Social Work for Lazy Radicals

Relationship Building, Critical Thinking and Courage in Practice

Jane Fenton

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9781352002454
• eBook ISBN: 9781352002461
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Social Sciences
• Subtopic: Social Work
• Index: Social Sciences

Be proud to be a lazy radical! This textbook makes the case for a radical approach to social work that can be embraced by everyone. It's an approach based on real empathy and an understanding of oppression, of managerialism, of the moral heart of social work, of humanism and of the effects of neoliberal hegemony. Jane Fenton provides a model of radical practice for students and social workers who are committed to 'doing the right thing', and who want to develop their own framework for practice. This book will appeal to students who are activists, but want to frame their individual-level practice in a meaningful way, and to those who are non-activist and non-political but simply want to be good social workers. It will give a political and moral understanding of social work practice and lead to confident, value-based and enjoyable social work.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Acknowledgements
• 1 Introduction
• 2 Dependence, Independence and Values
• 3 Bureaucracy, Regulation and Professionalism
• 4 Lazy Radical Social Work Step 1: Relationship Building, Trust and Emotional Engagement
• 5 Lazy Radical Practice Step 2: Knowledge and Critical Thinking
• 6 Lazy Radical Social Work Step 3: Moral Courage
• 7 Doing Lazy Radical Social Work: Getting Beyond the Individual
• 8 Conclusion
• Glossary of Terms
• References
• Index