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Books > Social sciences > Sociology, social studies > Social work
In the wake of disaster emergency responders are first on the scene
and last to leave. They put concern for the lives of others over
concern for their own lives, and work tirelessly to recover the
bodies of the missing. Their heroic actions save lives, provide
comfort to and care for the wounded and inspire onlookers, but at
what cost to themselves? We now know that rescue workers who are
exposed to mutilated bodies, mass destruction, multiple casualties,
and life-threatening situations may become the hidden victims of
disaster. The traumatic consequences of exposure can profoundly
impact emergency responders, radiate to their families, and
permeate the emergency organization. This much-needed new book,
based on the authors' original research and clinical experience,
describes the consequences of trauma exposure on police officers,
fire fighters, and paramedics. Weaving data collected in
large-scale quantitative studies with the personal stories of
responders shared in qualitative interviews, this much-needed
account explores the personal, organizational, and societal factors
that can ameliorate or exacerbate traumatic response. Stress
theory, organizational theory, crisis theory, and trauma theory
provide a framework for understanding trauma responses and guiding
intervention strategies. Using an ecological perspective, the
authors explore interventions spanning prevention, disaster
response, and follow-up, on individual, family, group,
organizational, and community levels. They provide specific
suggestions for planning intervention programs, developing trauma
response teams, training emergency service responders and mental
health professionals, and evaluating the effectiveness of services
provided. Disaster, whether large-scale or small, underscores our
ongoing vulnerability and the crucial need for response plans that
address the health and well being of those who confront disaster on
a daily basis. In the Line of Fire speaks directly to these
emergency response workers as well as to the mental health
professionals who provide them with services, the administrators
who support their efforts, and the family members who wonder if
their loved one will return home safely from work tonight.
Currently there is an enduring and changing meaning of social work
in a world where new crises are being confronted and new
opportunities are arriving in the evolving context of social work
and the related disciplines. There is a question on how to manage
the transformation of social work both productively and creatively
during this global shift. Practitioners and educators can
experience a tragic disorientation when confronted by the diversity
and depth of these crises endured and can face doubts about their
role in social work throughout all these changes and difficult
situations. Alternatives to this disorientation, a comfort with
uncertainty, and a capability to take risks need to urgently be
developed on a professional and personal level for success in the
evolving field. Through historical lens and a review of policies
and value-based approaches, the recontextualization of social work
can be explored. Practical and Political Approaches to
Recontextualizing Social Work explores practical and political ways
in which social work practice has been reconstructed. Chapters
identify this recontextualization of social work and how it is
changing, adapting, and transforming the profession along with
providing the potential implications for the profession. This book
grants insight on the reconstruction of social work on the personal
and interpersonal level ("case" work) and also on those intending
to impact social work on the local/global environment level in all
dimensions: politically, economically, socially, and ecologically.
In addition, the book includes a shift from the present short-term
and micro/personal view to a future and much broader and
encompassing perspective and practice vision. This book is
essential for social workers, practitioners, policymakers,
government officials, researchers, academicians, and students who
want to learn more about the recontextualizing of modern social
work in a shifting global environment.
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Good Tools Are Half the Job
(Hardcover)
Margriet Van Der Kooi, Cornelis van der Kooi; Foreword by Nicholas P. Wolterstorff
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R975
R831
Discovery Miles 8 310
Save R144 (15%)
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