What Is the Future of Social Work?

Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state.

A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis.

This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.

Peter Beresford OBE is Visiting Professor at the University of East Anglia and Co-Chair of Shaping Our Lives, the user led organisation and network as a long term user of mental health services. He has a longstanding track record of work in the field of participation and citizen involvement as academic, service user, researcher, educator and activist.

Jan Walmsley is a historian of intellectual disability and Visiting Chair in History of Learning Disability at The Open University. In 1994 she founded the Social History of Learning Disability Research Group at The Open University.

Iain Ferguson is Honorary Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at the University of West Scotland and a founding member of the Social Work Action Network.

Mark Lymbery is an Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Nottingham and a Visiting Fellow at the University of Lincoln. He has a long-standing academic interest in the development of adult social care.

Brid Featherstone is Professor of Social Work at the University of Huddersfield.