates the most effective treatment methods. It examines the culturagram as a useful assessment and treatment planning modality and addresses ethical issues including the National Association of Social Workers code of ethics.

Social workers are the number one providers of mental health services in the United States. This book describes the realities of the contemporary American mental health system and the impacts on clients and social workers. It takes a critical perspective on the lack of quality care for those among society’s most vulnerable individuals, the mentally ill. Unlike other texts that address mental health and illness, the book focuses on the issues and policies that create challenges for social workers in the mental health system and obstacles to a continuum of excellent mental healthcare. The book also focuses on ways that social workers can help improve the overall functioning of the mental health system. One theme of the book is that mental health diagnosis, treatment, and access to care are lacking due to an insufficient knowledge base. That is, some mental disorders are not yet well understood, and therefore, responses can be inappropriate or inadequate. The critical perspective ensures that an examination of mental health treatments, especially pharmacologic therapy, does not focus exclusively upon the benefits to clients taking prescribed medications. The book digs deeper to ask who benefits when clients take psychotropic drugs. With a focus on social work innovation in mental healthcare, the book provides descriptions of promising policies and practices to improve mental healthcare in the United States. This includes new drug and brain stimulation or neuromodulation techniques and expanded social work prevention efforts. The book is recommended as a primary text for mental health courses in MSW programs. It can also be used in upper level undergraduate college courses in social work, typically BSW programs. The book finally ensures that social work students will not only understand the issues of their clients (micro level) but understand mental health issues in a broader societal context (macro level).

This book provides an integrated perspective on disabilities of the various disciplines of human services for counselors, social workers, and allied health professions in training. It provides an interdisciplinary and intersectional perspective on disability and psychosocial adjustment to disability in rehabilitation counseling, social work, and allied health professions. It also includes foundations of disability studies, advocacy, the disability rights movement and disability legislation, policy, and law. There is a focus on select persistent and emerging population trends in disability studies, which are supported in the literature as populations that are anticipated to represent a growing and greater proportion of individuals in need of disability and integrated services. The attention to psychosocial adaptation to disability along with the inclusion of case studies and field-based experiential exercises related to specific topics make this book an invaluable resource for students and professionals alike. The human services professions contain a wide variety of disciplines that assist individuals, families, and populations to improve their capacity to function as individuals and in society. These professionals possess specific competencies and credentials, but operate from an interdisciplinary knowledge base that requires coordination among professionals, programs, and agencies in service delivery. The disciplines typically included in responding to disability-related issues are rehabilitation counseling, counseling, mental health, social work, rehabilitation sciences, psychology, and allied and health sciences. A key feature of each chapter is application from an intersectional perspective of issues related to addressing the service needs of persons with disabilities. Based on the foundations of understanding services providers’ scope of practice, the text discusses the roles and functions of human services providers, ethics in service delivery, professional credentials, cultural competency, and family and life span perspectives of disability.

This book provides innovative ways to incorporate aging content into courses, trainings, and workshops for students or professionals. It presents activities which offer hands-on approaches to engage students of all backgrounds–from social workers to family caregivers, medical students to demographers, nurses to community planners, personal care attendants to students in introduction to gerontology courses. These faculty-tested, peer-reviewed educational activities cover topics ranging from physical aging, media, and demographic portrayals of older adults to disaster planning, public policy, and diversity among older adults. The book includes 32 unique and interesting activities. Each activity comes with detailed instructions, basic back-ground information, a materials list, and an explanation of how the specific content aligns with one or more of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) competencies for undergraduate and graduate education in gerontology. The book is divide into eleven chapters. The first chapter explores teaching courses on aging, and the potential of experiential learning activities to engage students. The second chapter discusses ageism and aging in the media. The next four chapters talk about dementia, demography, health care, and housing for older adults. The seventh chapter describes physical aging. Chapter 8 analyzes public policy and aging. Chapter 9 describes positive interactions with older adults. Chapter 10 explains research projects and papers, and the final chapter discusses spirituality.

