Building the client's relational base

A multidisciplinary handbook

Developed from nearly 20 years' practice and consulting experience, this ground-breaking text challenges practitioners to understand, and work, with their clients as relational beings rather than independent units, whatever the presenting problem might be. The book focuses on an often neglected key condition, that sustainable and accountable personal relationships are a precondition for health and well-being, and argues that there are always opportunities to deepen the quality, and range, of the client's connections with their current and future significant-others. The central concern of the book is to describe practical actions that can be taken by any professional committed to strengthening the relational base of their clients - an agenda that is supported by coherently woven insights from critical theory and social epidemiology. Written in a compelling style and brought to life with more than twenty case vignettes, this original, practical and rich resource offers practitioners usable resources that can be incorporated within many practice roles. Especially relevant to senior students and those in casework, this innovative, timely, multidisciplinary material is ideal for all those who wish to make a practical difference to the lives of their clients.