Abstract
In the past decade, the conceptual overlap between the bourgeoning field of neuroscience and social work with individuals, families, and groups has become increasingly evident and salient to treatment and practice. As Egan Combs-Orme, and Neely-Barnes (2011) have noted, advancements in understanding the role of the human brain in behavior and social interactions have considerable impact on the biopsychosocial model of social work practice and research. Neuroscience for Social Work: Current Research and Practice presents both an answer to the call for a social work perspective and an assessment of modern neuroscientific techniques and applications. The book, edited and authored by a cross section of 31 social work scholars, practitioners, and researchers, provides a clear guide to the latest advancements in neuroscience and its practical impact. The 19 chapters of the book are subdivided into four sections that address the common practice intersections of neuroscience development and social work: generalist social work practice, child welfare and education, health and mental health practice, and criminal justice. Chapter 1, which serves as the editors’ introduction, clearly outlines the aims of the book, stating that the book “can help inform the design, development, and expansion of therapeutic interventions, social programs, and policies for working with our most vulnerable populations” (Matto, Strolin-Goltzman, & Ballan, 2013, p. 7).
Chapter 2, authored by Karen E. Gerdes, Elizabeth A. Segal, and Jordan K. Harmon, presents social–cognitive neuroscience approach to empathic behavior responses, using a combination of brain development literature and social work case studies that comport well with existing practice knowledge and scholarship on human behavior and the social environment. The chapter is well organized with subsections that bolster the authors’ person-in-environment approach, integrating the scientific language of brain development with thoughtful meditations on client and practitioner perspectives. Continuing from this initial thread, Rosemary Farmer’s discussion of mirror neurons in Chapter 3 draws interesting parallels between traditional practice wisdom in social work, evolutionary biology, and cutting-edge neuropsychological research. These chapters work together well to promote how social work practice is informed by the overall emotional development of clients.
In a similar vein, the following three chapters in the section move from understanding the complex neurobiological web of emotions and social attachment, to specific techniques and programmatic informed by this scientific knowledge. Chapter 4 lays the foundation for meditative dialogue as a neuropsychological-informed therapeutic process when working with survivors of childhood trauma. Author Susan A. Lord provides a concise review of the scientific literature on mindfulness and meditation in human emotional response to trauma over time and how interventions that are focused on client–practitioner exchange and communication are key ingredients to client empowerment and healing. The chapter has a clear focus on empirically based and ethically informed technique, discussions that provide a great deal of important information for clinicians wishing to expand their therapeutic skills. Chapter 5, by Jose Carbajal and Regina T.P. Aguirre, examines transactional responses with clients diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The chapter clearly delineates the history, prevalence, major sequelae, and neurological components of PTSD, as well as attending specifically to practice and policy implications, ethical implications, and avenues for further research. The chapter is notable for its deft handling of the neurocognitive perspectives toward treatment and use of illustrative case study material and examples. Chapter 6 concludes the book section on generalist social work practice with a description, by Raquel Waley, De’Shay Thomas, and Monica Harris, on a program for positive youth development informed by biopsychosocial model of social work practice. While the program description is thorough and well-conceived in both aims and scope, its linkages with neuroscience development are less fully developed than in previous chapters and, given the program described is only in its planning stages, no results are available to support the biopsychosocial hypotheses and conceptualizations put forward in the chapter.
Child development and welfare are of an area of particular conceptual overlap in both neuroscience and social work policy and practice. The second section begins, in Chapter 7, with a critical evaluation of brain development and child maltreatment by Kya Fawley-King and Emily C. Merz. To do so, the authors provide both an exemplary review of the literature and a multipart case study. The sample study is comprehensively described, and the chapter includes several important sections on the implications for social work policy and practice, illustrating how discrete steps in intervention planning and policy change can support, and, in turn, be supported by the literature on brain development and function. Moving from the general to a specific area of intervention in Chapter 8, Wendy B. Smith illustrates how social workers operating within the foster care system with particular emphasis on age-related milestones and behavioral indicators in and out of the care system. This chapter is of particular import for social work researchers who are interested in providing a continuum of care for individuals transitioning out of the foster care system and provide a wealth of information and data that shore up efforts to advocate for age-appropriate interventions and promote healthy relationships across the life course.
