Social Work Education and Clinical Learning: Reply to Goldstein (2006) and Thyer (2006)

50 Years and the Future of Agency-Based Clinical Social Work Practice: Introduction to the Special Issue

“…In 1976 NASW published its first directory of clinical social workers, and in 1979 NASW held an invitational forum in Denver, Colorado entitled, Toward a Definition of Clinical Social Work (Ewalt 1980). The National Federation of Societies for Clinical Social Work was founded in 1971 and the first issue of the Clinical Social Work Journal was published in 1972 (Simpson et al 2007a, b).…”

“…In social work education, specialties such as community organization ascended in interest. By the 1970s methods-based specialties such as casework, group work and community organization were on the decline and were gradually replaced with educational structures that focused on populations or fields of practice such as children and youth, families, aging, mental health and addictions (Dorfman 1988;Simpson et al 2007a, b). The 1970s saw the first recognition by NASW of the baccalaureate in social work as the entry-level degree for the profession.…”

Making Room for Dynamics in Evidence-Based Practice: The Role of Psychodynamic Theory in Client-Centered Approaches

“…Professionals across disciplines have hailed the developmental perspective used in psychodynamic practice as critical to understanding and formulating client-centered treatment plans for clients presenting often with myriad needs (Corrie, 2002;Howe, Dooley, & Hinings, 2000;Pollio, 2002;Ronen, 2001;Tsang, 2000). Assessment using a biopsychosocial perspective has been a mainstay of clinical social work (Goldstein, 1996;Simpson, Segall, & Williams, 2007) as has the relationship between client and social worker (Brandell, 2004;Garrett, 1958;Perlman, 1957). These approaches should not be discarded for other treatments that, although based on popular trends in research, are poorly suited for certain types of professional intervention (Tanenbaum, 2005).…”