Social justice counseling, like all humanistic models, recognizes the dignity of each human being, affirms the right of all people to choose and work toward their own goals, and asserts the importance of service to community. The social justice paradigm brings a special emphasis on the role of the environment. (Contains 1 figure and 1 table.)

Urban schools are faced with challenges such as low academic performance, increased incidents of violence, lack of parental engagement with educators, and school personnel burnout. Wraparound counseling is a holistic prevention tool that combines the best practices of counseling and special education for use in the school setting. (Contains 1…

Assistive technology (AT) benefits many individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). The appropriate application of accommodation solutions, whether they involve the use of AT or not, can be a complex process involving a team of people with various backgrounds. This article describes an in-service AT training program that…

In July 2010, the faculties of Law, Business and Economics, and Medicine at Monash University, Australia commenced placing law, finance, and social work students in a multidisciplinary clinic at a community legal service operated by the University. Students from the three disciplines began seeing legal service clients at the same time as a team.…

In the United States, 1.6 million young people between 18 and 24 years old are out of school (lacking either a high school degree or General Educational Development certificate) "and" out of work. These "disconnected" young people face significant barriers to economic opportunity and distressingly high odds of becoming involved…

Counselling professionals seek to preserve their success by demonstrating excellent communication skills. Prior to contact with clients, students become familiar with counselling skills that reflect the needs of vulnerable populations. This involves creating a therapeutic relationship with the client using counselling skills. One way to promote…

The move toward evidence-based practice has fortified, and continues to strengthen, the social work profession through accountability, greater support for social interventions, and linking research and practice. This article considers potential limitations in exclusively promoting evidence-based practice in social work programs and advocates for…

School social workers frequently serve as the primary mental health providers to youths with mental health problems. Although school social workers play a primary role in care, many students also receive outside counseling services. Previous research has not examined whether practice approaches differ when considering mental health practice with…

Few formal post-secondary educational programs in the United States focus on youth work, thus youth workers often enter the field with diverse backgrounds and varying levels of experience working with youth. Drawing on mounting evidence that quality youth service requires skilled staff, professional-development opportunities have received…

Counselors frequently counsel clients who live in poverty. The authors describe the new CARE model that addresses the influence of multiple systems on poor clients' experiences. A social justice, humanistic intervention, the CARE model emphasizes cultivating a positive counseling relationship with poor clients, empathizing with their unique…

In recent years, evidence-based practice (EBP) has been a major focus in the social work profession. Concern has been expressed regarding licensed clinical social workers (LCSWs) using novel unsupported interventions, especially those that made claims of efficacy in the absence of empirical evidence. The present exploratory study surveyed 191…

Wen-wu is a Chinese conceptualization of masculinity that strikes a balance between wen (i.e., literary strength) and wu (i.e., physical strength). This concept can be readily applied to a mental health setting when working with male clients. The present treatise outlines the concept of wen-wu and provides suggestions for use in clinical work.…

School psychologists are often in the position of seeing a situation, a system, or a common strategy for working with students that might be approached from a different perspective. Knowing this themselves is rarely good enough, though; they work in teams and as consultants to teachers and parents who generally work most closely with the students.…

This article reviews the use of several valuation methods as they relate to drug abuse and places them within the context of U.S. policy. First, cost-of-illness (COI) studies are reviewed and their limitations discussed. Second, three additional economic methods of valuing drug abuse are reviewed, including cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA),…

As a profession, social work has encouraged its members to run for public office to translate the values and ethics of social work into public policy. This study of 416 elected social workers around the country provides insight into the experiences of these elected social workers in their social work education. The classes, skills, activities,…