This second edition looks in detail at the role of the social worker who engages with older people. It enables the reader to develop the key skills required to understand the mental and physical needs of older people in society while encouraging plenty of discussion and critical, independent thought. Furthermore, this book is a source of contemporary research and offers the reader insights into government legislation and policy. It is an essential read for any student who wants to develop a distinctive focus on social work with older people.

Older people are the biggest service user group for social workers and an increasing proportion of the population. In this refreshingly positive and practical textbook, Rory Lynch draws on years of practice and teaching experience to show how to achieve best social work practice with older adults. He takes a person-centred approach, which fosters respect by valuing the fact that elderly people have more lived experience than others. Exploring the key theoretical approaches and methods of intervention, this book helps social workers to identify, understand and facilitate their service users’ wishes for well-being and a fulfilling older age. Chapters are practice-driven, containing case studies drawn from a range of care settings, reflective questions and exercises. Mapping directly onto the key modules on the social work degree, this is essential reading for all student social workers, especially as they prepare to go on their practice placement. It is also valuable reading for qualified social workers. Rory Lynch is Lecturer in Social Work at Robert Gordon University.

This book provides an up-to-date and authoritative overview of the development of social work with older people in the UK. The coherent structure draws together the key themes involved in working with older people, and clearly demonstrates how to translate these into real-life practice. Key features of the book include: - Establishes an understanding of the policy context within which social work takes place, with particular attention to key topics such as inter-professional collaboration and ethics. - Goes beyond other textbooks to challenge the restricted nature of social work practice, and adopts a positive view of its potential to benefit older people. - An engaging and practice-led approach which includes student-friendly features and detailed practice scenarios. - Satisfies the curriculum benchmarks and National Occupational Standards that structure social work training and practice. Written by a leading academic, this is a key text for social work trainees. Its analytical depth will ensure that it will also be valuable for students undertaking post-qualifying courses, and for those in related disciplines such as health and community care, social policy and social gerontology. Its practice-based and inter-professional approach will mean it is also useful for health and social care practitioners seeking to improve the quality of practice with older people. `Drawing on both theory and research as well as the author′s clear knowledge of current practice, this book is able to deal with practice realities in ways which many texts cannot. It offers social workers realistic options for how to approach their work′ - Karen Postle, University of East Anglia

This original collection explores how critical gerontology can make sense of old age inequalities to inform social work research, policy and practice. Engaging with key debates on age-related human rights, the conceptual focus addresses the current challenges and opportunities facing those who work with older people.

Social Work Practice With Older Adults by Jill Chonody and Barbra Teater presents a contemporary framework based on the World Health Organization’s active aging policy that allows forward-thinking students to focus on client strengths and resources when working with the elderly. The Actively Aging framework takes into account health, social, behavioral, economic, and personal factors as they relate to aging, but also explores environmental issues, which aligns with the new educational standards put forth by the Council on Social Work Education. Covering micro, mezzo, and macro practice domains, the text examines all aspects of working with aging populations, from assessment through termination.

A systematic and research-based introduction to social work practice with older people.