This book aims to provide a way of understanding the many factors that operate when an individual professional attempts to support a family to make changes when the family is struggling to support their members in trying times. It traverses a number of dimensions of support work with families that can be used as a framework for social work practice. The authors embody a reflective approach to social work practice, which is seen as non-prescriptive, flexible in nature, and open to a critical view of social systems. Inherent in a reflective approach is the emphasis on social systems that work with families in creative ways to improve their situations rather than blaming them for the difficulties they experience. The book explores the pressures on families, the challenges that confront workers and social service agencies, and looks at the role of the state in the provision of social and welfare services. It is organised around three key themes: strengths-based work, contextualised practice, and reflective practice in client and agency work. The book draws on a diverse range of literature and research on families, family work, organisations and organisational change, as well as the relationships between government and non-government organisations.

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