TY - JOUR
AU1 - Taylor, Brian J
AB - This book comprises twelve case studies each of six to eight pages, and each summarising a social work interaction with an individual or members of a family. Each case study has notes in the margin illustrating links to aspects of Approach, Intervention, Theory or Values. Each case study concludes with six Reflective Questions, and (usually four) books for Further Reading. The book also contains a two-page Introduction and a two-page: Some Thoughts to Finish. The latter contains a list of decision biases and brief comments on topics such as confidence, home life, teams and organisational context. The book is eminently readable, and the case studies bring alive the complex situations faced by social workers in their daily work. The insights from the author’s background in practice, management and practice teaching are a helpful complement to the more theoretical ‘-ology’ books used on some social work courses. The case studies span domains such as addiction, aggression, child welfare, crime, debt, healthcare, housing, mental illness, parental separation, arrest for a pornography offence and therapeutic help for a sexually-abused child. The illustrations of practice in these domains are outlined in an engaging way that provides just the right amount of detail. The book highlights where theoretical concepts might link to the realities of helping relationships with individuals and families, although the theories themselves are not explored or explained. The title of the book suggested to me that the focus would be on the application of decision theories to particular dilemmas faced by social workers. With the word ‘dilemmas’ in the title, I expected it to include some exploration of ‘threshold judgements’, such as decisions about whether or not to recommend that a child is brought into state care, or the choice between options to recommend for ‘safe’ discharge of an older person from hospital. However, this book is rather different in style and content from existing books on decision making in social work (e.g. Killick and Taylor, 2020; O’Sullivan, 2010; Nosowska and Series, 2013; Taylor, 2017; Preston-Shoot, 2019). There is little content on generalisable understandings of individual professional judgement or group decision-making processes. Dilemmas in managing the flow and direction of counselling sessions are helpfully illustrated, but there is little linking conceptualisation of these to aid generalisable learning. The limited references to statutory duties and powers, and to the organisational context and team function of the social worker, are an asset in making the book generalisable internationally but limit the scope as a book on decision making generally. The book is helpful in understanding the trauma that may underlie issues that are presented to social workers. With the emphasis in recent years on presenting problems and on risk, the contribution to understanding work with trauma is refreshing. The case studies with pointers to theories for practice and models of intervention will provide useful material for practice teachers, training officers and others involved in social work learning processes. However, the connection to ‘dilemmas’ and to ‘decision making’ in the title, is not as evident as the potential reader might expect. As the author says in the Introduction: ‘This book has been written to help guide you in applying theory to social work practice’ (p. 1). If the title had reflected this aim, and the overarching contextual chapters were longer and more clearly related to that aim, then the book would have a well-deserved place on the practice-learning book-shelf. The case studies illustrate the challenges of situations and relationships which come to the attention of social workers. The practice focus is appropriate for therapeutic work and roles where there is an in-depth helping relationship. The main criticism of the book is the name, which insufficiently reflects the content. As a book on dilemmas and decision-making in social work generally, the role and task of the social worker in each situation would need to be considered more explicitly. However, the book will be a useful resource for those teaching the application of theory to practice, and for helping students to understand dilemmas in the everyday world of steering the direction of helping interviews. References Killick C. , Taylor B. J. ( 2020 ) Assessment, Risk and Decision Making in Social Work: An Introduction , London , Sage . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Nosowska G. , Series L. ( 2013 ) Good Decision-Making: Practitioners’ Handbook , Dartington , Research in Practice for Adults . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC O’Sullivan T. ( 2010 ) Decision Making in Social Work , 2nd edn, Basingstoke , Macmillan . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Preston-Shoot M. ( 2019 ) Making Good Decisions: Law for Social Work Practice , 2nd edn, Basingstoke , Macmillan . Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC Taylor B. J. ( 2017 ) ‘Decision Making’, Assessment and Risk in Social Work , 3rd edn, London, Sage ( Post-Qualifying Social Work Series ). Google Scholar Google Preview OpenURL Placeholder Text WorldCat COPAC © The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. This article is published and distributed under the terms of the Oxford University Press, Standard Journals Publication Model (https://academic.oup.com/journals/pages/open_access/funder_policies/chorus/standard_publication_model)
TI - Dilemmas and Decision Making in Social Work, Abbi Jackson
JF - The British Journal of Social Work
DO - 10.1093/bjsw/bcab234
DA - 2021-11-29
UR - https://www.deepdyve.com/lp/oxford-university-press/dilemmas-and-decision-making-in-social-work-abbi-jackson-SKCf0yJQnI
SP - 3772
EP - 3774
VL - 52
IS - 6
DP - DeepDyve
ER -