Brigid Daniel is Professor of Social Work at the University of Stirling. She is the co-author of a number of books on child care and protection and has a particular interest in factors that help children to cope with adversity. She was a member of the multi-disciplinary team that carried out a national ministerial review of child protection practice in Scotland. Steven Walker is Head of Child and Adolescent Mental Health at Anglia Ruskin University, UK. He is a registered social worker and psychotherapist and has worked in social care for over 30 years, specialising in child protection and child and adolescent mental health.

• Introduction. Joyce Lishman. Section 1. 1. The Legal Context of Practice Learning. Heather Munro. 2. The Social Policy Context of Practice Learning. Steven M. Shardlow, University of Salford. 3. Structural Approaches to Social Work. Updated by Joyce Lishman. 4. Towards Social Theory for Social Work. Pauline Hardiker and Mary Barker, formerly University of Leicester. 5. The Placement of Attachment Theory in Social Work with Children and Families. Jane Aldgate, Open University and Neil Gibson, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 6. Erikson's Life Cycle Approach to Development. Alastair Gibson, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 7. A Psychodynamic Approach to Social Work. Judith Brearley, Scottish Institute of Human Relations, Edinburgh. Section 2. 8. Model of Assessment. Daphne Statham and Patricia Kearney, Social Care Institute for Excellence. 9. Assessment and Children. Brigid Daniel, University of Stirling and David Humphrey. 10. Assessment: From Reflexivity to Process Knowledge. Michael Sheppard, University of Plymouth. 11. Risk Assessment and Management: An Overview. Hazel Kemshall, DeMontfort University, Leicester. Section 3. 12. Cognitive Behavioural Social Work. Geraldine Macdonald, Queen's University of Belfast. 13. Task-Centred Practice. Peter Marsh, University of Sheffield. 14. Crisis Intervention. Amy Clark and Michael Sheppard, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 15. Family Therapy and Systematic Practice. Steven Walker, Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge and Chelmsford. 16. Loss and Bereavement. Rory Lynch, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 17. Group Work. Mark Doel, Sheffield Hallam University. 18. Social Pedagogy. Janine Bolger, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 19. Group Care. Colin Keenan, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 20. Personalisation and Self-Directed Support. Sheila Slessor, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen and Amy Richert. 21. Empowerment and Advocacy. Rob Mackay, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 22. Social Work and Community Development. Alan Barr OBE, Scottish Community Development Centre, Glasgow. Section 4. 23. Social Work with Children and Families: A Case Study of the Integration of Law, Social Policy and Research in the Development of Assessment and Intervention with Children and Families. Robert Buckley, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 24. Interdisciplinary Practice. Terry McLean and Iain Fisk, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. 25. Working Within the Organizational Context of Dynamic Change. Fiona Feilberg, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen. Section 5. 26. Reflective Practice and Critical Reflection. Joan Fook, University of Southampton. 27. Research, Evaluation and Evidence-Based Practice. Joyce Lishman. The Contributors. Subject Index. Author Index.

This book, as with the previous edition, represents excellent value for students from the beginning of their social work education through to their assessed year in employment. Given the range of core and specialist topics covered, students will find chapters that are relevant whatever practice context they find themselves in while on placement, as well as across their taught social work curriculum. It will equip students to engage in critically reflective learning and evidence informed practice. The writing style is consistently accessible and strikes a balance between clarity of explanation and depth of analysis. By signposting students to the most relevant further reading it manages to achieve both breadth and depth in one accessible volume, combining brevity with thorough coverage of the topics.