The Life Model of Social Work Practice: Advances in Theory and Practice / Edition 3

by Alex Gitterman EdD, Carel Germain

Overview

Originally published in 1980, this seminal work was the first to introduce an ecological perspective into social work practice. The third edition expands and deepens this perspective, further developing the basic premise that, by being situated within the people:environment interface, the social work profession is distinct from other service professions. The book presents the "what" (theories and concepts) and the "how" (practice methods) to help people with their life stressors and, simultaneously, to influence communities, organizations, and policymakers to be more responsive to them.

In this edition, Gitterman and Germain examine major changes to our socioeconomic and political landscape. They restore a chapter on the history of social work practice, offering a view of the limited services for African Americans provided by settlements and charity organization societies. Building on the African American self-help and mutual aid traditions, this chapter traces the replication of a parallel social service system by African American leaders for their own communities. The chapter also addresses the impact of contemporary societal trends, including the global economy, immigration, cultural changes, and the technology revolution. In addition, it discusses current professional contexts of managed mental health care, evidence-based practice, and the professional uses of technology.

A new chapter explores issues and processes embedded in assessment, practice monitoring, and practice evaluation. The volume continues to feature innovative schema for assessment and intervention with respect to stressful life transitions and traumatic events, environmental pressures, and dysfunctional interpersonal processes. Practice illustrations offer reflections of today's major social issues, such as AIDS, homelessness, and modern forms of violence.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231139984
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/27/2008
Edition description:	third edition
Pages:	632
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.30(h) x 1.50(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Alex Gitterman is Zachs professor and director of the doctoral program at the University of Connecticut School of Social Work. He is the coeditor of Mutual Aid, Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, and the Life Cycle, Third Edition, and author of The Handbook of Social Work Practice with Vulnerable and Resilient Populations, Second Edition, which won the Robert Wood Johnson Award for excellence in end of life content. Currently, Professor Gitterman serves on the board of the Association for the Advancement of Social Work with Groups and as a commissioner on the Commission of Education and Curriculum Innovation and chair for the group work symposia of the Council on Social Work Education.

The late Carel B. Germain was emerita professor of social work at the University of Connecticut. She is the author of Human Behavior in the Social Environment and editor of Social Work Practice: People and Environments.

Table of Contents

Preface
Acknowledgments
Part 1: Overview
1. Social Work Practice and Its Historical Traditions
2. The Ecological Perspective
3. The Life Model of Social Work Practice: An Overview
4. Assessment, Practice Monitoring, and Practice Evaluation
Part 2: The Helping Process in Life-Modeled Practice
Initial Phase
5. Preparation: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills
6. Beginnings: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills
Ongoing Phase
7. Helping Individuals, Families, and Groups with Stressful Life Transitions and Traumatic Events
8. Helping Individuals, Families, and Groups with Environmental Stressors
9. Helping with Dysfunctional Family Processes
10. Helping with Dysfunctional Group Processes
11. Reducing Interpersonal Stress Between Worker and Client
Ending Phase
12. Endings: Settings, Modalities, Methods, and Skills
Part 3: Life-Modeled Practice at Community, Organization, and Political Levels
13. Influencing Community and Neighborhood Life
14. Influencing the Practitioner's Organization
15. Influencing Legislation, Regulations, and Electoral Politics
Appendix A: Individual, Family, and Group Assessments
Appendix B: Practice Monitoring: Records of Service
Appendix C: Practice Monitoring: Critical Incidents
Notes
References
Index

What People are Saying About This

Jacqueline Mondros

What a thrill it is to read someone who understands social work this deeply. Alex Gitterman has set his sights on nothing less than defining social work practice in its broadest sense and at the same time providing details that allow us to understand our work with specificity. He has truly engaged the enormous quantity of knowledge that has emerged since the publication of the last edition, and his ability to incorporate all of this in one book is masterful. He has captured social work at a time in which our profession is increasingly difficult and has found a way to help us reason through the 'wicked problems' we face in an uncaring and frequently oppressive society. All I can say is bravo.

