Readings in Evidence-Based Social Work: Syntheses of the Intervention Knowledge Base

Exposing readers to "what works" across a wide range of practice domains, Readings in Evidence-Based Social Work meets a growing need within schools of social work to incorporate the latest research on evidence-based practice into the curriculum. This one-of-a-kind reader synthesizes current knowledge, adds editorial commentary and questions, and presents state-of-the-art material to help students better understand which social work interventions work and why.

Key Features:  

• Uses systematic reviews to evaluate studies that test the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions
• Offers a three-part organization that focuses on the major practice domains of children and families, at-risk youth, and mental health and well-being
• Provides an overview of the techniques of meta-analysis and systematic review
• Includes original commentary and discussion questions before each major section and concludes each section with important practice points
• Discusses barriers to evidence-based social work practice, as well as directions for future work

Readings in Evidence-Based Social Work is appropriate for a wide variety of courses within the Bachelor of Social Work (B.S.W.) and Master′s in Social Work (M.S.W.) curriculum including Generalist Social Work Practice; Foundations of Social Work Practice; Social Work Practice with Children and Families; Models of Intervention; Direct Practice in Social Work, Social Work Research; Interpersonal Practice with Individuals, Families and Small Groups; Human Behavior in the Social Environment, and many others.

Michael Vaughn, Ph.D. is Assistant Professor in the School of Social Work at Saint Louis University. He is the author of over 50 articles and book chapters. Currently, he has three funded projects. Two of which involve developing databases of empirical studies for quantitative synthesis on adolescent substance abuse treatment and adolescent antisocial behavior. In addition, he is writing numerous articles on the topic of serious juvenile offending, transitions to adulthood for foster youth and applications of a biosocial dynamic framework to antisocial behavior and substance abuse.

Matthew Howard, Ph.D. is the Frank Daniels Distinguished Professor of Social Work at the University of North Carolina. Nationally acknowledged as an expert in psychiatric comorbidity of substance use disorders and evidence-based practice, he has published more than 100 articles in these areas and has served as PI or co-PI on several federally-funded grants. His recent research has examined predictors of major depression and anxiety disorders in adolescent inhalant and ecstasy users, racial and gender differences in the prevalence and predictors of substance-induced psychiatric disorders, self-medication of psychiatric disorders with alcohol and illicit drugs, and long-term health outcomes of polydrug dependent adults with comorbid mental health disorders.

Bruce Thyer is currently a Professor and former Dean with the College of Social Work at Florida State University.  Dr. Thyer spent the years 1987 - 2002 with the University of Georgia, where he earned the rank of Distinguished Research Professor.  He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst.  In 2012 he was elected to the Social Work Academy of the National Academies of Practice. Dr. Thyer is the founder and current editor of one of social work′s premier journals, RESEARCH ON SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE, and is the author of over 250 articles, 80 chapters and he had authored or edited over 25 professional books.  His research interests involve the promotion of evidence-based practice, evaluation research, applied behavior analysis, and social work theory.