Making sense of theory and its application to social work practice (Critical Skills for Social Work)

Do you struggle to get your head around the application of theory and associated methods of intervention to social work practice? Making sense of theory and its application to social work practice is here to help you with a fresh approach written with the ‘non- theoretician’ in mind.

After exploring the expectations and limits of application of theory to practice, Phil Musson sets about describing theories of explanation and their associated methods of intervention in an accessible way. He follows this by looking at theoretically driven approaches and their associated methods of intervention. One generic case study is used throughout, tweaked slightly but maintaining the same service users and issues so you can see how the theory of explanation or approach and the associated method of intervention is applied. You are also able to sharpen up your critical thinking skills as the author invites you to reflect on the theories of explanation and approaches discussed.

Making Sense of Theory and its Application to Social Work Practice will be immensely valuable to both social work students and practitioners.

Phil Musson’s career in social work has been one of continual development from student to skilled practitioner to training officer to snr. lecturer. He readily acknowledges that social work is a demanding occupation at both emotional and intellectual levels. He also acknowledges a sense of privilege in having spent the majority of his working life as a social worker and latterly as a facilitator in the learning and development of others’ who are or wish to become qualified social work practitioners also. It is, he believes incumbent on the practitioner to have a conscious and deliberate understanding of why and how they intervene in the lives of their service users and he hope this book will make a valued contribution toward that understanding.