Merging Clinical Social Work Practice and Antiracist Positioning; How to be a Clinically Sound, Antiracist Social Work Practitioner

This textbook blends key social work competencies (engagement, assessment, treatment planning, risk assessment, intervention, termination, and evaluation) with an anti-oppressive, antiracist, trauma-informed, clinical approach. It offers information and knowledge on anti-oppressive clinical practice and teaches skills to facilitate effective antiracist service provision.

Each chapter provides basic knowledge, followed by reflective questions and exercises for critical analysis, case examples for practical application, and tools for implementing these skills. Social workers need to understand clinical theory and develop practice skills with clients, families, and communities who have experienced historical trauma, systemic oppression, and multiple intersectional identities. Learning how to increase practitioner self-awareness, engage in strategic action, and improve accountability are the beginnings of an antiracist clinical practice.

Wendy Ashley, Psy.D., LCSW is a Professor and Department Chair of the MSW program at California State University, Northridge. Dr. Ashley has over 29 years of experience and is the author of multiple publications. Her pedagogical expertise centers on conducting and facilitating antiracist, culturally relevant research, practice and training.