Human Behavior and the Social Environment

Description

• Offers a comprehensive analysis of  several contemporary areas of professional focus, including the neurobiological underpinnings of human behavior, the multiple interlocking dimensions of human identity, trauma across the life span  from a variety of perspectives, the complexities of spiritual development,  the biopsychosocial aspects of disability and chronic illness, the bridging of micro and macro levels of practice through models of community based clinical practice and the impact  and relevance of social welfare policy at each stage of the life cycle.
• Provides the interface between human behavior theory and social work practice,  helping students translate complex theories into their practical applications
• Examples from the authors’ extensive practice and research experiences serve to illuminate complex theories.
• Development across the life span is explored in the context of a multi-level, ecosystemic framework that incorporates post modern, strengths based, constructivist perspectives  and honors the diversity of the human experience across multiple dimensions of experience;  the text covers all material required by CSWE for the HBSE sequence.
• Internet Websites listed at the end of each chapter provide additional, practical , topic- specific resources

Human Behavior and the Social Environment: Theory and Practice , 2/e, is a highly accessible text that integrates developmental theory with clinical practice  and utilizes “real life” practice examples to illustrate complex, state of the art neurobiological, psychological, socio-cultural and spiritual theories within a developmental, ecosystemic context.BRIEF CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1  An Integrating Framework for Human Behavior Theory and Social Work Practice

CHAPTER 2  Neurobiological Underpinnings of Human Development

CHAPTER 3 Theories of Development

CHAPTER 4  Identity Development 

CHAPTER 5 The Family in Society

• Updated strength’s based, ecosystemic integrating framework incorporates post modern perspectives (e.g., constructivism, worldview, multi-cultural competence and anti-racism, clinical practice from a social justice perspective, developmental contextual constructs(i.e., risk and protective factors, developmental pathways, development in relation), spirituality and issues related to globalization).
• Expanded exploration of contemporary theories of individual development including intersubjectivity, mindfulness, and behavior therapy–mindfulness based cognitive therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy  
• NEW! Section on Motivational Interviewing (i.e.,  transtheoretical model initially developed to support change with clients challenged by addictions but now found useful with a wide range of problems)
• NEW! Connection between mindfulness and spirituality
• Updated discussion of the family includes a more practice based perspective, with attention to narrative approaches, internal family systems therapy emotion focused therapy, and relational approaches to therapy with multi-stressed families
• NEW! Sections on military and immigrant families
• Expanded focus on a  social justice perspective for clinical practice, illuminated with case material
• Expanded discussion of contemporary perspectives on organizations,
• NEW! Practice examples illustrate anti-racist, culturally competent organizations, interorganizational collaboration, global structures, contemporary management paradigms as well as community based clinical practice
• Expanded Part II includes contemporary topics as cyberbullying, self harm during adolescence, and life course theory as a basis for understanding the significance of history on identity development among gay youth in relevant life cycle chapters
• NEW! There is greater attention paid to veterans and military families and immigrant and refugee populations non-English speakers, and illiterate adults.
• NEW! The section on older adulthood emphasizes diversity in later life and  includes a report on the pilot findings of a study of Chinese elders and depression conducted in Boston and China.
• NEW! Discussion of false memory syndrome, dissociation, and the treatment of trauma, as well as an examination of  trauma (PTSD)  as a chronic illness and a developmental disorder in the chapter on Trauma

This comprehensive text integrates multiple dimensions of the human experience in a reader-friendly style and provides the interface between developmental theory and practice.

Human Behavior and the Social Environment, 1/e, introduces and incorporates current research on the biological, psychological, socio-cultural, and spiritual dimensions of human behavior throughout the life-cycle. The authors provide an appropriate focus on contemporary perspectives that are central to the practice of social work, such as trauma, neurobiological underpinnings of behavior, chronic illness and disability. They pay particular attention to models of racial, ethnic, class, gender and gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender identity development; to the influences of gender, sexual orientation, social class, race and culture on family structure and function, and to issues pertinent to a variety of “post-modern” family forms.

Additionally, the text explores macro influences of groups, communities and organizations in individual chapters. It also contains a chapter on social welfare policy that examines the impact of specific policies at each stage of the life-cycle and paves the way for new directions in research and future directions in policy and practice.

Joan Granucci Lesser, Ph.D., is currently a Resident Adjunct Associate Professor, and Chair of Social Work Practice at the Smith College School for Social Work She was previously Associate Professor at the Springfield College School of Social Work where she served as chair of Human Behavior and the Social Environment and Social Work Practice sequences. Dr. Lesser received her Ph.D. from New York University and her MSW from Columbia University where she was the recipient of a National Institute in Mental Health Training Grant. Dr. Lesser has also served on the adjunct faculties of New YorkUniversityi School of Social Work and Fordham University Graduate School of Social Services in New York City.  She had held various clinicial, supervisory and adminnstrative positions including Director of Social Work at Flower Hosptial in NYC.  She is the author, with Dr. Marlene Cooper, of Clinical Social Work Practice: An Integrated Approach (Allyn & Bacon, 2001, 2005,2008; 2010. ). Dr. Lesser is also the founder of  the Pioneer Valley Professionals, a multidisciplinary community-based practice in Holyoke, MA, which provides services to children, adolescents, adults, and families. Dr. Lesser has presented locally, nationally and internationallymost recently in Guangzhou China on the “treatment of elders with trauma histories” and in Athens, Greece and Barcelona, Spain on :Cross Cultural Research, Training a Practice:  A Relational Framework.”

Donna Saia Pope, L.C.S.W. is currently an Adjunct Lecturer at New York University’s Silver School of Social Work.   She was previously a member of the faculty of the Mercy College Social Work Program, where she developed and taught the  Human Behavior and the Social Environment course sequence and served as Coordinator of Field Education.  She received her M.S.W. from Hunter College of the City University of New York.  Ms. Pope’s varied background in social work practice includes having served as Director of the Social Work Department at an urban health care setting in New York City, and as a  private clinical practitioner and consultant.  Her experience in clinical practice, social work administration, and program development spans several fields of practice, including substance abuse, eating disorders, developmental disabilities, medical social work and aging.