Social workers are members of teams and need to work in collaboration with colleagues and other professionals in order to practice effectively.
This book explores the dynamics present when people work together, the roles individuals play and the skills necessary for effective teamworking in the context of social work practice.
It provides a practical and applied overview of the different types of teams social workers encounter.
The chapters include:
Topics covered include:What teamwork is and the kind of teams that involve social workers
Characteristics of individuals who are part of a team and the formal and informal roles they play, including the role of leadership
The importance of emotional intelligence and resilience and the concept of self-leadership and personal development
How being part of a team relates to working in organisations
Working in multidisciplinary teams
Interagency collaboration and partnership
Teamwork as a social work student
Written for all social workers, regardless of their area of practice, this is a 'must-have' for students and practitioners involved in continuing professional development, supervision and training. "At a time when social workers are being castigated for failures in team-working in recent child abuse enquiries, this book is extremely timely. I am not aware of a similar book which is able to convey the basic tenets of team-working as well as the necessary skills to do team working well. It is an important book which should be on the course lists of all early stage social workers. The book brings together social work theory relating to team work within an ecological framework. Students are given activities to reflect on their current level of skills. Excellent case studies illustrate the issues. The book is totally up-to-date, linking into recent material from the College of Social Work. I strongly recommend this book. I think students will find the material engaging and accessible, but they will also learn much about the essential team working skills for social work." Ann Buchanan, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, University of 0xford, UK
"This is a very readable and informative text on an essential element of social work practice. As the author says, social workers do not work autonomously but in teams, whether social work or multidisciplinary. The theoretical base is clearly presented and it is useful to reflect on unconscious processes in teams and organisations. I highly recommend it to practitioners, students and academics." Joyce Lishman, Professor Emeritus, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, UK
"All social workers practise in teams of some description, yet there is little literature to guide that teamwork. This book fills that gap, whilst at once being theoretically informed and accessible. It is a book that can be read through as a whole or dipped into according to need. As such, it will be appreciated by busy practitioners as well as students of social work." Professor Jonathan Parker, Bournemouth University, UK
"Good social workers develop very personal and private relationships with service users. But they also usually work in teams. Ruben Martin's book blends familiar and contemporary insights on how teams work, but with the focus very clearly on the specific roles and tasks of social care practitioners." David Shemmings, Visiting Professor of Child Protection Research at Royal Holloway, University of London, UK
