Social workers need to recognize the critical role that theory plays both in the way they make sense of what is going on and in the way they order their work. Such recognition clarifies practice for both the worker and the client. David Howe's classic text provides a framework to help social workers develop an understanding of the theories which inescapably underpin their thoughts and actions. This edition contains a new preface by the author, written in 2008, in which he examines the continui