Constructing Clienthood in Social Work and Human Services

This text evolved from a 1997 conference organized by the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, in Tampere, Finland, and two subsequent seminars held in 2001 in Tampere and Huddersfield, UK. Nineteen academics, researchers, and practitioners from Europe, Australia, and the U.S. contribute 14 chapters on clienthood construction in different human service contexts. Coverage includes the creation and re-creation of client identities in interview situations and other institutional practices; institutional dialogue in worker-client and professional-professional talk; the formation of professional or organizational frameworks, ideologies and conceptualization in social work practices; and the implications of such constructions. Distributed by Taylor & Francis. Annotation (c) Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Christopher Hall is Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies, University of Huddersfield. Kirsi Juhila is Professor of Social Work at the University of Tampere, Finland. Nigel Parton is a Professor in Child Care and Director of the Centre for Applied Childhood Studies, University of Huddersfield, and visiting professor at the University of Tampere. Tarja Poso is Professor of Social Work at the Department of Social Policy and Social Work, University of Tampere.All the authors have experience in social work practice and teaching and have published widely in the areas of social work, social policy, and social constructionist and discourse approaches to social work.