Working with aggression and resistance in social work / edited by Brian Taylor; series editors: Jonathan Parker and Greta Bradley.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Social workers have roles that require them to engage with clients and families who may be ′reluctant clients′, ambivalent or resistant towards those seeking to help and protect. This includes safeguarding roles in relation to children and vulnerable adults, and work to engage with marginalised groups such as young offenders and those with mental health and substance misuse problems. The text addresses issues in relation to the main client groups, and specific chapters take an overview of issues such as understanding and defusing aggressive behavior and keeping yourself safe from assault.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Editor and Contributors (p. ix)
• Series Editors' Preface (p. xi)
• Acknowledgements (p. xii)
• Introduction (p. xiii)
• Chapter 1 Defining key concepts: Aggression, ambivalence and resistance (p. 1)
• What do the terms anger, aggression, hostility and violence actually mean?
• Chapter 2 Understanding aggression and resistance (p. 14)
• Theories of aggression and resistance: A word of warning
• Theories of aggression related to human biology, instinct and evolution
• Theories of aggression related to how humans respond to stimuli and experience
• Theories of aggression related to how we think and learn
• Chapter 3 Avoiding assault and defusing aggression (p. 35)
• Awareness of danger of assault
• Avoiding harm
• Defusing escalating aggression
• Approaches to defusing aggression
• Legal and ethical aspects of self defence
• Systems for physically managing violence
• In the event of assault
• Coping after an assault
• Chapter 4 Working in situations of domestic violence (p. 51)
• Defining and measuring domestic violence
• Understanding and responding to domestic violence
• Risk issues
• The student's role
• Chapter 5 'I don't want your help': Ambivalence and resistance in adult protection (p. 66)
• A problem of definition
• Welfare versus wishes
• Reasons for victim resistance
• Reasons for carer and perpetrator resistance
• Good practice in dealing with ambivalence and resistance
• Inter-agency partnership
• Working with perpetrators
• Chapter 6 Assessing the risk to children despite parental resistance (p. 79)
• Child protection in context
• Can parents refuse to co operate; what about legal powers?
• Assessing risks to children and uncooperative parents
• Reasons for parental resistance
• Ask the right questions, but get the wrong answers
• Future challenges in assessing risk to children despite parental resistance
• What does research tell us to assist good practice?
• Chapter 7 Working with irrationality and dangerousness in mental health (p. 94)
• Personality characteristics
• Psychiatric diagnosis
• Dangerousness
• Irrationality
• Assessment of risk
• Inquiries
• The skills of working with people with severe mental illness
• Helping family carers
• Chapter 8 Coping, challenge and conflict in groups (p. 102)
• Reconceptualising conflict
• Process in groupwork
• Models of group process
• Conflict arising from the group itself and its members
• Responding to individual and whole group situations
• Consultancy
• Chapter 9 Managing conflict in maintaining standards in social care service provision (p. 114)
• What are quality standards?
• Why are quality standards important?
• Multiple service user systems
• Mental capacity
• Effective communication
• Understanding and managing resistance
• Stages involved in dealing with an allegation or suspicion of abuse
• Conclusion (p. 131)
• Appendix: Subject Benchmark for Social Work (p. 135)
• Glossary (p. 139)
• References (p. 141)
• Index (p. 151)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Brian J Taylor is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Ulster, having previously spent 12 years as a practitioner and manager in social work, residential care, primary school teaching and voluntary youth work. His research and teaching interests are particularly in risk -and decision making and he has published widely in these fields.
Jonathan Parker is Head of Social Work and Learning Disability at Bournemouth University and, with colleagues, has developed the Centre for Social Work and Social Care Research. He is currently vice-chair of the Joint University Council Social Work Education Committee.
Greta Bradley is a senior lecturer in social work at the University of York. Her academic interests are in community care and workforce studies in social work. Her most recent research is on aspects of sustainable practice in social work. She is a former editor of Practice.