In the face of major global demographic change, social care policy and practice are in urgent need of radical reform and reassessment. Rising poverty, inequality and pressure on local communities internationally, are also increasing the urgent need for reform. Drawing on the crisis-ridden UK experience as a case-study, this highly original book identifies the limits of the traditional welfare state in taking forward policy for the twenty-first century. The proposals amount to a renewed approach to social care, based on the philosophy of independent living as originally developed by the international disabled people’s movement and subsequently embodied in a United Nations treaty applicable to all in need of care and support. Despite wide international sign up since adoption in 2008 there is little evidence of any nation successfully delivering. For the first time, this book offers both a blueprint for an environmentally sustainable, rights-based approach to social care and a practical route to achieving it.

The UK welfare state is under sustained ideological and political attack. It has also been undermined by accusations of paternalism and past failures to engage with the very people it is intended to help. This unique book is the first to critique the past, present and future welfare state from a participatory perspective. Peter Beresford, champion of user involvement, draws on pioneering theories and practice of welfare service user movements to offer a blueprint for a new participatory social policy. He controversially challenges orthodox social policy and the limitations of both Fabian and Neo-liberal perspectives in engaging people to improve their own welfare, drawing on service users ' own ideas and experience, including fascinating vignettes from his own family's experience, to demonstrate the value of 'user knowledge'. Filling a much-needed gap in the literature, this accessible text will provide a great introduction for students and a road-map for practitioners of an alternative vision for a future participatory and sustainable social policy. It will also command much wider interest from everyone concerned with how we look after each other in future in society.

The COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement and renewed action against climate change all highlight the increasing gulf between narrowly based dominant political ideologies and popular demands for social justice, global health, environmentalism and human rights. This book examines for the first time the exclusionary nature of prevailing political ideologies. Bringing together theory, practice and the relationship between participation, political ideology and social welfare, it offers a detailed critique of how the crucial move to more participatory approaches may be achieved. It is concerned with valuing people's knowledge and experience in relation to ideology, exploring its conventional social construction including counter ideology and the ideological underpinnings and relations of participation. It also offers a practical guide for change.

Worldwide, there has been a growth in service user involvement in education and research in recent years. This handbook is the first book which identifies what is happening in different regions of the world to provide different countries and client groups with the opportunity to learn from each other. The book is divided into five sections: Section One examines service user involvement in context exploring theoretical issues which underpin service user involvement. In Section Two we focus on the state of service user involvement in human services education and research across the globe including examples of innovative practice, but also identifying examples of where it is not happening and why. Section Three offers more detailed examination of such involvement in a wide range of professional education learning settings. Section Four focuses on the involvement of service users in research involving a wide range of service user groups and situations. Lastly, Section Five explores future challenges for education and research to ensure involvement remains meaningful. The book includes forty-eight chapters, including seventeen case-studies, from all regions of the world, this is the first book to both highlight the subject's methodological and theoretical issues and give practical examples in education and research for those wishing to engage in this field. It will be of interest to all service users, scholars and students of social work, nursing, occupational therapy, and other human service subjects.

Presents examples of Mad Studies in action; initiatives that have been taken, what they have achieved and what can be learned from them Offers examples and insights from the perspectives of those who have (had) those experiences, and will also explore ways of supporting people oppressed by conventional understandings and systems. Comprised of 31 chapters written by leading experts, activists and academics

The COVID-19 pandemic, Black Lives Matter movement and renewed action against climate change all highlight the increasing gulf between narrowly based dominant political ideologies and popular demands for social justice, global health, environmentalism and human rights. This book examines for the first time the exclusionary nature of prevailing political ideologies. Bringing together theory, practice and the relationship between participation, political ideology and social welfare, it offers a detailed critique of how the crucial move to more participatory approaches may be achieved. It is concerned with valuing people's knowledge and experience in relation to ideology, exploring its conventional social construction including counter ideology and the ideological underpinnings and relations of participation. It also offers a practical guide for change.

Worldwide, there has been a growth in service user involvement in education and research in recent years. This handbook is the first book which identifies what is happening in different regions of the world to provide different countries and client groups with the opportunity to learn from each other. The book is divided into five sections: Section One examines service user involvement in context exploring theoretical issues which underpin service user involvement. In Section Two we focus on the state of service user involvement in human services education and research across the globe including examples of innovative practice, but also identifying examples of where it is not happening and why. Section Three offers more detailed examination of such involvement in a wide range of professional education learning settings. Section Four focuses on the involvement of service users in research involving a wide range of service user groups and situations. Lastly, Section Five explores future challenges for education and research to ensure involvement remains meaningful. The book includes forty-eight chapters, including seventeen case-studies, from all regions of the world, this is the first book to both highlight the subject's methodological and theoretical issues and give practical examples in education and research for those wishing to engage in this field. It will be of interest to all service users, scholars and students of social work, nursing, occupational therapy, and other human service subjects.

