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Single Session Social Work in Hospitals

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2012

Jill Gibbons  and
Debbie Plath
Jill Gibbons
Affiliation:
School of Humanities & Social Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia
Debbie Plath*
Affiliation:
School of Humanities & Social Science, The University of Newcastle, Australia
*
Address for correspondence: Dr Debbie Plath, School of Humanities & Social Science, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan NSW 2308, Australia. Email: Debbie.Plath@newcastle.edu.au
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Abstract

This paper reports on three complementary research studies that set out to examine the incidence and nature of single sessions in hospital social work practice. The first study was a data-mining exercise that used statistics recorded by practitioners in nine public hospitals over a 12-month period to establish the extent of single session work, the clinical areas in which it occurred, and the types of issues it covered. This quantitative information was enhanced with the qualitative findings of the two subsequent studies: the first with hospital social workers; and the second with single-session clients. We concluded that single session work has not been sufficiently acknowledged in social work education and literature, and that it needs to become a more legitimate part of social work practice and training. At best, it represents social work at its highest level of skill, requiring expertise in quickly building rapport, assessment, and knowledge about sources of practical aid and information.

Keywords

Social workhealthhospitalssingle session
Type
Articles
Information
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Family Therapy , Volume 33 , Issue 1 , March 2012 , pp. 39 - 53
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2012

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