Social work often looks after people who are difficult to reach and who are often in precarious situations. Contact with these people is not easy. Together with Prof. Dr. Claudia Luzar from the Catholic University of Applied Sciences Freiburg, Prof. Dr. Dierk Borstel, lecturer at the Faculty of Applied Social Studies at Fachhochschule Dortmund, has published a textbook with practical tips and approaches.
The book "Meeting Special Groups - How Approaches in Social Work Practice Can Succeed" (Beltz-Verlag 2023, ISBN 978-3-7799-6509-1) is aimed not only at students at the two universities, but also at professionals working in the field of social work. "In practice, access to diverse target groups is often associated with hurdles that even experienced professionals fail to overcome," says Prof. Borstel. There is often no patent remedy or formal training for this. "But there are many experiences, trials and theoretical and practical reflections. That's what this book is about, which is based on practical experience. We want to use it to provide impetus and ideas," emphasizes the researcher.
Focus on making contact
On a total of 154 pages, hardly any topic of social work is left out: school, migration, extremism, violence and the penal system, prostitution and homelessness. The book shows ways in which access to such groups of people can be successful despite all the difficulties. The focus is on questions of establishing contact, communication and creating relationships of trust as the basis of professional social work practices, according to the introduction.
The selection of topics is also based on many years of experience in teaching. In addition to practical examples from Germany, authors from other countries also have their say in the book. "We want to bring the idea of the internationalization of social work to life," says Professor Borstel.
The first edition of "Meeting Special Groups" was published in August 2023.
