Evidence-Based Practices for Social Workers: An Interdisciplinary Approach

Amid the growing demand for ethical, legal, and fiscal accountability in psychosocial practices, Evidence-Based Practices for Social Workers: An Interdisciplinary Approach provides a coherent, comprehensive, and useful resource for social workers and other human service professionals to help them

(1) conduct clinical assessments informed by current human behavior science;

(2) implement interventions supported by current outcome research; and,

(3) engage in evaluation as part of daily practice to ensure effective implementation of evidence-based practices.

Instead of depicting evidence-based practices as a simple matching of diagnostic categories with intervention methods, the text encourages critical thinking and flexibility guided by the best evidence in order to tailor practices to individual client needs. The multidimensional and functional approach to assessment is designed to integrate the use of human behavior knowledge with an analysis of each client's unique experiences.

Thomas O'Hare is an associate professor at Boston College. He has an MSW and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University. He has also worked as a clinical social worker and served as director of quality assurance for the South Shore Mental Health Center in Charlestown, Rhode Island. He has written or contributed to many articles, most of which focus on co-occurring mental health and substance abuse problems in young adults and persons with serious mental illnesses. He is a long-time advocate of evidence-based social work practices.