The following three chapters in this section address site-specific interventions in the area of child welfare and education where neuroscience can provide much needed knowledge and understanding to inform policy and practice. Chapter 9, by Haley Woodside-Jiron and colleagues, addresses the development of neuroscience-informed educational practices and policies for youth within the child welfare system, with comprehensive overviews of salient national policies and statewide initiatives in Washington, Connecticut, Florida, and Vermont. Chapter 10, by Cristina Mogro-Wilson, addresses enhancements for learning, differing learning abilities, and a collaborative model assessment and diagnosis, drawing from multidisciplinary tools. Chapter 11, the concluding chapter in the section, by Alexa Smith-Osborne, addresses the topic of violence and aggressive behaviors within the school setting, with supporting research evidence on policy change, moving from legal and administrative solutions to more evidence-based health and mental health interventions.
The third section of the book, focused on health and mental health, contains a wide sampling material on issues of importance to neuropsychology and social work. Holly C. Matto and colleagues examine neurological etiology of substance abuse and addiction in Chapter 12, providing a cross section of theoretical and treatment-based modalities, with salient linkages to attachment theory, cognitive brain development, and neurobiologically informed addiction treatment. Chapter 13, by Eric L. Garland and colleagues, present an overview of six maladaptive brain processes that underlie many emotional and behavioral pathologies encountered in clinical practice: automaticity, attentional bias, memory bias, interpretation bias, suppression, and stress reactivity (p. 238). Nathan Hutto and Julianne Viola address the issue of youth homelessness and toxic stress in Chapter 14, with an added emphasis on positively beneficial outcomes associated with early childhood education programs directed at the target population to encourage adaptations from toxic stress and encourage remediation of its adverse impacts. Chapter 15, by Alexa Smith-Osborne, examines traumatic brain injury (TBI) in returning military veterans and concludes the chapter with a call for more family-based treatment and coordinated interventions to assist with addressing the challenges inherent in ongoing treatment protocols for both PTSD and TBI. The section concludes with Chapter 16, authored by Jill Littrell, on the correlation between in-brain inflammation and major depressive disorder. The chapter elucidates several contributing factors to this new area of interest for researchers and clinicians, including potential ameliorating effects of diet, exercise, sleep, and medication management for depressive clients that point to exciting new practice and research potentials.
The final chapters of the book explore the topic of neurological and biological advances in the criminal justice system. Advancing through the life course, the section begins with Michelle Evans-Chase discussing the neuroscience of risk taking in adolescence in Chapter 17. The chapter provides a wealth of tabular data on prefrontal cortex development and maturation with regard to risk taking and juvenile delinquency as well as implications for intervention, program assessment, and social policy. In Chapter 18, George S. Leibowitz addresses neurological trends in juvenile offenders, along with linkages to trauma exposure, abuse history, and a strong subsection on clinical interventions in juvenile justice settings. The final chapter of the book, concluding the section on criminal justice, is Elizabeth D. Hutchison’s exposition on the utility of neuroscience in addressing adult criminal behavior. In a comprehensive review of the literature, the chapter describes both correspondences between lobe stimuli, neurotransmitters, and genetic predispositions to psychopathy and violent behavior and addresses the need for further research and integration into social work practice within the criminal justice system.
Overall, Neuroscience for Social Work: Current Research and Practice provides a clear overview to a cross section of issues of significant interest to social work researchers, practitioners, and policy advocates. The book contains over 300 recent scholarly journal articles appropriate for an introductory textbook, utilizing both canonical literature from neuroscience, psychology, and social work and new and developing studies. As mentioned, every chapter contains a cogent case study that enhances the applicability of the research findings, and more than 20 tables and figures present relevant data in a clear and concise manner throughout. While the chapters are well written and the case studies useful, a limitation to the text appears in its wide-ranging scope. Any of the sections would, at this stage in the growing field of neuroscience, merit a book-length study itself, and the book’s utility will diminish as the literature grows and expands. Despite this, the editors have achieved their stated aims at providing a clear and useful quick reference, enabling scholars to use the book as a starting point for delving further into the developing research canon.
Neuroscience for Social Work: Current Research and Practice is clear in its intended audience and I would recommend this textbook for researchers already engaged in, or curious about adopting neuroscience-informed programs, projects, and interventions. There is also clear application for use in advanced graduate courses at the doctoral level, and as a necessary tool for researchers interested or engaged in studies with neuropsychological implications, or those seeking to incorporate the theories, methods, and practices described for program development and research publication.