Summary an introduction to family health

Reviewer's Comments

Yuen, Francis K.O., Skibinski, Gregory J., and Pardeck, John T. (2003). Family Health Social Work Practice: A Knowledge and Skills Casebook. The Haworth Social Work Practice Press, Binghamton, NY. 229 pages, $22.95.

Reviewed for THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER by Jennifer Franks Mineo.

The editors of Family Health Social Work Practice: A Knowledge and Skills Casebook use the first section of the book to orient the reader to the concept of family health, its supporting research, and the social work theories that are congruent with this approach. The family health perspective views the family as key to the client’s outcomes. Families, which are defined as “two or more interacting persons who are related by ties of marriage, birth, or adoption, or who have chosen to commit themselves to each other in unity for the common purpose of promoting the physical, mental, emotional, social, economic, cultural and spiritual growth of the unit and each of its members” are viewed as intricately linked. Each member affects the family unit and the family unit affects each member.

Family health social work is based on social work generalist practice. The key difference is the focus on the family system. When social workers work with a client, they must involve or understand the family to the greatest extent possible. In this holistic approach to social work practice, the family is viewed as the most important unit for promoting individual change.

The editors present family health practice as an “emerging practice paradigm in the field of social work.” This method is one that social workers can use at all levels of intervention (micro, mezzo, or macro). An intervention template and a sample case study are provided for the reader interested in using this method in practice. Other examples are provided, ranging across the spectrum of practice areas including a traditional medical case, a child abuse situation, and the impact of national policy on this type of practice.

This book would be useful for graduate level students already familiar with many of the theories traditionally used in social work practice. The student/reader is introduced to the concept, which is illustrated through a variety of case scenarios. The case examples show and explain many practice-specific theories and practice models. These complex concepts would be more meaningful to an upper level student who has studied some of them and possibly even used them in practice in an internship.

Family Health Social Work Practice is a well organized and well written book. It provides a basic foundation of information on this practice concept. For a student to thoroughly understand the family health model and its relationship to other social work theories, however, the information in this book needs to be paired with other related sources. This pairing would add depth and understanding to the case scenarios provided and would help a student to use the model in a practice setting.

Reviewed by Jennifer Franks Mineo, LMSW, Coastal Area Health Education Center.

This review appeared in the Winter 2004 issue of THE NEW SOCIAL WORKER magazine.