Social work and well-being
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Social work and well-being
Russell House Publishing, 2007
- : [pbk.]
Available at 1 libraries
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. [144]-154) and indexes
Description and Table of Contents
Description
Never comfortable with the individualism and narrow market mentality of recent times...Trapped into a false approach to the measurement of human value...The social and community work professions can now reassert with renewed confidence their contributions to societies that stand for interdependence, justice and an ethic of care...and play key roles in an already emerging potential cultural transformation. Jordan shows how - in Europe, North America, Australasia - we are at the cusp of this transformation, from societies organised around economic growth and material consumption, to ones concerned with well-being and sustainability. Using practice examples, up-to-date survey evidence, historical analysis, and ideas from several disciplines, his compelling voice adds to those already challenging the assumption that happiness is affected more by people's material circumstances than by their physical and mental health, and their relationships with others. His unique contribution is to rebut the accusation that refocusing social work on concepts like 'relationships' and 'feelings' threatens loss of intellectual rigour and scientific edge.
He shows that even economists have started to call for new approaches to public policy that promote common good and prioritise people's feelings. His book is a must for any social worker and allied professional wishing to engage with the challenge to shift themselves and service users beyond present-day concerns with material consumption and instrumental outcomes. 'If the new emphasis of government policy is to be more on well-being...then social work has a great deal to offer - but only if it is true to its roots in the primacy of social relationships and emotional truth'.
Table of Contents
- Introduction: The value of social work.
- Hidden Value.
- Social work and the interpersonal economy.
- Service-delivery and the value of practice.
- Relationships: the history of an idea in social work.
- Statutory Social Work and Well-being.
- Constructive social work in public services.
- Independence and well-being in social care.
- Community, cohesion, diversity and deprivation.
- Social Reproduction.
- Accountability and community participation.
- Harm, stigma and exclusion in communities.
- Conclusions: social reproduction in a service economy.
by "Nielsen BookData"