Working With Families: A Guide for Health and Human Services Professionals

In its second edition, this accessible health and human services manual offers a critical overview of the issues and challenges that families face and provides practical strategies for promoting resilience and positive family functioning. Through clinical and sociological perspectives and employing a strengths-based approach, this revised edition provides a broad overview of factors affecting Canadian families such as diverse family structures, healthy and unhealthy forms of communication, family culture and beliefs, couple dynamics, addiction, and developmental and psychiatric disabilities. Covering a wide range of topics, the author draws special attention to LGBTQ and military families, the effects of violence and trauma, and professional ethics and self-care.

An indispensable resource for students and practitioners of social services, child and youth work, and early childhood education, the revised edition of Working with Families reflects current research and practices in the field and features updated statistics and accessible language.

FEATURES:

• Includes updated questions for reflection and new suggested further readings, case study scenarios, and classroom-specific resources and activities
• Provides student resources with strategies and approaches for working with families

Now in its second edition, Working with Families remains a highly accessible manual for health and human services professionals, offering a critical overview of the issues and challenges families face today and promoting empowerment-focused solutions. Patricia Spindel combines clinical and sociological perspectives that are grounded in strengths-based approaches to create practical strategies for promoting resilience and positive family functioning.

An indispensable resource for students and practitioners, the text explores a broad range of topics, including diverse family structures and traditional cultural roles, couple and family dynamics, developmental and mental health disabilities, family violence, addiction, grief, resilience, and the pitfalls that professionals working with families must avoid. Throughout, special attention is paid to LGBTQ, Indigenous, and military families, alongside professional ethics, self-care, and the lasting effects of violence and trauma.

Working with Families: A Guide for Health and Human Services Professionals remains a comprehensive and highly readable resource, ideal for both students and professionals in social services and the child and youth care and early childhood education fields. This new edition reflects the most recent information, strategies, and research practices in the social services professions. It also features updated questions for reflection, expanded chapter discussions, additional case studies, and resources for further reading to support students in their understanding and skills development.