More Than a Thousand Words

Graphics for Clinical Practice

Clinical social workers constitute nearly two-thirds of the membership of the National Association of Social Workers (NASW). NASW speaks with authority for social work and for social work clients because we represent the power of 145,000 individual social work members. Whether we are advocating Medicare reimbursement for clinical social workers, calling for health care reform, or developing welfare reform, NASW's policy initiatives benefit all practitioners, regardless of their specialty.

For busy practitioners, NASW can provide the connections to the values and concerns about social issues that most likely prompted them to choose social work as a profession. NASW carries out the advocacy they may not have the time to do, and their numbers ensure that NASW has the clout to be successful whether we are working for social reform or bread and butter issues that affect practitioners in their daily work.

NASW is also committed to providing tools to help our members accomplish their jobs more effectively. Legal regulation is one tool. Credentials, such as the NASW Diplomate in Clinical Social Work, are another. Thousands of social workers and other professionals now use NASW practice standards and clinical indicators, and the NASW Press books provide an important resource for practitioners.

Mark Mattaini's More Than a Thousand Words: Graphics for Clinical Practice is the newest resource for clinicians. From Hartman's (1978) development of the ecomap and genograms to Mattaini's (1993) visual ecoscan, social workers have found that using pictures helps clients understand their relationships and situations much more readily and more clearly than using only words. Because pictures enable us to organize complex data and communicate it unambiguously, we make progress more rapidly.

In this book, Mattaini presents different graphic techniques that may be used in various situations. Some techniques are particularly useful for interacting with clients, whereas others work best for monitoring practice, evaluating progress, or conducting practice research. As Mattaini demonstrates, graphics are useful in social planning and community organization. The practitioner who would not benefit from using graphics is rare indeed.

Until recently, the extensive use of graphics was available only to those who had some artistic skills or who could employ those with artistic skills. Now computers open up the use of graphics to all of us. The software that Mattaini developed to accompany this book, Visual EcoScan for Clinical Practice, allows the busy practitioner to conduct a rapid assessment that is immediately available to share with the client. Instead of spending 15 minutes or more drawing each ecomap, the clinician can complete a basic scan in less than three minutes. Furthermore, the clinician and client can watch the changes in crucial dimensions over time.

More Than a Thousand Words offers many innovative techniques that clinical social workers can use immediately in their work. We are very pleased to offer the book and software as the latest resources from the NASW Press.

Sheldon R. Goldstein, ACSW, LISW
Executive Director, NASW

References

Hartman, A. (1978). Diagrammatic assessment of family relationships. Social Casework, 59, 465-476.

Mattaini, M. A. (1993). Visual EcoScan for clinical practice. Washington, DC: NASW Press.