The Creative Practitioner: Theory and Methods for the Helping Services (Haworth Series on Social Work Practice)

Here is the first text that links creative thinking processes with problem-solving processes for the profession of social work. The complexity of human problems and our frequent resistantance to change leaves many of us with inhibitions toward the difficult problem solving process. Author Bernard Gelfand, a student and teacher of creative problem solving for nearly a decade, provides exciting and convincing evidence that his five-step Creative Problem Solving Model can help human service professionals think creatively about the social problems of clients and enhance their methods of service delivery.

Gelfand explains the key steps to the Creative Problem Solving Model--fact finding, problem finding, strategy and idea finding, solution finding, and acceptance finding. In addition to the valuable guidelines for creative thinking, The Creative Practitioner is jampacked with easily applicable strategies for incorporating creative thinking into student learning about the problem-solving process and exercises to assist students and practitioners in overcoming their obstacles to creativity.

By teaching students to expect that there are many ways to solve a problems encourages them to approach their clients with a positive attitude. This unique new text offers exercises in all the skills of problem solving--defining problems, producing ideas, deciding upon the most preferred solutions, planning for their implementation, and evaluating their impact. Students, educators, and practitioners will quickly discover the value of this useful text.