Essential Social Work Skills: A Practical Guide

Essential Social Work Skills: A Practical Guide effectively bridges the gap between social work theory and application, equipping future social workers with the critical knowledge they need to pass their licensing exams and provide quality care to clients. The guide features detailed instructions for implementing specific interventions, as well as how social work operates at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. This guide focuses on the application of interventions at the micro level, including diagnosis, treatment planning, and the use of individual and family therapy models. It begins with chapters that outline the role of the clinical social worker and ethical decision-making. Proceeding chapters cover valuing diversity and advocating for clients, how to eliminate counterproductive communication, treatment planning, and assessing motivation. Building upon this knowledge, readers learn how to apply these processes and skill sets to a full treatment plan for a client, from initial assessment through the conclusion of treatment.

Designed to provide future social workers with a foundational framework for their practice, Essential Social Work Skills is an ideal textbook for introductory courses in social work.

Glen Hong is a clinical psychologist in private practice and an adjunct professor and practicum committee member in the master's of social work program at California State University, Los Angeles. He also works at California State University, Fullerton as a Mental Health Crisis Counselor providing crisis services to all students on the campus. He has served as a mental health clinical supervisor for the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health ACCESS Center, a center that handles crisis calls throughout Los Angeles County and dispatches crisis evaluators to assess for hospitalization. Hong has experience working with the chronically and severely mentally ill, at-risk youth, the Latino, African American, and Asian American communities, as well as all socioeconomic populations, within the county of Los Angeles.

"This book needs to be utilized as a training tool at my job as I carry this book where ever I go. From the diagnosing of clients, to intensive case management, and the use and understanding of family dynamics, this book has been my go to for my job as an intensive care coordinator for San Bernardino County Children and Youth Collaborative Services."
Lynda Merritt
Department of Behavioral Health
Children and Youth Collaborative Services (CYCS) 
Pre-Licensed Clinical Therapist I – CCICMS 

"I teach macro social work and I have heard from so many students in my class how Dr. Hong's book is the go to for understanding all areas of clinical practice. It is understood by the student cohorts that his book and his class are the standard for becoming an excellent clinician."
Jason Plummer PhD, MSW
Adjunct Professor
Cal State University, Los Angeles 

"Working as an administrator, it is vital that all social workers on every level of service be aware and competent from the micro, mezzo and the macro levels. This book provides the foundation for a social worker to establish competency on all three levels."
Manuel Rosas, LCSW
Mental Health Clinical Program Manager III
Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health 

"As a psychiatrist and having worked with many clinicians, it is truly a pleasure to give this book to those I work with. It simply and effectively blends the medical components that are necessary when treating clients. I highly recommend this book to any clinician who wants to have a solid foundation for clinical practice."
Siqing Li, MD
Psychiatrist
Private Practice