Relationship-Based Social Work

Getting to the Heart of Practice

Edited by Gillian Ruch, Danielle Turney and Adrian Ward

Paperback: £19.99 / $32.95

2010, 234mm x 156mm / 9.25in x 6in, 272pp
ISBN: 978-1-84905-003-6, BIC 2: JKSN JKS

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Relationship-based practice is founded on the idea that human relationships are of paramount importance and should be at the heart of all good social work practice.

This book provides a thorough guide to relationship-based practice in social work, communicating the theory using illustrative case studies and offering a model for practice. Case examples cover the different service user groups including children, families, older people, refugees, people with disabilities and people with mental health difficulties. The book explores the ranges of emotions that practitioners may encounter, and covers working in both short-term and long-term relationships. It also outlines key skills for the individual such as how to establish rapport with the client and using empathy to build a relationship, and explores systemic issues such as incorporating service user perspectives and building appropriate support systems for practice, management and leadership.

This book will be an invaluable textbook for undergraduate and post-graduate social work students, practitioners on post-qualifying courses and all social work and allied professionals.

Blog posts

Bestselling JKP Resources for World Social Work Day 2011

15 March 2011

Today is World Social Work Day and a perfect opportunity for us to join you in celebrating the important and challenging work that social workers do every day to make a difference! This annual event, organised by the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW), focuses on social work contributions to society and is part of...

CYPNow article by JKP author Gillian Ruch: Time to put relationship building back at the heart of social work

20 July 2010

Children & Young People Now have featured a great article from JKP author, Dr Gillian Ruch, in which she argues that a focus on improving relationship-based practice would significantly reduce problems with staff recruitment and retention in social work, and greatly benefit service users. Click here to read the article. Dr Ruch is Senior Lecturer and Head...

Danielle Turney on Relationship-Based Social Work

30 June 2010

'Placing the relationship at the heart of practice means recognising that, as we suggest in the Introduction, ''despite all the continuing upheavals in policy and procedure, social work [will] always begin and end with a human encounter between two or more people'' and that this encounter, or relationship as it develops, is the medium through which the social work task can be carried out. Social work is never a neutral activity but can, at its best, offer a vulnerable or distressed person the experience of being valued, supported and understood - perhaps for the first time.'

By the same authors

Author information

• Gillian Ruch
• Danielle Turney
• Adrian Ward

Subject areas

• Health, Social Work and Social Care

Collections

• Social work essentials

Keywords

• adolescence,
• adult protection,
• adults,
• attachment,
• bereavement,
• challenging behaviour,
• child development,
• child protection,
• child psychology,
• children,
• communication,
• community care,
• depression,
• emotions,
• families,
• nonverbal learning disabilities,
• older people,
• person-centred,
• psychoanalysis,
• psychology,
• relationships,
• resilience,
• safeguarding children,
• social care,
• social policy,
• social skills,
• social work,
• substance abuse,
• supervision,
• teenagers

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