Collaboration in Social Work Practice

By: Jenny Weinstein and Ruth Gardner and Tony Leiba

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Synopsis: New or experienced social workers who are developing their collaborative practice with service users and carers and with other professionals, will find this book to be an essential source of knowledge, skills and issues for reflection. The authors explain how practitioners in social care, health and related sectors can work more effectively together in line with current developments in policy and practice, offering a critical appraisal both of the benefits and the challenges. The authors explore definitions of collaborative work, describe policy and research and give examples from their experiences of interprofessional practice. They emphasize the importance of building genuine partnerships between professionals, and with service users and carers in planning and providing care, service development and research. Good practice in collaborative working is described with different groups, including older people, people with mental health needs, children and families and people with learning disabilities. Exploring the ways in which shared values and collaborative working practices can be brought together for effective interprofessional provision of user-focused services, this informative book is a must-read for social workers and other professionals involved with social care and health services.