Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons - Paperback

by Shelley Cohen Konrad (Editor), Michal Sela-Amit (Editor)

Social Work and the Arts: Expanding Horizons is a collection of writings that explores how expressive methods are used in social work education, practice, research, and community action. Edited by Shelley Cohen Konrad and Michal Sela-Amit, the book aims to answer the question: What do the arts offer social work education, research, and practice?

This query is woven throughout the four sections of the book: first, on the various ways the arts are used in social work education; second, an examination of art-based social work research; third, a compilation of narratives by social workers who are artists in their own right; and finally, the future of the social work profession and its relationship to the arts.

Written by authors from diverse backgrounds, each with a unique perspective on the benefits of the arts in their respective areas of expertise, Social Work and the Arts is a must-read for anyone interested in the arts and social work and for those who are just beginning to explore its relevance in the field.

Author Biography

Shelley Cohen Konrad, PhD, LCSW, FNAP is the Director of the Center for Excellence in Collaborative Education and a social work professor at the University of New England. She graduated from Boston University, received an MSW and PhD from Simmons University, and is a Distinguished Scholar and Fellow in the National Academies of Practice and the Social Work Academy. She is a prolific writer and editor. Her book Child and Family Practice: A Relational Perspective, first and second editions, is used in classrooms around the country. She lives on the coast of Maine.

Michal Sela-Amit, PhD, is a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work in Los Angeles. She received BA and MA degrees in social work summa cum laude from the University of Haifa, Israel, and a PhD from the University of Southern California. She specializes in working with children, youth, and families, and teaches advanced practice courses in the Master of Social Work program at the University of Southern California. She lives in Los Angeles, California.