Why do social workers need to know about mental health medications? How can social workers best assist clients who are taking medications? What is the social worker's role as part of the interdisciplinary health care team? Answering these questions and more, this comprehensive text discusses the major medications used to treat common mental health conditions and offers guidelines on how to best serve clients who are using them. This new edition provides guidance on many issues that social workers will encounter in practice, including identifying potentially dangerous drug interactions and adverse side effects; improving medication compliance; recognizing the warning signs of drug dependence; and understanding how psychopharmacology can work in conjunction with psychosocial interventions. Complete with case examples, assessment tools, and treatment plans, this book offers practical insight for social work students and social workers serving clients with mental health conditions. New to this edition are expanded discussions of child and adolescent disorders, engaging discussions of how new drugs are created, approved, and marketed, and a new glossary describing over 150 common medications and herbal remedies. Important Topics Discussed: Treatment of common mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia Taking a comprehensive medication history Understanding medical terminology Avoiding drug misuse, dependence, and overdose

Why do social workers need to know about mental health medications? How can social workers best assist clients who are taking medications? What is the social worker's role as part of the interdisciplinary health care team? Answering these questions and more, this comprehensive text discusses the major medications used to treat common mental health conditions and offers guidelines on how to best serve clients who are using them. This new edition provides guidance on many issues that social workers will encounter in practice, including identifying potentially dangerous drug interactions and adverse side effects; improving medication compliance; recognizing the warning signs of drug dependence; and understanding how psychopharmacology can work in conjunction with psychosocial interventions. Complete with case examples, assessment tools, and treatment plans, this book offers practical insight for social work students and social workers serving clients with mental health conditions. New to this edition are expanded discussions of child and adolescent disorders, engaging discussions of how new drugs are created, approved, and marketed, and a new glossary describing over 150 common medications and herbal remedies. Important Topics Discussed: Treatment of common mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia, and dementia Taking a comprehensive medication history Understanding medical terminology Avoiding drug misuse, dependence, and overdose

This thoroughly updated resource is the only comprehensive anthology addressing frameworks for treatment, therapeutic modalities, and specialized clinical issues, themes, and dilemmas encountered in clinical social work practice. Editor Jerrold R. Brandell and other leading figures in the field present carefully devised methods, models, and techniques for responding to the needs of an increasingly diverse clientele. Key Features Coverage of the most commonly used theoretical frameworks and systems in social work practice Entirely new chapters devoted to clinical responses to terrorism and natural disasters, clinical case management, neurobiological theory, cross-cultural clinical practice, and research on clinical practice Completely revised chapters on psychopharmacology, dynamic approaches to brief and time-limited clinical social work, and clinical practice with gay men Content on the evidentiary base for clinical practice New, detailed clinical illustrations in many chapters offering valuable information about therapeutic process dimensions and the use of specialized methods and clinical techniques Accompanied by Robust Ancillaries. The password-protected Instructor Teaching Site of the companion site includes a test bank, recommended readings, and relevant Internet websites. The open-access Student Study Site offers chapter summaries, keywords, recommended Web sites, and recommended readings. The extensive breadth of coverage makes this book an essential source of information for students in advanced practice courses and practicing social workers alike.

