Clinical Social Work Practice with Males

Abstract

Social work practice focuses specifically on males or females is a more limited area of scholarship when compared to those focused on general models of practice within social work. The majority of practice texts and journals do not differentiate gender when presenting a theory or method of practice. Males are similarly less of a focus than women and other specified groups other than gender. Overall, males are less likely to be a focus of social work practice literature than in other disciplines such as psychology and counseling. Many of the approaches to working with males, in particular early writings, address issues of masculinity as a necessary step in working with males. Social work practice with males can be examined from a policy, population, community or individual perspective, and while all of these areas of practice are important, this article is limited to references addressing clinical practice with individuals and small groups. To that end, while the primary focus is clinical social work practice, references are included from psychology, psychotherapy, and counseling. These references are important, as significant crossover scholarship and research from parallel fields adds to the literature base of social work practice with males. While this article focuses primarily on practice with adult males, a section and selected references addressing practice with male youth and children is included.