— Jacqueline Mondros, dean, Hunter College School of Social Work

Jacqueline Mondros

What a thrill it is to read someone who understands social work this deeply. Alex Gitterman has set his sights on nothing less than defining social work practice in its broadest sense and at the same time providing details that allow us to understand our work with specificity. He has truly engaged the enormous quantity of knowledge that has emerged since the publication of the last edition, and his ability to incorporate all of this in one book is masterful. He has captured social work at a time in which our profession is increasingly difficult and has found a way to help us reason through the 'wicked problems' we face in an uncaring and frequently oppressive society. All I can say is bravo.

Meredith Hanson

In this highly influential social work practice text, Alex Gitterman and the late Carel B. Germain present a unique social work approach to practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities that incorporates an ecological, personal, and environmental perspective. Gitterman and Germain are seminal thinkers on this topic, and their extremely comprehensive, scholarly text is a refreshing break from many of the social work practice texts that are available. Its scholarship is first-rate.

— Meredith Hanson, Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service

Meredith Hanson

In this highly influential social work practice text, Alex Gitterman and the late Carel B. Germain present a unique social work approach to practice with individuals, families, groups, and communities that incorporates an ecological, personal, and environmental perspective. Gitterman and Germain are seminal thinkers on this topic, and their extremely comprehensive, scholarly text is a refreshing break from many of the social work practice texts that are available. Its scholarship is first-rate.

Editorial Reviews

Alex Gitterman has set his sights on nothing less than defining social work practice in its broadest sense and at the same time providing details that allow us to understand our work with specificity. He has truly engaged the enormous quantity of knowledge that has emerged since the publication of the last edition, and his ability to incorporate all of this into one book is masterful. He has captured social work at a time in which our profession is increasingly difficult and has found a way to help us reason through the 'wicked problems' we face in an uncaring and frequently oppressive society.

Jacqueline Mondros

Alex Gitterman and the late Carel B. Germain are seminal thinkers on this topic, and their extremely comprehensive, scholarly text is a refreshing break from many of the social work practice texts that are available. Its scholarship is first-rate.

Meredith Hanson

Applies the ecological approach to social work practice, showing social work practitioners and students how to assess people's transactions with their environment using a life course model of human development. This new work retains the core of the original edition published in 1980, and makes use of new concepts and content based on current problems, attitudes, and populations, including AIDS and homelessness. Includes NASW and CASW social work codes of ethics. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

The efficacy of The Life Model of Social Work Practice spans generations. In 1999, as a doctoral student, I used it to examine Black gay men’s management of HIV. Today, my MSW students use it to examine oppression, COVID-19, and other impediments to environmental fit. This book is helpful in understanding the human condition.

Robert Miller

Although a lengthy effort with 756 pages, [this fourth edition of The Life Model of Social Work Practice] is an enjoyable book made possible through the authors' treatment practicality and use of many practice vignettes and practical case examples. Social workers in general will find this book useful with an array of client examples, and the social group workers will equally find the book helpful along with the identification of some impediments that the latter practitioners uniquely face.

Social Work with Groups - Maurice S. Fisher Outpatient Services

This thoughtfully updated fourth edition of The Life Model of Social Work Practice provides a transactional bridge between the person and the social environment that honors the profession’s commitment to individual change and social reform. The critically relevant integrated practice model in this text will serve as a much-needed compass for social work in unprecedented and complex times.

Manny John González

This welcome new edition of The Life Model of Social Work Practice does an excellent job of assessing and sharing recent advances without losing the integrity of the life model approach. The practice examples, dilemmas, and scenarios are highly engaging, drawing readers into the application of key skills and strategies.

Carol S. Cohen

The fourth edition of The Life Model of Social Work Practice, a towering classic in the field, remains highly relevant for contemporary issues facing society and social workers. This text should be required in all schools of social work as it elegantly integrates the levels of practice that distinguish our profession.

Marion Bogo

This thoughtfully updated fourth edition of The Life Model of Social Work Practice provides a transactional bridge between the person and the social environment that honors the profession’s commitment to individual change and social reform. The critically relevant integrated practice model in this text will serve as a much-needed compass for social work in unprecedented and complex times.

Manny John González