The Structural Approach to Direct Practice in Social Work

The Structural Approach to Direct Practice in Social Work

A Social Constructionist Perspective

  • Author: Wood, Gale Goldberg; Tully, Carol; Middleman, Ruth
  • Publisher: Columbia University Press
  • ISBN: 9780231055062
  • eISBN Pdf: 9780231507820
  • Place of publication:  New York , United States
  • Year of digital publication: 2006
  • Month: September
  • Language: English

This classic text introduces students to the structural approach of social work practice, which assumes that many clients' problems arise from harmful social forces. By focusing on the construction of such realities as poverty, racism, and domestic violence, the structural approach counters the focus on individual change that is so common in our age of managed care and corporatization.

For this edition Gale Goldberg Wood and Carol T. Tully have recast the text from the perspective of contemporary social constructionism without altering its main message and organization. They have added six new chapters, covering ethics, the role of the social worker as therapist and community organizer, learning and working within the organization, and the paradigm dilemma. In addition, case studies now include greater detail about the client's social context.

Though much has changed since the first edition of this book was published, the need for well-trained, compassionate social workers remains. The Structural Approach to Direct Practice in Social Work continues to be an essential resource for practitioners who wish to help their clients confront oppressive social realities and affect system change through political action.

  • Contents
  • Acknowledgments
  • Introduction
  • PART I: INFRASTRUCTURE
    • 1. The Frame of Reference for Social Work Practice
      • Two Dimensions that Define the Profession
      • Four Categories of Social Work Activity
      • Research Value
      • Beyond Research
    • 2. The Philosophical Base for Structural Social Work Practice
      • The Practice of Context
      • The Philosophical Stance
      • Postmodernism
      • Deconstruction
      • Postmodern Perspectives on Power
      • Social Constructionism
      • The Structural View
      • Specialization
      • Movement Through the Quadrants
      • Conclusion
    • 3. Ethics and Structural Social Work Practice
      • Getting Grounded: Defining Ethics
      • The NASW Code of Ethics
      • Ethical Principles for the Structural Approach
      • Conclusion
  • PART II: PRINCIPLES AND PROCESSES
    • 4. Basic Principles of the Structural Approach
      • The Principle of Accountability to the Client
      • The Principle of Following the Demands of the Client Task
      • The Priciple of Maximizing Potential Supports in the Client's Environment
      • The Principle of Least Contest
      • The Principle of Helping the Client Deconstruct Oppressive Cultural Discourse and Reinterpret Experience from Alternative Perspectives
      • The Minimax Principle
    • 5. Intervention Principles and Procedures: A Process Model
      • The Contract Phase
      • The Task Phase
      • The Termination/Recontracting Phase
      • Why Two Types of Paradigms?
      • Conclusion
  • PART III: ROLES
    • 6. The Conferee
      • Translating Pressures into Tasks
      • Facilitating Decision Making
      • Concluding the Work
      • Conclusion
    • 7. The Broker
      • The Tasks of the Broker
      • Conclusion
    • 8. The Mediator
      • The Tasks of the Mediator
      • The Mediator in Quadrants A and C
      • Conclusion
    • 9. The Advocate
      • What Advocacy Is
      • The Tasks of Advocacy
      • The Advocate in Quadrants A, B, C, and D
      • Conclusion
    • 10. The Therapist
      • The Tasks of the Therapist
      • Radical Listening
      • Externalizing the Problem
      • Deconstructing Oppressive Discourse
      • Seeking Counteracts
      • Achoring in History
      • Conclusion
    • 11. The Case Manager
      • The Evolution of Case Management
      • Tasks for Working as a Case Manager
      • The Case Manager as Advocate
      • Determining the Work
      • The Case Manager in Quadrants A, B and C
      • Conclusion
    • 12. The Group Worker
      • The Basic Group
      • Types of Groups
      • Tasks for Working with Groups
      • The Group Worker in Quadrants A, B, and C
      • Conclusion
    • 13. The Community Organizer
      • What is Community Organizing?
      • The Tasks of the Community Organizer
      • The Community Organizer in Quadrants B and C
      • Conclusion
  • PART IV: CONTEXT
  • 14. Learning the Organization
    • The Structures of Organizations
    • Learning the Formal and Informal Arrangements of the Organization
    • Choice Points in the Organization: Getting from Point A to Point B
    • Conclusion
  • 15. Working in the Organization
    • The Self Principle
    • Processes for Carrying Out the Self Principle
    • Connecting the Conscious Use of Self with the Deliberate Use of Self
    • Changing the Organization from Within
    • The Metawork
    • Time Management
    • Time-Management Strategies
    • Conclusion
  • 16. A Paradigm Dilemma
  • References
  • Index

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