School social work is a challenging field, and a social worker just starting out may find she has more questions than answers. Even seasoned social workers can come up against challenges they’ve never faced before. When Alison Varianides started out as a school social worker, she set out to research how she could best handle the difficult issues that were arising in her job. Unfortunately, she did not find very much material written on the subject. So she set about creating policies and assessment checklists for common situations that school social workers face. The result is her book The School Social Work Toolkit: Hands-On Counseling Activities and Workshops.
The School Social Work Toolkit is a “how-to” resource for social workers, counselors, and mental health professionals in education. This book encompasses the direct practice part of the school social worker’s job as well as the administrative and policy-driven aspects, such as child abuse reporting, disciplinary interventions, training, and dealing with teachers and parents. The workbook is divided into seven main sections: –
- Defining Your Role as a Social Worker
- Individual Counseling Activities
- Group Implementation and Counseling Activities
- Workshops and School Programs
- Communicating with Teachers and Professional Development
- Communicating with Parents
- Crisis Intervention—Protocols and Assessments
The toolkit provides hands-on activities and workshops about various social work topics. In addition, the book contains a multitude of invaluable, modifiable sample forms and policy drafts for the school social worker—especially one who acts in an administrator role.
“I wrote this book for the new social worker entering the schools for the first time and for the seasoned social worker who could benefit from new activities and workshops for their practice,” writes Varianides. “I had received a top-notch education from one of the best social work schools in the country, but I still found myself in a world of unknowns as a social worker entering the schools. Now I want to share what I have created with you!”
The first of its kind, The School Social Work Toolkit contains real-life examples of how to talk to teachers and parents about students facing a variety of common struggles that are, nevertheless, frequently difficult to discuss and how to conduct student and teacher trainings. It also serves as a step-by-step guide to dealing with suicidal and homicidal clients This title will help both new school social workers and those with many years of experience define their roles as school social workers and hone their clinical skills.
