Narrative in social work practice : the power and possibility of story

"Narrative in Social Work Practice features first-person accounts by social workers who have successfully integrated narrative theory and approaches into their practice. Contributors describe innovative and effective interventions with a wide range of individuals, families, and groups facing a variety of life challenges. One author describes a family in crisis when a promising teenage girl suddenly takes to her bed for several years; another brings narrative practice to a Bronx trauma center; and another finds that poetry writing can enrich the lives of people living with dementia. In some chapters, the authors turn narrative techniques inward and use them as vehicles of self-discovery. Settings range from hospitals and clinics to a graduate school and a case management agency. Throughout, Narrative in Social Work Practice showcases the flexibility and appeal of narrative methods and demonstrates how they can be empowering and fulfilling for clients and social workers alike. The differential use of narrative techniques fulfills the mission and core competencies of the social work profession in creative and surprising ways. Stories of clients and workers are, indeed, powerful."--Résumé de l'éditeur Contents Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Introduction MANY WAYS OF KNOWING PART I Writing as Discoveryand Healing 1 Stuck An Intersection of Stories 2 Garden at Vaucresson 3 Another Kind of Witnessing PART II Narrative Social Work with Individuals and Families 4 The Reluctant Storyteller 5 Grace Notes 6 One Family's Experience of Falling Out of Health 7 Scheherazade: The Socail Worker as Interpreter of Social, Cultural and Familial Maladies 8 Sharing a Narrative Meal The Therapeutic use of Narrative with Older Adults PART III Narrative Social Work with Groups 9 Storytelling and Listening Comating the stigma and secrecy of HIV/AIDS in Kenya 10 I Like Dancing and Singing and Prancing and Flinging 11 Jesse’s Story A MOTHER’S VOICE—A SOCIAL WORK JOURNEY 12 With Every Story We Rise NARRATIVE MEANS TO SOCIAL JUSTICE ENDS PART IV Narrative Social Work in Education, Supervision, and Research 13 Transnational Parenting THE HIDDEN COSTS OF THE SEARCH FOR A “BETTER LIFE” 14 The Worker–Mentor Story NARRATIVE APPROACHES IN SOCIAL WORK SUPERVISION 15 Narrative ResearchDISCOVERIES IN LISTENING TO CLINICIAN-SCHOLARS’EXPERIENCES OF WORKING ACROSS TRAUMA AND LOSS 16 Reading and Writing Really Are Fundamental HOW STORIES SHAPE PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Conclusion ON NARRATIVE COMPETENCE AND NARRATIVE HUMILITY CONTRIBUTORS INDEX "Narrative in Social Work Practice features first-person accounts by social workers who have successfully integrated narrative theory and approaches into their practice. Contributors describe innovative and effective interventions with a wide range of individuals, families, and groups facing a variety of life challenges. One author describes a family in crisis when a promising teenage girl suddenly takes to her bed for several years; another brings narrative practice to a Bronx trauma center; and another finds that poetry writing can enrich the lives of people living with dementia. In some chapters, the authors turn narrative techniques inward and use them as vehicles of self-discovery. Settings range from hospitals and clinics to a graduate school and a case management agency. Throughout, Narrative in Social Work Practice showcases the flexibility and appeal of narrative methods and demonstrates how they can be empowering and fulfilling for clients and social workers alike. The differential use of narrative techniques fulfills the mission and core competencies of the social work profession in creative and surprising ways. Stories of clients and workers are, indeed, powerful."--Résumé de l'éditeur Narrative in Social Work Practice features first-person accounts by social workers who have successfully integrated narrative theory and approaches into their practice. Contributors describe innovative and effective interventions with a wide range of individuals, families, and groups facing a variety of life challenges. One author describes a family in crisis when a promising teenage girl suddenly takes to her bed for several years; another brings narrative practice to a Bronx trauma center; and another finds that poetry writing can enrich the lives of people living with dementia. In some chapters, the authors turn narrative techniques inward and use them as vehicles of self-discovery. Settings range from hospitals and clinics to a graduate school and a case management agency. Throughout, Narrative in Social Work Practice showcases the flexibility and appeal of narrative methods and demonstrates how they can be empowering and fulfilling for clients and social workers alike. The differential use of narrative techniques fulfills the mission and core competencies of the social work profession in creative and surprising ways. Stories of clients and workers are, indeed, powerful. -- Provided by publisher __Narrative in Social Work Practice____Narrative in Social Work Practice__