The Life Model of Social Work Practice: Advances in Theory and Practice

by Alex Gitterman

Originally published in 1980, this was the first textbook to apply the ecological approach to practice. Germain and Gitterman have extensively updated and expanded this classic text. In this edition, they have adopted a useful new "life course" model of human development, which incorporates into the ecological framework an understanding of the unique experience of each individual within its historical, societal, and cultural context. The new edition...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 023110555X
• ISBN13: 9780231105552
• Release Date: April 1996
• Publisher: Columbia University Press
• Length: 113 Pages

Customer Reviews

Better than Most

This book is the more meatier of the generalist social work class usual suspects. Coming from a clinical psychology background (depth) to a social work one (breadth), the move to this perspective was disorienting. This book was the first one that successfully communicated the value of this approach: communicating the intricacies in totally grasping (which is more than just acknowledging their existence) the multitude of systems and their configurations (possibilities) that can be impinging on the client, and vc. vs., before plunging to a preconceived model that serves the workers anxiety more than the actual client's needs. Social Systems theories must be very broad because the impact of systems have pervasive, and cumulative, effects that can easily be missed if you focus too quickly on the wrong thing. You need a real grasp of the "material" you are working with, this includes the client and the client in his/her environment (all of what that means- the many world within the client and that are made up by and surround her). That can be overwhelming if you aren't comfortable with all of this. This book is good in that it helps you get comfortable, while being rich enough for the theoretically minded so you don't feel like you are reduced to reading a cookbook, like some of the others.