This collection charts the key developments in the social work field from 1970 to the present day and shows how by fully understanding social work's past, we can make better progress for practitioners and service users in the future. It brings together a broad collection of experts from across social work who trace how thinking and approaches to practice have changed over time, examine key legislative developments in the field, look at the impacts of major inquiries and consider the re-emergence of certain specialisms. Providing students and practitioners of social work and social policy with a full picture of the evolution of social work, it also shares important insights for its future directions.

Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state. A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis. This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.

Personalisation has become the policy buzz-word of the twenty-first century. Supporters claim it offers service users choice and services attuned to meet their specific needs, moving away from 'one size fits all' state services. In this short form book, part of the Critical and Radical Debates in Social Work series, Peter Beresford, one of Britain's foremost social work academics, challenges the personalisation agenda and its consequences on service users. Although critical of 'one size fits all' services that deny service user voice, Beresford argues that personalisation turns service users into 'consumers' of services within a care market and hence reinforces the commodification of care which sees vast profits made by a small number of providers at the expense of good quality services for those who use them.

This collection charts the key developments in the social work field from 1970 to the present day and shows how by fully understanding social work's past, we can make better progress for practitioners and service users in the future. It brings together a broad collection of experts from across social work who trace how thinking and approaches to practice have changed over time, examine key legislative developments in the field, look at the impacts of major inquiries and consider the re-emergence of certain specialisms. Providing students and practitioners of social work and social policy with a full picture of the evolution of social work, it also shares important insights for its future directions.

Social policy is often constructed and implemented by people who have little experience of its impact as a service user, but there has been a growing interest in greater public, patient and service user involvement in social policy as both political activity and academic discipline. Social Policy First Hand is the first comprehensive international social policy text from a participatory perspective and presents a new service user-led social policy that addresses the current challenges in welfare provision. A companion volume to Peter Beresford's bestselling All our welfare, it introduces the voices of different groups of service users, starting from their lived experience. With an impressive list of contributors, this important volume fills a gap in looking at social policy using participatory and inclusive approaches and the use of experiential knowledge in its construction. It will challenge traditional state and market-led approaches to welfare.

Social work is under unprecedented pressure as a result of funding cuts, political interventions, marketisation and welfare transformations which, combined, are dramatically reshaping the relationship between individuals and the welfare state. A wide range of distinguished academics provide a comprehensive analysis of the evolving challenges facing contemporary social work, reflecting on both the existential and ideological threats to the profession. As well as the chief practice areas of child protection, adult care and mental health, contributors also examine practice issues surrounding older people, neoliberalism, neo-eugenics and the refugee crisis. This book offers concrete policy proposals for the future of the profession alongside valuable solutions which students and practitioners can action on the ground.

Social policy is often constructed and implemented by people who have little experience of its impact as a service user, but there has been a growing interest in greater public, patient and service user involvement in social policy as both political activity and academic discipline. Social Policy First Hand is the first comprehensive international social policy text from a participatory perspective and presents a new service user-led social policy that addresses the current challenges in welfare provision. A companion volume to Peter Beresford's bestselling All our welfare, it introduces the voices of different groups of service users, starting from their lived experience. With an impressive list of contributors, this important volume fills a gap in looking at social policy using participatory and inclusive approaches and the use of experiential knowledge in its construction. It will challenge traditional state and market-led approaches to welfare.

There is widespread agreement that care and support services must change radically if they are to meet the rights and needs of the rapidly growing number of people who require them. For the first time, Supporting people explores with service users, practitioners, carers and managers what person-centred support means to them, what barriers stand in its way and how these can be overcome. It provides a unique roadmap for the future, offering theoretical insights, practical guidance and highlighting the importance of a participatory approach. Based on the largest independent UK study of person-centred support and written by an experienced team that includes service users, practitioners and researchers, it demonstrates how change can be made now, and what strategic changes will be needed for person-centred support to have a sustainable future.

Madness, Violence, and Power: A Critical Collection disengages from the common forms of discussion about violence related to mental health service users and survivors which position those users or survivors as more likely to enact violence or become victims of violence. Instead, this book seeks to broaden understandings of violence manifest in the lives of mental health service users/survivors, 'push' current considerations to explore the impacts of systems and institutions that manage 'abnormality', and to create and foster space to explore the role of our own communities in justice and accountability dialogues. This critical collection constitutes an integral contribution to critical scholarship on violence and mental illness by addressing a gap in the existing literature by broadening the "violence lens," and inviting an interdisciplinary conversation that is not narrowly biomedical and neuro-scientific.

