Why This Book Is Needed
A conceptual introduction sets forth the book’s aim: to guide clinical social work students (and practicing clinicians) to explore assessment from a range of theoretical frameworks, each with its own emphasis, limitations, and form of evidence, and to think critically about what each perspective has to offer, takes for granted, omits, and counts as knowledge. It begins by exploring the meaning of the key terms “critical thinking,” “diagnosis,” and “assessment” and draws on both theory and research to trace how these concepts have been addressed in social work education and practice. Following an overview of the book’s structure and content, including introduction to the case of Ray (a case that will be used throughout the chapters and analyzed from each clinical perspective), the introduction concludes with specific suggestions for educators about ways to use the book to develop complex, reflexive, and critical thinking in their students.
Should Dsm Be the Basis for Teaching Social Work Practice in Mental Health? Yes!
Abstract Point/Counterpoint is a regular feature of the Journal of Social Work Education. Its purpose is to provide a vehicle for the expression of contrasting views on controversial topics in social work education. Our goal is to illuminate important debates and explore the diverse perspectives that are shaping social work education. In each issue of the Journal several social work educators are invited to comment on a topic about which they have differing viewpoints. The commentators are given an opportunity to make a brief rebuttal. In this issue, Janet Williams (Professor, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons), Robert Spitzer (Professor, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons), Herb Kutchins (Professor, California State University, Sacramento), and Stuart Kirk (Professor, University of California, Los Angeles) address the question: Should DSM be the basis for teaching social work practice in mental health?
Symptomatic Trans-sexualism
A 24-year-old male schizophrenic had a delusion that he was female and had lived his life as a woman for almost two years. Unlike the only other reported case, his ‘symptomatic transsexualism’ responded to the effective treatment of his schizophrenia.