Chapter 1: Communication skills: don't they just come naturally?Chapter 2: What do we know about effective communication?Chapter 3: The human face of social work: understanding emotion and non-verbal communicationChapter 4: Getting startedChapter 5: Making progress and managing endingsChapter 6: Communicating with familiesChapter 7: Communicating with childrenChapter 8: Working with people with additional communication needs: communicative minoritiesChapter 9: Working with groupsChapter 10: Working with involuntary clientsChapter 11: Safety and risk: working with hostility and deceptionChapter 12: The demands and rewards of interpersonal work

This book offers students a solid grounding in the core knowledge and skills of communication needed for effective practice. It takes the key theories and explains them in a systematic and practice-related way, to help undergraduate and postgraduate students develop a critical understanding of the subject. Communication and interpersonal skills are an essential part of practice. Taking a skills-based approach, this book looks at research, theories, approaches and processes, demonstrating how they relate directly to practice. It will help you to understand the benefits that good communication skills can bring to your work with children and families, adults, groups, and those with communication difficulties.