The Nameless Social Worker

Book excerpt: Written by a social worker with decades of experience, this book examines the dismissive attitude of society, and particularly the media, toward social work. The text argues, however, that the profession itself—including the bureaucratic machinery underpinning its service delivery to clients—is mostly to blame for its public portrayal as a network of stodgy, introverted, and sometimes ineffectual do-gooders. This call to action recommends that social workers begin to use the media to improve their public image, rather than continually shying away from controversy and news coverage.