Rent 9780470551707 | Developing Practice Competencies : A Foundation for Generalist Practice | D. Mark Ragg (Eastern Michigan University ) @knetbooks.com

Summary Table of Contents Author Biography

Praise for Developing Practice Competencies A Foundation for Generalist Practice"This is the textbook I have been waiting for. The author engages the reader from the very beginning. It includes comprehensive coverage of EPAS standards and practice behaviors that any social work instructor would be delighted with. Mark Ragg's explanation of social work concepts and practice skills is very readable and well illustrated. This textbook will enhance social work students' self-confidence in their skills as beginning practitioners. This is an author w... MOREho clearly knows how to engage and excite social work students about contemporary social work. Strongly recommended for generalist practice programs!" -Mary Fran Davis, LCSW Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, TennesseeAn applied, experiential introduction for the development of generalist practice skills in the helping professionsDesigned to help students in social work and human services programs establish a solid skill foundation for professional practice, Developing Practice Competencies holistically organizes this content knowledge through a consistent framework integrated throughout the book.Developing Practice Competencies explores:How to build on current interpersonal skills to develop a professional identity and a specialized repertoire of intervention skillsHow to work competently with diverse client groups taking into account the cultural and social contexts of each client situationWays to engage individuals and larger client systems in focused work toward client-specific goalsSuccessfully managing the nuances and challenges of the helping relationshipCombining specific skills for use in evidence-based modelsFilled with rich examples, role-plays, and exercises, Developing Practice Competencies covers the foundation competencies necessary for students preparing to work with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities on behalf of underserved and socially compromised people.An accompanying DVD offers video of the practice skills in action and electronic versions of exercises for classroom discussions.

Designed for the generalist practice course, this book uses students' own experiences rather than abstract discussion to build competency and professional identity. Full of rich case examples and exercises, the book lets students visualize and carry out skills in an applied, experimental way. It breaks down each practice skill into subcomponents, allowing students to consciously build up their capabilities as part of a lifelong learning process. Social work students will benefit from this presentation of the core knowledge, techniques, and values essential to the effective practice of social work.

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Acknowledgements
Introduction
Building the Professional Self
Professional Self-Awareness
The Importance of Self Awareness
Socialization, Self-Awareness and Initial Skill-Sets
Knowing Your Socialized Background
From Socialization to Professional Development
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Conscious Self-Control and Ethical Behavior
Toward a Professional Code of Behavior
Professional Values
The Importance of Professional Ethics
Ethical Principles
Legally Mandated Assumptions and Duties
Resolving Ethical Dilemmas
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Professional Thinking and Knowledge
Developing Our Professional Thinking
The Professional Knowledge Base
Toward Evidence-Based Practice
Toward Applied Thinking
Building Professional Thinking Skills
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Assessment and Service Contracting
Professional Affiliation and the Assessment Focus
The Assessment Process
Developing the Service Contract
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Developing the Helping Relationship
Tuning-In and Empathic Engagement
Tuning In and the Empathic Connection
Tuning In - The Relational Foundation
Tuning Into Client Concerns about Service
Responding to Client Service Concerns
Interactive Engagement
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Questioning Skills
The Power of Questions
Questioning Formats to Avoid
Toward a Professional use of Questions
Building a Professional Questioning Skills
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Reflective Responding Skills
The Use of Reflection in Professional Practice
The Components of Reflection
Cautions When Using Reflection
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Observing and Describing Skills
Challenges to Nonverbal Communication
Using Observation in Professional Practice
Describing Observations
Using Description to Promote Client Work
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Providing Direction
The Need for Direction
Activity Facilitation
Toward Developing Directive Skills
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Using the Working Alliance to Promote Change
Integrating Direction through Transitional Responding
Power and Influence in the Helping Relationship
The Transitional Responding Process
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Motivating Change within an Empathic Working Alliance
Toward a Change Focus
Motivation in the Working Alliance
Toward Understanding Motivation
Accessing Motivating Emotion
Enhancing Motivation through the Working Alliance
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Building Multi-Systemic Working Alliances
Collaborative Models, Evidence-Based Practice and Community Partners
Multisystemic Alliances and Informal Supports
Multisystemic Alliances with Formal Supports
The Skills of Multisystemic Alliances
Organizational Challenges in Multisystemic Alliances
Professional Ethics and Multisystemic Work
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Managing Threats to the Working Alliance
From Resistance to Alliance Considerations
Identifying Threats to the Alliance
Practitioner-Related Alliance Threats
"Other-Related" Threats
Larger Client System Alliances
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
Ending the Working Alliance
Socialization Challenges to Endings
The Experience of Ending
The Impact of Ending the Working Alliance
Managing the Ending Process
Orienting Clients to the Past
Orienting Clients to the Present
Orienting Clients to the Future
Critical Considerations
Critical Chapter Themes
Online Resources
Recommended Reading
References
Index
Table of Contents provided by Publisher. All Rights Reserved.

D. MARK RAGG is a Professor at Eastern Michigan University's School of Social Work, teaching in both the BSW and MSW programs, with a focus on practice and child/family courses. His current research focuses on issues of evidence-based practice, sustainability in community settings, adapting practices to achieve a cultural/ethnic fit, working with families and youth, and developing effective interpersonal practice competencies.

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