Author Description

Aimed at both practitioners and graduate students, this book describes social work practice with a challenging' client those clients who do not voluntarily seek help from social workers. The authors present concepts, principles, and techniques for working effectively with involuntary clients at varying levels of restrictiveness in settings ranging from child protective services to mental health and criminal justice agencies. Ivanoff and her colleagues describe research-based practice from the viewpoint of the practitioner and illustrate its application in work with clients in those settings. The framework employed throughout is a phase model of practice, emphasizing key decisions that social workers make in each practice phase, from assessment through planning and implementing interventions to termination and follow-up. Such a model enables the practitioner to solve problems and achieve objectives at each of the interrelated phases.