Social Work with Substance Users
- Anna Nelson - National Addiction Workforce Development Centre, New Zealand
The book provides a detailed understanding of:
" Historical and current policy relating to prohibition and drug use
" A range of substances and their potential effects on service users
" Models of best practice including screening and assessment, brief intervention, motivation approaches and relapse prevention
" Particular issues and needs of a diverse range of service user groups
This will be an essential text for social work students taking courses in substance use and addiction. It will also be valuable reading for qualified social workers and students taking related courses across the health and social care field.
Practical and relevant
This is a very clear and thoroughly accessible text that is invaluable for students' understanding of this topic. I have recommended this book to students at all levels of the programme and included it on reading lists for modules I teach.
An easy to comprehend writing style that will appeal to students. Particularly useful section on 'Concepts and models'.
Excels in its wide-ranging coverage on the history, causes, effects of drugs and how we can deal with the problem.
A detailed, well written book that focuses on the theory and practice link
Text is accessible and informative and provides a clear picture of the issues faced for substance users. It provides a basic level of information and guidance for our students about what is involved when working in the field of substance use, and has been a helpful source for this course.
This text is a greatly needed resource in social work practice and education. It provides both general and population-specific analysis of substance use in an open, easy-to-read and engaging format. Importantly, it provides information about techniques and theoretical approaches which help equip the student or graduate social worker to work in an informed manner in this area.
Good and clear read
Teaching on substance problems on social work courses has been patchy, to say the least, and it is heartening to see that a number of texts are coming on the market to support improvements with regard to this. 'Social Work with Substance Users' is a sound, basic introduction for undergraduates and social workers with no previous experience in this field.
Its strengths are:
- its accessible, easy to read style.
- factual accuracy.
- anti-oppressive practice as a theme throughout.
- strong practice chapters [e.g. motivational interviewing and relapse prevention].
- Consideration of various service user groups and social worker settings.
Limitations:
- Whilst theories as to why people develop problems are introduced at various points, a brief early chapter contrasting these would have been helpful.
- Smoking cessation might have been given greater prominence.
- More on the various uses of pharmacotherapy and on working with stimulant uses would have strengthened the book.
- The chapter on children affected by parental problems addresses the issues primarily from the perspective of child care workers. There are different but equally complex challenges for practitioners dealing with adults with problems who have children.
Tighter editing would have tidied up a few problems of sentence structure and repetition.
Despite some omissions, this is a sound and easy to read introductory text.