This second edition have kept all the essential components of the first edition as recommended by practitioners but also added a number of additional features. It provides content on mindfulness interventions, acceptance and commitment therapy, habit reversal training, and behavioral activation. It also includes more detailed descriptions of step-by-step cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) applications (e.g., planning sessions, targeted session activity examples, therapy closure, exposure therapy), as well as two additional case studies. Essentially, the second edition goes more in-depth into translating current clinical practices for the school-based practitioner audience. Additionally, the book has enhanced coverage of culturally responsive CBT research, scholarship, and applied practice tips. Consistent with the first edition, the second edition provide practitioners with an easily accessible and practical guide for implementing basic CBT counseling strategies in applied school settings. Because of the unmet mental health needs displayed by millions of students in these settings, and the advancements in the training and provision of school mental health services during the past couple of decades, school-based mental health professionals, such as counselors, school psychologists, undefined, and others, are increasingly being asked to provide evidence-based counseling and intervention services such as CBT. Therefore, to address this need, this text provides an overview of methods used to conduct effective CBT interventions in school settings. Whether the reader is a graduate student in training, beginning a career in counseling, or a seasoned practitioner, this workbook can serve as an easy how-to guide because it offers numerous counseling activities and examples as well as over 50 forms to use when planning, structuring, and conducting therapy. This book differs from many extant CBT guides and workbooks in that it is designed for the busy practitioner who primarily works in K-12 school settings and must balance a range of different roles and responsibilities.

The decision to become licensed is significant, and passing the licensing examination demonstrates that one have the basic knowledge necessary to safely practice. Social workers are employed in all kinds of settings including hospitals, correctional facilities, mental health and addictions agencies, government offices, and private practices. It is essential that those served have some assurance that these practitioners are competent to provide the services that they are charged with delivering. Regulation through certification and licensure helps to assure that social workers will interact in an ethical and safe manner. This edition of the guide has greatly expanded content on study and test-taking strategies, including effective ways to prepare for and pass the licensing examination. Material on methods for analysing questions correctly has been added, along with examples to illustrate the strategies presented. Often social workers find this information most helpful when preparing for and taking the licensing test. The guide has been carefully constructed to provide social workers with information on the licensure examination and how to properly prepare in order to pass it; test-taking strategies and methods for analysing the questions correctly; and the content areas which comprise the test. The first section of the guide contains essential material to understand the best way to study, the logistics associated with taking the examination, and help with identifying what is being asked in test questions so that correct answers can be selected. Understanding how the licensing exam is constructed is valuable as it helps to identify priority areas for study. The second section of the guide has summary material on all the content areas, competencies, and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements which are used by test developers to formulate actual questions. This section ends with a full-length practice test that can be used to simulate the actual examination experience.

The social work role in nursing facilities is a valuable resource in the lives of residents, families, and staff. Whether the nursing facility is called a nursing home, a long-term care center, or a subacute or a rehabilitation center, the social worker is an essential, vital member of the healthcare team. As in other settings, social workers in nursing home settings use professional casework skills to help people in particular times of crisis and stress. As a contributing member of the interdisciplinary team, the social worker provides an opportunity for residents and families to examine problems, mobilize existing resources and/or refer to resources that are more appropriate, and develop positive resolutions. This third revised edition of A Guide for Nursing Home Social Workers provides the knowledge and information that social workers, regardless of their education and experience, need in the performance of their role in nursing home settings. The book is divided into six parts to help categorize the content: Social Work in Nursing Facilities; The Interdisciplinary Team; Nursing Facilities and Governing Oversights; Diagnosis, Treatment, and Care Issues; Ethics; and Community Liaisons. The first part presents key informational topics that social workers may utilize in their day-to-day work, such as assessments, care planning, and documentation. The second part contains information about team meetings, room changes, staff training and in-services, and social work consultation. The third part addresses a range of topics including Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) and the Minimum Data Set 3.0, as well as state surveys and facility policies. The fourth part provides current information about care topics such as neurocognitive disorders, mood disorders, medication, and pain in older adults, as well as groups, families, and diversity within the nursing facility. The fifth part contains chapters on social work ethics, legal representation, abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and confidentiality. The final part includes chapters on resident finances, transfer and discharge, community resources, funeral arrangements, pandemics and disaster planning, and trauma-informed care and adverse childhood experiences. The goal of this guide is to provide some of the necessary supports and assistance needed by social workers in this field as they pursue their profession of helping residents, families, and others involved in long-term care.

