Working with People Communication Skills for Reflective Practice

Working with People explores the place and challenges of communication, interviewing and counselling skills within the context of social work and human service practice. In so doing it encourages the reader to reflect upon their own communication style and to develop good communication skills in order to work constructively with others about their needs and rights.

Now in its second edition the text is updated to include recent developments in social work practice. New to the edition is the chapter on mindfulness, which reflects direct work with clients as well as recognition of a growing need to focus on self-care. Other topics of relevance to current social work practice and covered in the text include ethical decision-making as part of everyday practice, exploration of confidentiality, particularly in relation to situations when it may need to be breached, more emphasis on culturally safe practice, links with the application of skills in group work and family practice.

Working with People successfully Integrates practice theories with case scenarios so that readers can see the development of skills and interventions, as well as the diversity of approaches available for social workers and human service workers to use in their everyday practice.

Louise Harms, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne

Louise Harms is an Associate Professor and Director at University of Melbourne

Part 1: Framing the relationship: Values and Knowledge for Social Work Practice
1. Working towards change
2. Understanding communication and change
3. Theorising communication and change
Part 2: Forming the Relationship: Skills for Critical Reflection and Engagement
4. Skills for your use of self
5. Self-care Skills
6. Engagement Skills
Part 3: Focusing your Communication: Skills for Interviewing and Assessing
7. Listening and Questioning Skills
8. Reflecting Skills: Paraphrasing and Summarising
9. Assessment skills
10. Ethical decision-making and risk assessment skills
Part 4: Focusing your interventions: Skills for theoretically-informed practice
11. Psychodynamic and Cognitive Behavioural Approaches and Skills
12. Narrative and Solution-focused Approaches and Skills
13. Feminist and Critical Social Work Approaches and Skills
14. Mindfulness Approaches and Skills *NEW CHAPTER*
15. Task-centred and Crisis-intervention Approaches and Skills
Part 5: Finishing the work: Skills for Ending your Work Well
16. Ending and Evaluating Skills