Perspectives on Productive Aging: Social Work With the New Aged

This ground-breaking new book in the field of aging and gerontological social work fills a major gap in social work literature by debunking the myth that older people are less productive than younger ones. It redefines and expands the profession's responsibility in previously unexplored territory, including a much-needed emphasis on promoting and sustaining empowerment, voice, and engagement of older adults in the lifeblood of their families and communities. Perspectives on Productive Aging lays out a far-reaching set of contemporary functions that social workers will need to assume in advocating for elder rights and quality of life. Focusing on the new cohort of older adults and those that will follow themthe leading edge baby boomers who are nearing retirementthe book expands our professional perspective on working with elders who are educated, active, mobile, financially secure, and engaged. It examines social work practice in nontraditional practice areas and settings, including physical fitness, spirituality and religion, the workplace, voluntarism, and education and learning. The first in the NASW Press Practice Series on Aging, this challenging book is a must for practitioners, faculty, and students who work with older adults. In addition, it is a valuable tool for gerontological social work continuing education workshops and community seminars in agencies that work with elders and their families.

NASW Press

NASW Press, a division of National Association of Social Workers (NASW), is a leading scholarly press in the social sciences. We serve faculty, practitioners, agencies, libraries, clinicians, and researchers throughout the United States and abroad.

Known for attracting expert authors, the NASW Press delivers professional information to hundreds of thousands of readers through its scholarly journals, books, and reference works.

Some of the areas we publish in include:

-Social work in the field of aging
-Models of social work
-Social work with children and adolescents
-Ethics in social work
-Community organization
-Professional development

Rosenfeld (communications), Joanne S. Caye (social work, both U. of North Carolina-Chapel Hill), Ofra Ayalon, a psychologist with Israel's Nord Cope Center, and Mooli Lahad (dramatherapy, Tal Hai College, Israel) take two approaches to understanding and helping people cope with disasters: a family-centered perspective and a model that integrates cognitive, family-systems, and ecological perspectives. They write for practitioners and trainers in the helping professions. --Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR