Book Review: Human-Animal Interactions: A Social Work Guide

Human-Animal Interactions: A Social Work Guide, by Janet Hoy-Gerlach and Scott Wehman, Washington, DC: NASW Press, ISBN: 978-0-87101-517-4, 2017, 181 pages, $38.99.

    When was the last time you talked with your client(s) about their animals? If these authors could have their way, you would likely hold these conversations much more frequently. As social workers, we are taught to think about our clients/client groups in and interacting with their environments. For many clients, this means considering the animals with whom they have relationships, both positive and negative. The authors don’t suggest that considering animals in our assessments and interventions would simply be “nice.” Instead, they suggest it is an ethical imperative and applicable to more practice settings than one would initially suspect.

    When first assigned this book to review, I thought it might be a recounting of stories, a sort of James Herriot for social workers. Instead, I found a carefully-researched and thoroughly experience-based discussion of the joys and challenges of human-animal interactions. This material, the authors point out, is not yet commonly taught in schools of social work, and thus is new to a wide range of practitioners.

    After discussing why social workers should be concerned about animals and the benefit of human-animal interaction, the book describes risks and stresses to both the humans and animals involved. You could, for example, be bitten. You could push the animal to do more than it is capable of. The authors include ethical issues—for example, what should a social worker do if an animal is being abused and the law is silent? (A regrettably short table lists states that have animal abuse laws.) A chapter is dedicated to the use of animals in therapy, and another to the emerging field of social work in veterinary practices and animal welfare organizations.

    The authors do an excellent job of relating animals to social work theory, particularly person-in-environment and strengths perspectives. They spend considerable time discussing animal maltreatment in the context of interpersonal violence, as well as the challenges of grief when an animal dies. The obvious and subtle needs of animals are also addressed—for example, the authors point out that some animals need interaction with others of their species. An extensive bibliography, including literature from many disciplines, is a real plus.

    I particularly liked the multi-level and interdisciplinary content. There are frequent references to families, organizational policies, and legislation. For example, domestic violence shelters usually will not take animals, and the battered often will not leave an abuser without their animals.

    Should every social worker read this book? I’d like to say “yes,” but there is so much literature “out there.” Should every social work student? Again, there is so much mandated coverage, and this book (although worth every penny) is a bit pricey. Should all social workers become animal-aware, even if they think their practice has nothing to do with animals? I certainly endorse that. So does my cat Emily.

Reviewed by Mary S. Sheridan, Ph.D., ACSW, Emeritus Professor of Social Work, Hawaii Pacific University.