Complexity Theory for Social Work Practice

This  textbook provides a grounding in complexity theory, demonstrating how  it can influence and shape social work interventions in policy,  management, and practice, as well as forming an epistemological and  methodological basis for research. It provides a contemporary  theoretical basis for social work practice, equipping social workers to  work in a 21st-Century world. 

The authors argue that  the history of social work demonstrates the profession's engagement  with the social and structural problems of each era since its emergence  150 years ago. However, in the 21st Century, such things as  globalisation, the COVID-19 pandemic, and climate change have  highlighted that existing theories and practice models are insufficient  to the task of working with the complicatedness of contemporary life in a  fast-changing world. Distilling the central tenets of Complexity Theory  and the notion of complex adaptive systems in partnership with  pragmatism, the book provides practice perspectives and guidelines which  build on social work's enduring commitment to understanding the  person-in-context. The recognition that social workers require  conceptual and theoretical agility to work across micro, meso and macro  'levels' remains central, but the argument is made that their focus and  practice must primarily be at the meso level. The authorship of combined  academic and practice expertise enables such perspectives to be brought  to life through the theoretical and practical analysis of conceptual  and 'real-world' challenges. 

The book consists of 13 chapters organized in three sections:

• Part I: Complex Practice in a Complex World
• Part II: Thinking Complexity in Practice
• Part III: Thinking Complexity in Public Policy, Research and Education

Complexity Theory for Social Work Practice encourages social workers to 'think complexity' and 'act  pragmatically'. It is intended for final-year social work students;  academics and researchers working in a range of disciplines, primarily  in the social work field but also in the areas of sociology, psychology  and anthropology; and practitioners in policy, research, management and  practice settings.