The UK welfare state is under sustained ideological and political attack. It has also been undermined by accusations of paternalism and past failures to engage with the very people it is intended to help. This unique book is the first to critique the past, present and future welfare state from a participatory perspective. Peter Beresford, champion of user involvement, draws on pioneering theories and practice of welfare service user movements to offer a blueprint for a new participatory social policy. He controversially challenges orthodox social policy and the limitations of both Fabian and Neo-liberal perspectives in engaging people to improve their own welfare, drawing on service users ' own ideas and experience, including fascinating vignettes from his own family's experience, to demonstrate the value of 'user knowledge'. Filling a much-needed gap in the literature, this accessible text will provide a great introduction for students and a road-map for practitioners of an alternative vision for a future participatory and sustainable social policy. It will also command much wider interest from everyone concerned with how we look after each other in future in society.

`This excellent book fills an important gap and will be of interest to the full range of professionals involved in work with people with mental health problems as well as service users and carers...For those managers or education providers looking to base their provision on the 10 Essential Shared Capabilities, this book will be a must.' - Social Work Education `The book is aimed at a range of practitioners. It would be a useful beginner's book for anyone encountering the mental health services for the first time and as a reference book for experienced practitioners. It can be dipped into for specialist advice in areas such as provision of mental health services for women, and for groups such as black and other ethnic service users or for lesbian and gay service users. There are some good diagrams which help to explain the cycle of abuse, and the holistic model of mental health'. - British Journal of Occupational Therapy `Social Perspectives will be a useful addition to the library of both practitioners and students; not just for the well researched individual contributions, but for the extensive reference lists which will provide invaluable assistance to readers wishing to research further. The volume brings together various social perspectives in a coherent manner, emphasizing a move away from simply treating symptoms...Together, these chapters provide an agenda which has to be central to any social change.' - Professional Social Work Social Perspectives in Mental Health offers new practice frameworks that help to make sense of people's mental distress and recovery in relation to their social experience. This interdisciplinary volume promotes a holistic approach to mental health practice, with an emphasis on recovery and empowerment, and on building on the experiences of service users. The contributors explore the impact of social factors, such as power, abuse, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, on the causes and experiences of mental health problems. It is also considered how concepts such as risk and recovery can be understood from a social perspective. Drawing on expertise from a wide range of academic, policy and practice settings as well as lived experience, this book is essential reading for practitioners, students and educators in the fields of mental health and social work.

This unique book provides a rare look at social work and palliative care from the perspective of service users. It is the first to investigate specialist palliative care social work from this viewpoint. Drawing on new original research, the authors examine service users' experiences of social work and palliative care, tracking their journeys through it, exploring the care they receive and the effects of culture and difference through their first hand comments and ideas. The writers link service users' critiques with broader debates and developments in social work and palliative care and consider the implications of the book's findings for the formation of policy and practice and for future professional education and training. A groundbreaking text, Palliative Care, Social Work and Service Users is of particular value to social work professionals, palliative care workers, educators, researchers and policy makers.

A valuable reference to help practising researchers not only to understand but also to apply innovative approaches to social work research. Featuring extended case studies of actual research projects, the book provides an overview of a number of central features and qualities of social work research. It incorporates both distinctive methodological features, such as approaches to participatory inquiry, and provides accounts of researcher strategies to address particular challenges, such as carrying out studies with hard to reach populations. This book combines important methodological insights with pragmatic guidance on commonly experienced problems and how these challenges can be overcome. This is a key resource for social work and social care students, social work practitioners and academics engaged in research.

Written by key figures in the field of social care training and management this much-needed book provides practice guidance for front line managers in social care. Refocusing attention on the management of practice and accountability within services and to service users, the authors provide a variety of perspectives on how front line managers can support practice. Highlighting important aspects of management, such as promoting knowledge-based practice and continuous professional development through lifelong learning, they discuss major issues such as: * setting and monitoring new standards and frameworks * what different communities want from social services * implications of the gender imbalance in social work management * bullying and harassment in the work environment * managing multidisciplinary teams. Drawing together important research on management practice, this book will ensure front line managers are prepared for shifts in policy, making it an essential resource for managers and policy makers in all areas of social care.

To avoid unfair and abusive practice in social care, policy makers and professionals need to examine the body of values, rules and methods which guide their work, and to move towards a more sophisticated participatory approach to social responsibility. Presenting the stories of individuals from all levels of the social and legal systems, including service users, judges, therapists, psychiatrists, social workers, social policy academics and parents, Ethical Practice and the Abuse of Power in Social Responsibility represents and unites academic, professional and personal perspectives.

Topics include sections on accountability and confidentiality, system abuse in psychiatric medicine, child protection and child care work, community poverty action, children's rights in statutory agency decision making, and the use of information technology in family law disputes.

The book contains background material, a review of current research, case studies and useful addresses, and lays guidelines for future policy. It will be essential reading for social care academics, policy makers and professionals seeking to refine their practice to understand the invisible and prejudicial structures and processes which govern their work.