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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 300
EAN num: 9780028740867
ISBN number: 0028740866
Label: Free Press
Manufacturer: Free Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 209
Printing Date: August 01, 1995
Publishing house: Free Press
Sale Popularity Level: 392823
Studio: Free Press
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Product Description:
In this provocative examination of the fall of the profession of social work from its original mission to aid and serve the underprivileged, Harry Specht and Mark Courtney show how America's excessive trust in individualistic solutions to social problems have led to the abandonment of the poor in this country.
A large proportion of all certified social workers yesterday have left the social services to enter private practice, thereby turning to the middle class -- those who can afford psychotherapy -- and away from the poor. As Specht and Courtney persuasively demonstrate, if social work continues to drift in this direction there is good reason to expect that the profession will be entirely engulfed by psychotherapy within the subsequent twenty years, leaving a huge gap in the provision of social services traditionally filled by social workers. The authors examine the waste of public funds this trend occasions, as social workers educated with public money abandon community service in increasing numbers.
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Rated by buyers -
This book offers an interesting critique of the profession of social work in America, but spends too much time delving into the history of social work without adding any new insights.
The authors believe social workers are wrongly entering into private clinical practice in order to make more money and to be their own bosses. Social workers now offer individualized treatment which closely resembles the therapy of psychologists. The authors think this is a mistake for two reasons. First, they believe that society's ills are caused by the social isolation of modern life; therefore individual therapy is not going to be effective in treating people who are already isolated. Second, they argue that it is the job of psychotherapists to help people with problems "intimately related to their selves," while social workers should be working to connect people to resources and support in their communities.
Though the authors endeavor to solve these problems by proposing the creation of community service centers in every neighborhood, the guidelines they give to create these centers are vague and impractical (read: not funded) at best.
The book did not rock my world, but the idea that Americans are isolated and that social workers have an obligation to connect people to each other and to their communities makes sense.
Rated by buyers -
Overall, this book brought a major problem of social work clearly into focus: the emergence of psychotherapy. Prior to reading the book, I had a pretty good idea of what I wanted to do in my future profession, but now I've slightly altered that goal. This book won't be eye opening for everyone, but much of the material presented is very interesting and thought-provoking. I am glad to have read it.
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