Praise for the Second Edition: “This is a very well-written book…My students appreciated the down-to-earth style of writing…Many of my students are deathly afraid of topics that have anything to do with biology. [They] were assured by the lack of jargon and the fact that the chapters were written in a way that they could easily understand. I look forward to the third edition!” -Nathan Thomas, LCSW San Jose State University, School of Social Work “New findings emerge daily, and new medications hit the market every year…The nature of this topic lends itself to revision at least every 2-3 years to stay current and germane to current practice standards… The case studies are a nice way to transform and integrate clinical principles with social work practice. Students have enjoyed the book as a foundational text.” -Dr. Robert Mindrup, PsyD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, College of Social Work This comprehensive text—noted for its facility in integrating principles into practice--prepares social work students to play a key role within an interdisciplinary health care team: that of counseling clients who are taking medications used to treat common mental health conditions. The third edition has been fully revised to include new medications and reflect changes resulting from the publication of the DSM 5. Sample treatment plans, case examples, and a full glossary of medications have been updated, and the addition of a comprehensive Instructor’s Manual further enhances the text’s value. Also included is information on prescription drug abuse, expanded discussions of psychopharmacological considerations related to gender and culture, a new section on medical marijuana, pregnant women, and new content related to suicide warnings and internet availability and electronic records. The third edition also features a discussion of potential interactions with medications used to treat chronic conditions and emphasizes professional collaboration. The text is replete with guidance on common medicine-related issues social workers encounter in practice, including identifying potentially dangerous drug interactions and adverse side effects, improving medication compliance, recognizing the warning signs of drug dependence, and understanding how psychopharmacology can work in conjunction with psychosocial interventions. The role of the social worker taking into account treatment planning is stressed. The text also addresses the particular needs of children, older adults, and pregnant women and the treatment of specific mental health conditions. New to the Third Edition: • Reflects changes related to the DSM-5, the Affordable Care Act, and a multitude of new medications • Includes a restructured chapter on special populations highlighting the needs of children and adolescents, older adults and pregnant women • Presents new sections on electronic health records, telemedicine, suicide warnings, and medical marijuana • Offers enhanced coverage of psychopharmacological considerations related to gender and culture • Updates case examples, treatment plans, and extensive medication glossary • Provides a comprehensive Instructor’s Manual with PowerPoint slides, a sample syllabus, and sample tests Key Features: • Addresses the role of medication from the perspective of social work treatment • Delivers guidance on common challenges social workers encounter in practice • Encourages and empowers clients to be active in their own treatment • Emphasizes the role of the social worker in the use and misuse of medication • Identifies potentially dangerous drug interactions and adverse side effects • Explains how psychopharmacology works in conjunction with psychosocial interventions

This revolutionary, user-friendly textbook not only guides social workers in developing competence in the DSM system of diagnosis, it also assists them in staying attuned during client assessment to social work values and principles: a focus on client strengths, concern for the worth and dignity of individuals, appreciation of environmental influences on behavior, and commitment to evidence-informed practice. The authors, seasoned practitioner-scholars, provide an in-depth exploration of fourteen major mental disorders that social workers commonly see in practice, including anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. They skillfully integrate several perspectives in order to help practitioners meet the challenges they will face in client assessment. A risk and resilience framework helps social workers understand environmental influences on the emergence of mental disorders and the strengths that clients already possess. Social workers will also learn to apply critical thinking to the DSM when it is inconsistent with social work values and principles. Finally, the authors catalog the latest evidence-based assessment instruments and treatments for each disorder so that social workers can intervene efficiently and effectively, using the best resources available. Students and practitioners alike will appreciate the wealth of case examples, evidence-based assessment instruments, treatment plans, and new social diversity sections that make this an essential guide to the assessment and diagnostic processes in social work practice.

The second edition of Social Work Policy Practice: Changing Our Community, Nation, and the World demystifies policymaking for social work students and demonstrates why policy practice is a critical dimension of social work. The text provides a comprehensive introduction to political advocacy, the political process, and how laws are enacted to inspire social work students to enter the field with a mind for political advocacy and social justice. The book is divided into three parts. In Part I, students learn a brief history of social welfare legislation in the United States and the role of social workers in policy development. Part II provides concrete information on how policies become law. It includes an overview of the levels and branches of government, in-depth descriptions of the policy change process, and various strategies advocates employ to enact change. Part III consists of real-world stories of advocates and advocacy organizations that have attempted to change policies on behalf of vulnerable populations. This edition includes up-to-date information regarding policy issues in child welfare, aging, healthcare, mental health, poverty and income equality, rights for racial minorities, and immigration. New material addresses policy issues pertaining to gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, and the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter social movements. Engaging and accessible, Social Work Policy Practice is an ideal resource for courses that introduce policymaking to students of social work.