Social Work: A Very Short Introduction

Very Short Introductions #432

by Sally Holland, Jonathan Scourfield

Social workers spend their time trying to ease social suffering. They encounter the extreme casualties of social inequality: the victims of poverty, illness, addiction, and abuse; they work with abusers and offenders; and operate in the space between the state and the poor or marginalized. Social work is replete with vivid human stories: the troubled teenage boy who cannot settle in a foster home; the frail older woman who is desperate for social contact; the community seeking a way to tackle gang violence; the sex offender leaving prison; and the disputed territory of international adoption. Social work therefore holds a fundamental importance throughout the modern world.
In this Very Short Introduction, Sally Holland and Jonathan Scourfield explain what social work is and look at its rich historical development. Reflecting international human stories of social problems and social work relationships, as well as the philosophies behind the practice and the evidence about what works throughout the world, they look at the various definitions, history, and debates about purpose and effectiveness, theory, and methods. Including wide ranging examples of social work practice around the world and within particular population groups, they reflect the international variation of social work theory and practice, as well as highlighting all of the main controversies and debates.
ABOUT THE SERIES:
The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Social Work, Social Issues

144 pages, Paperback

First published April 21, 2015

Reviews

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5. This is a good primer on what the social work profession is, albeit limited by the constraints of the Very Short Introduction series to 35,000 words. Sally Holland & Jonathan Scourfield are based out of the United Kingdom, but their book also provides information on social work as it is practiced in the United States, the “Global South,” and other parts of the world. The field is notoriously difficult to pin down and the authors do a good job of describing its many facets. For example, while individual and group therapy is a major part of social work, “social workers tend not to deliver what clinical psychologists would recognize as pure psychotherapy, but rather they would more typically adapt approaches within routine casework relationships” (p. 14). There is a strong focus on how individuals are influenced by their environments, including their families, neighborhoods, cultures, and religions. The field often involves community-based work, especially in Latin America, and can be quite political. Social work is all about making positive changes in society on micro (individual), mezzo (community), and macro (nation-wide) levels. The recommended reading section at the tail end of the book provides many good resources for further study.

Quotes:
“In the early days of social work many organizations or individuals were religiously inspired. However, the 20th century saw the state moving into provision of a safety net for the most vulnerable people in society. Welfare state regimes were established and took over responsibility to provide for social need. Secular social support came to be provided as a right under the law rather than through the good works of religious folk.” (p. 5).
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“In the US there is a strong tradition of social work in health care settings, with terms such as medical social work and clinical social work being widely used. Such social workers would not necessarily experience a clash of values with medical colleagues, but would see themselves as providing distinctive services such as family meetings, arranging practical help in the home after discharge, or counselling for victims of abuse.” (p. 26).
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“Social work is suffused with politics. Even if not employed by the state, social workers operate within government policy, though they might also campaign to change policies if they are having a detrimental effect on their clients’ lives.” (p. 32).
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“...social work with individuals and families has a strong tradition of more individual approaches. While practitioners using approaches that promote individual change may well recognize the social and economic inequalities inherent in their clients’ lives, they also recognize that change at an individual level is possible and often necessary. For example, these approaches may be underpinned by an understanding that poverty is a stressor that can exacerbate substance misuse, crime, or child neglect, but their proponents may also note that not all people living in poverty have these problems.” (p. 45)
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“Community development is still a thriving practice globally, but the extent to which this is accepted as being a part of social work varies. On the whole, social work in the Global North is concentrated on individual or clinical therapeutic work, risk management, group work, and organizing and providing care…
It is in the Global South, however, that community social work retains a central role. Reports about social work graduates from countries throughout the Global South suggest that they are likely to find employment with non-government agencies working in the area of community development, and are more likely to be called development workers than social workers.” (p. 86-7)
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“The very best source of evidence for those deciding which practice approaches to use is a systematic review, which consists of a rigorous procedure for locating studies, sorting them into a hierarchy of evidence from RCTs [randomized controlled trials] down, and where possible combining comparable results into one single meta-analysis which allows for an overall conclusion to be made about effectiveness.” (p. 101).
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“Social work may have a relatively small evidence base for its effectiveness compared to some other helping professions. And indeed it may not always work. It is, however, undoubtedly a humane response to the problems of modern living.” (p. 106).

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Citation:
Holland, S., & Scourfield, J. (2015). Social work: A very short introduction. Oxford University Press. https://academic.oup.com/book/482

Title: Social Work: A Very Short Introduction
Author(s): Sally Holland, Jonathan Scourfield
Series: Oxford Very Short Introductions
Year: 2015
Genre: Nonfiction - Social work, social science, politics
Page count: 136 pages
Date(s) read: 2/3/24
Book #36 in 2024
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[Neoson · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is as promised, a short introduction into social work. The book is simple and concise, allowing anyone to read it and come away with a decent understanding of social work. As expected of anything with social work, it does delves into aspects of psychology, and sociology to a lesser degree, but does so in a simply way that doesn't overcomplicate its premise. The only thing is that it could use another look over for tiny grammar issues.