Human Behavior and the Social Environment Theory and Practice

Beginning practitioners will appreciate Lesser and Pope's special attention to contemporary practice issues and populations, including military, immigrant and GLBT clients, multi-stressed families, and global issues at the micro and macro levels of practice. The most salient strengths of this text are: discussion of sophisticated clinical concepts in a reader friendly style; presentation of an integrating framework for understanding human behavior throughout the life cycle, that incorporates ecosystemic principles with post-modern perspectives (for example, multi cultural competence, social constructivism and world view, a social justice orientation for clinical practice, spirituality and so forth) a practical approach that illuminates complex theoretical concepts with examples drawn from the authorsrs" broad range of experiences in multi-level clinical practice and research. inclusion of cutting edge research in such contemporary areas of interest as the neurobiological underpinnings of human behavior, trauma , identity development( especially as it is affected by sexual orientation, gender, social class, race and ethnicity), community based, culturally competent clinical practice, the spiritual dimensions of development and practice; developmental contextualism, disability and chronic illness and social welfare policy throughout the life cycle. an over arching tone of inclusiveness that honors the diversity of the human experience, "normalizing" the experiences of marginalized groups Finally, the text fully integrates the multiple dimensions of human behavior. and levels of social work practice, first by providing separate chapters on neurobiological, psychological and spiritual theories of individual development, and on small group , family, organizational and community theory. These mulit-level concepts are then, woven through the second part of the text, which examines human behavior throughout the life cycle from a developmental contextual perspective.

Joan Granucci Lesser, Ph.D., is currently a Resident Adjunct Associate Professor, and Chair of Social Work Practice at the Smith College School for Social Work She was previously Associate Professor at the Springfield College School of Social Work where she served as chair of Human Behavior and the Social Environment and Social Work Practice sequences. Dr. Lesser received her Ph.D. from New York University and her MSW from Columbia University where she was the recipient of a National Institute in Mental Health Training Grant. Dr. Lesser has also served on the adjunct faculties of New YorkUniversityi School of Social Work and Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services in New York City.  She had held various clinicial, supervisory and adminnstrative positions including Director of Social Work at Flower Hosptial in NYC.  She is the author, with Dr. Marlene Cooper, of Clinical Social Work Practice: An Integrated Approach (Allyn & Bacon, 2001, 2005,2008; 2010. ). Dr. Lesser is also the founder of  the Pioneer Valley Professionals, a multidisciplinary community-based practice in Holyoke, MA, which provides services to children, adolescents, adults, and families. Dr. Lesser has presented locally, nationally and internationallymost recently in Guangzhou China on the “treatment of elders with trauma histories” and in Athens, Greece and Barcelona, Spain on :Cross Cultural Research, Training a Practice:  A Relational Framework.”

Donna Saia Pope, L.C.S.W. is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work.   She was previously a member of the faculty of the Mercy College Social Work Program, where she developed and taught the  Human Behavior and the Social Environment course sequence and served as Coordinator of Field Education.  She received her M.S.W. from Hunter College of the City University of New York.  Ms. Pope’s varied background in social work practice includes having served as Director of the Social Work Department at an urban health care setting in New York City, and as a  private clinical practitioner and consultant.  Her experience in clinical practice, social work administration, and program development spans several fields of practice, including substance abuse, eating disorders, developmental disabilities, medical social work and aging.

BRIEF CONTENTS


CHAPTER 1  An Integrating Framework for Human Behavior Theory and Social Work Practice

CHAPTER 2  Neurobiological Underpinnings of Human Development

CHAPTER 3 Theories of Development

CHAPTER 4  Identity Development 

CHAPTER 5 The Family in Society

CHAPTER 6 Group-Work Practice

CHAPTER 7 Communities and Organizations

CHAPTER 8 Spiritual Development by Carolyn Jacobs, M.S.W., Ph. D.

CHAPTER 9 Infancy

CHAPTER 10 Early Childhood: The Toddler and Early School Years

CHAPTER 11 Middle Childhood

CHAPTER 12  Adolescence

CHAPTER 13 Early Adulthood

CHAPTER 14 Middle Adulthood

CHAPTER 15  Diversity in Older Adulthood by Ann Roy, Ph. D.

CHAPTER 16  Trauma and Development

CHAPTER 17 Chronic Illness and Disability

CHAPTER 18 Social Policy Through the Life Cycle by Joyce E. Everett, Ph. D.