Table Of ContentThe Routledge Handbook
of Social Work Theory
The Routledge Handbook of Social Work Theory provides an interdisciplinary and international
introduction to social work theory. It presents an analytical review of the wide array of theoretical
ideas that influence social work on a global scale. It sets the agenda for future trends within social
work theory.
Separated into four parts, this handbook examines important themes within the discourses
on social work theory, as well as offering a critical evaluation of how theoretical ideas influence
social work as a profession and in practice. It includes a diverse range of interdisciplinary topics,
covering the aims and nature of social work, social work values and ethics, social work practice
theories and the use of theory in different fields of practice. The contributors show how and
why theory is so important to social work and analyze the impact these concepts have made on
social intervention.
Bringing together an international team of leading academics within the social work field
and newer contributors close to practice, this handbook is essential reading for all those studying
social work, as well as practitioners, policymakers and those involved in the associated fields of
health and social care.
Malcolm Payne is Emeritus Professor, Manchester Metropolitan University and has worked
in probation, local government social services, the local and national voluntary sector and in a
hospice in the UK. He is the author of many books including Modern Social Work Theory, Older
Citizens and End-of-life Care, and Humanistic Social Work.
Emma Reith-Hall is a senior social work lecturer at Nottingham Trent University and a PhD
student at the University of Birmingham. She remains involved in child and adolescent mental
health practice.
‘Bringing together high-profile international authors, this milestone book is a must-read for
academics, social workers, policymakers, and anyone who wants an updated and deep knowledge
of social work at a local and global level’.
—Annamaria Campanini, President, the International Association of
Schools of Social Work, Professor in Social Work, Department of
Sociology and Social Research, University Milano Bicocca, Italy
‘Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall have edited a book that provides a unique and
outstanding contribution to our understanding of social work theory. The book is broad in
scope, contemporary, yet grounded in social work traditions of “ethics”; “theories of social
work” and “social work practice”. The contributors, experts in their field, from around the
globe, bring diverse and creative views about the nature of social work theory and how theory
can be realised through practice. A must-read book about social work theory’.
—Professor Steven M. Shardlow, Professor Emeritus of Social Work,
Keele University, United Kingdom
The Routledge Handbook
of Social Work Theory
Edited by Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall
First published 2019
by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2019 selection and editorial matter, Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall; individual
chapters, the contributors
The right of Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall to be identified as the authors of
the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in
any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered
trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to
infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book has been requested
ISBN: 978-0-415-79343-8 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-21105-3 (ebk)
Typeset in Bembo
by Apex CoVantage, LLC
To Margaret, wife and mother, who enriches our lives and social work,
and without whom this book would not exist
Contents
List of figures xi
List of tables xii
List of contributors xiii
Introduction 1
Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall
PART 1
The aims and nature of social work 5
1 Social work theory, knowledge and practice 7
Malcolm Payne and Emma Reith-Hall
2 Theoretical aspects of social work – from eclecticism to integration 18
Vladimír Labath and Elena Ondrušková
3 Psychological and counselling theory in social work:
a critical overview 28
Carolyn Noble
4 Epistemic discourses of ‘explanation’ and ‘understanding’
in assessment models 41
Pavel Navrátil
5 Theorizing social work in the domains of culture, politics
and society 55
Stan Houston
6 Paradigm shift? Biomedical science and social work thinking 68
Malcolm Carey
vii
Contents
PART 2
Theory about social work values 81
7 Care and caring 83
Michael D. Fine
8 Autonomy and dependence 95
Tom Grimwood
9 Empathy, respect and dignity in social work 109
David Howe
10 The interpretation of social justice, equality and inequality
in social work: a view from the US 122
Michael Reisch
11 Spirituality and secularity 135
Beth R. Crisp
PART 3
Theories of social work practice 149
12 Relational social work 151
Karen Winter
13 Contemporary attachment theory: how can it inform social workers? 160
David Shemmings and Yvonne Shemmings
14 How green is social work? Towards an ecocentric turn in social work 171
John Coates and Mel Gray
15 Theory on systems, complexity and chaos 181
Christopher G. Hudson
16 Cognitive-behavioural therapy and social work practice 193
A. Antonio Gonzalez-Prendes and C. M. Cassady
17 Task-centred practice 205
Simon Cauvain
18 Strengths perspective: critical analysis of the influence on social work 216
Robert Blundo, Kristin W. Bolton and Peter Lehmann
viii
Contents
19 Solution-focused practice in social work 224
Guy Shennan
20 Motivational interviewing’s theory of practice for social work:
promises and pitfalls 236
Lori L. Egizio, Douglas C. Smith, Stéphanie Wahab
and Kyle Bennett
21 Narrative social work: key concepts 246
Karen Roscoe
22 Mindfulness and social work 256
Yuk-Lin Renita Wong
23 Indigenist social work practice 268
Michael Anthony Hart
24 The social pedagogy dimension of social work activity 282
Ewa Marynowicz-Hetka
25 Locality-based social development: a theoretical perspective
for social work 294
Abiot Simeon, Alice K. Butterfield and David P. Moxley
26 Critical theory and social work: historical context and
contemporary manifestations 308
Kenneth McLaughlin
27 The return of macro approaches in social work 319
Iain Ferguson
28 Empowerment ideas in social work 331
Paul Stepney
29 Anti-oppressive practice 340
Jane Dalrymple and Beverley Burke
30 Advocacy ideas in social work 350
Tom Wilks
31 Feminist ideas in social work 361
Sarah Wendt
ix
