Monographs & Edited Collections (4,727 posts)

This book offers a compelling critical analysis of American society by examining the role of psychotherapy within social policy and the culture that has fashioned it. It takes a deeply critical look at ‘the social clinic,’ defined here as a ubiquitous organizational arrangement that includes clinical and community psychology, counseling, clinical social work, psychiatry, much of the self-help industry, complementary and alternative medicine and others. Epstein’s analysis concludes that the social clinic lacks credible evidence of effectiveness and its continued popularity expresses popular but predatory American values such as romantic individualism, the triumph of the subjective, a sense of personal and political chosenness, persistent bigotry, and a preference for tribal as opposed to civic identities. This careful examination of American society through the lens of psychotherapeutic practice characterizes the social clinic as a soothing fiction of the United States.

The presence at the heart of state power of individuals associated with historically ostracized, even criminalized, identities raises important questions. What are the LGBTQ electorate’s characteristics and voting behaviours, and what empowerment has it achieved through electoral systems? How do straight voters view out LGBTQ politicians, and what part do the media play in framing these perceptions? What pathways to power do LGBTQ politicians follow? Do they represent LGBTQ people and communities in particular, and, if so, how is this role articulated? And finally, how do Canadian party ideologies shape LGBTQ representation?

In this clear and systematic book covering both general practice concepts and theoretical insights, best-selling author Malcolm Payne shows you how to work with the main theories and practice techniques and pinpoint their strengths and limitations.

It is essential that social work students understand the lasting impact political decision making can have on service users, yet little guidance exists on this subject. This valuable book provides a comprehensive introduction to politics in social work, unifying the themes of political ideology and social construction across several areas of social work practice, including emerging areas of practice.

Currently it is fashionable to talk about digitisation, robotisation, industry 4.0, but also about the gig economy, the Millenials, precarisation and the like. However, too often the relevant issues are taken in isolation, very much caught in traditional terms. The present collection aims on providing some thoughts that allow going further, on the one hand by qualifying some of the aspects, and on the other hand by taking a view that approaches the topic from distinct perspectives in order to arrive at an assessment of emerging societal changes.

Award-winning poet Kevin Coval and graphic artist Langston Allston bear witness to the effects of gentrification in a Chicago neighborhood.

Roger Brown concludes by discussing whether current UK government policies will actually help reduce inequality and offers practical suggestions for what can be done, such as raising taxes on higher earners, tougher action against tax avoiders, helping people on lower incomes to save, and reducing inequalities in education.

In the late nineteenth century, Charles Booth’s landmark social and economic survey found that 35 percent of Londoners were living in abject poverty. Booth’s team of social investigators interviewed Londoners from all walks of life, recording their comments, together with their own unrestrained remarks and statistical information, in 450 notebooks. Their findings formed the basis of Booth’s color-coded social mapping (from vicious and semi-criminal to wealthy) and his seventeen-volume survey Inquiry into the Life and Labour of the People of London, 1886-1903.

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.