This text provides social work students with an understanding of the relationship between individual and family functioning and problem solving. It helps students develop skills to assist individuals and families in solving their own problems and/or in making use of interventions from outside the family. Written especially for social workers, this text builds on basic social work knowledge, focuses on the kinds of situations that commonly confront social workers, takes into account the environment in which families live, and gives recognition to the agency setting in which the social workers and the family meet.