This book is designed and structured around the nine professional social work competencies as defined by the Council on Social Work Education's 2015 Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), with one or two chapters devoted to each professional competency. The book's coverage of the professional social work competencies helps students develop the knowledge and skills needed to become effective social workers. Each chapter provides a comprehensive overview of the theories, concepts, and practice components of a competency. The book focuses on mastering the professional competencies rather than just presenting content on social work practice. This approach helps students expand their competency knowledge, application, and integration by creating a purposeful approach to the development of their professional competencies that must be mastered by today's social work students. The book is designed for use in undergraduate and graduate social work practice courses. It uses the professional competencies as the structure. The chapters cover all components of the professional competencies described in EPAS 2015, which includes demonstrate ethical and professional behavior; advance human rights and social, economic, and environmental justice; engage in practice-informed research and research-informed practice; and engage in policy practice. This approach ensures that the professional competencies are covered in the social practice course(s) and that students experience the relationships among the competencies and social work practice better, preparing them for their field education and future practice as social work professionals. Each chapter begins with opening vignettes to help engage students in the chapter content, followed by chapter objectives that outline the key concepts. In addition, each chapter has multiple case examples, critical thinking questions, and a detailed case summary with discussion questions. The book covers topics that students need for competency-based social work practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and community clients and constituents.

This second edition of the bestselling acclaimed full-length practice test for the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Social Work Advanced Generalist Exam has been thoroughly updated to include additional test-taking strategies and diagnostic tests. Consisting of 170-questions that mirror the ASWB exam in length, structure, and content, this practice test is an indispensable tool for promoting exam success and includes strategies for every question along with in-depth rationales for correct answers, helping readers to discover gaps in their knowledge, identify strengths, and target weak areas. Despite social workers’ best efforts to study for and pass the ASWB examinations for licensure, they can encounter difficulties answering questions correctly that can ultimately lead to challenges in passing. On the ASWB examinations, social workers often struggle with application and reasoning questions which require them to take what has been learned and use it to identify correct answers given hypothetical contexts. Becoming more familiar with the construction of multiple-choice tests, as well as remembering concepts which are hallmarks within the social work profession, can greatly assist. In an effort to make this practice test as similar to the examination as possible, it contains 170 questions proportionately distributed within the four domains—Human Development, Diversity, and Behavior in the Environment (39 questions); Intervention Processes and Techniques for Use Across Systems (54 questions); Intervention Processes and Techniques for Use With Larger Systems (31 questions); and Professional Relationships, Values, and Ethics (46 questions). These proportions mirror the distribution of questions across these domains on the actual ASWB examination. This practice test is to be used as a diagnostic tool, so social workers should not worry about getting incorrect answers, but should view them as learning opportunities to avoid common pitfalls and pinpoint learning needs.

This narrative-based book is the first to describe Human Caring Literacy from the perspective of caring scientists who “live the life” by incorporating the precepts of human caring into every aspect of their personal and professional lives. It describes the methods that help practitioners develop mindfulness, reflection, authentic presence, intentionality, and a caring consciousness in the service of providing authentic, heart-centered care for patients, their families, and societies. Critical Caritas Literacy ultimately is an ontology of being/becoming that comes from within the subjective inner lifeworld of each person, morally aroused for reflective and contemplative self-growth, self-caring experiences that contribute to the whole of humanity. Having a high level of Caritas Literacy allows one to quickly form deep, trusting relationships, often within the first hour of meeting. There is a professional requirement for nurses to achieve competence in the delivery of spiritual care and to assess and meet the spiritual needs of their patients. Culturally competent care can relieve medical and social ills, poor cultural competency reproduces stereotypes and may lead to further microlevel conflict. Structurally, health care settings can facilitate nurse’s dual role as conflict mitigator by caring for nurses, providing burnout prevention, providing self-care rooms and staff support, and offering frequent debriefing with the aid of holistic healers, chaplains, and social workers.

The decision to become licensed is significant, and passing the licensing examination demonstrates that you have the basic knowledge necessary to safely practice. Social workers are employed in all kinds of settings including hospitals, correctional facilities, mental health and addictions agencies, government offices, and private practices. It is essential that those served have some assurance that these practitioners are competent to provide the services that they are charged with delivering. This guide has been carefully constructed to provide social workers with information on the licensure examination and how to properly prepare in order to pass it; test-taking strategies and methods for analysing the questions correctly; and the content areas which comprise the test. The first section of the guide contains essential material to understand the best way to study, the logistics associated with taking the examination, and help with identifying what is being asked in test questions so that correct answers can be selected. Understanding how the licensing exam is constructed is valuable as it helps to identify priority areas for study. The second section of the guide has summary material on all the content areas, competencies, and Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities statements (KSAs) which are used by test developers to formulate actual questions. Some test takers have referred to this section as a “MSW Program in a Box”, as it contains a summary of relevant concepts learned in an undergraduate social work program which may be assessed on the test. The format of this section is identical to the outline or “blueprint” for the examination with all four content areas covered. Each chapter within a content area represents a competency which has been identified as essential for testing. Lastly, within each chapter is summary information on each of the KSAs that can be tested on the exam.