Guides: Social Policy & Practice: Background Resources

Background Resources

Core Reference Titles | Reference Databases | Encyclopedias and Dictionaries | Handbooks | Reference Works for Diagnoses

Core Reference Titles

Social Workers' Desk Reference, 4th ed. by Rapp-McCall, Roberts, & Corcoran
Publication Date: 2022
Short chapters that make up this comprehensive guide to social work practice, covering social worker roles, functions, and fields, on values, ethics, and licensing standards, theoretical foundations and treatment approaches, assessment, and working with specific populations.
Encyclopedia of Social Work
Updated monthly. A collaboration between the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) and Oxford University Press. Over 800 overview articles, on key topics ranging from international issues to ethical standards.
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th ed., Text Revision (DSM-5-TR) by American Psychiatric Association
Publication Date: 2022
Diagnostic classification system that describes the essential features of the full range of mental disorders. The DSM web site includes fulltext for the DSM-5, its training manuals and associated publications, and the earlier editions of the DSM.
Also useful is: American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Psychiatry (7th ed., Amer Psychiatric Publishing, 2019).
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders by American Psychiatric Association
Call Number: RC455.2.C4 D536 2013
ISBN: 0890425574
Publication Date: 2013
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by American Psychological Association
Call Number: Van Pelt Stacks. BF76.7 .P83 2020
ISBN: 9781433832178
Publication Date: 2019

Reference Databases

Oxford Bibliographies : Social Work
Annotated bibliographies (several authored by Penn SP2 faculty) on topics in social work. Topical clusters covered : Field of practice; Foundation knowledge; Methods/Perspectives; Population group; Principles/Ideologies; Social problems; Social sectors/Social processes; Social welfare policies and programs; Social work profession, with links to Penn Libraries holdings. Other relevant Oxford Bibliographies Online subject collections include : African American Studies, Childhood Studies, Criminology, Education, Latino Studies, Psychology, Public Health, Sociology, and Urban Studies.
Sage Knowledge
Social Science platform for searching reference materials within Sage
Social Work Reference Center
Designed for clinical professionals dedicated to improving patient quality of life, this resource offers browsable categories including diseases and conditions, practices and skills, assessment tools, drugs, patient education, practice guidelines, statutes and regulations, current legislation, and continuing education
CQ Researcher
Retrieve reports on contemporary social issues. Each report includes a historical overview and chronology of important legal cases and laws.
Annual Reviews
A fulltext e-journal collection, with all titles starting, "Annual Review of ...". Articles are lengthy literature reviews.

Gale Virtual Reference Library
Gale's ebook delivery platform for reference works

Opposing Viewpoints
Presents a range of resources (news, stats, articles, etc) connected to contemporary and controversial issues

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

International Encyclopedia of the Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2nd ed. by James D. Wright
Publication Date: 2015
"Over 3,900 articles, commissioned by 71 Section Editors, and includes 90,000 bibliographic references as well as comprehensive name and subject indexes. Provides authoritative, foundational, interdisciplinary knowledge across the wide range of behavioral and social sciences fields." -- resource intro

Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology
Dictionary of Social Work and Social Care
The professional counselor's desk reference (2nd ed.)
Online, Springer, 2015.
Provides contemporary insight and practical strategies for working with the complexity of real-life issues related to assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of diverse clients.

A Dictionary of Psychology, 4th ed. by Colman
Publication Date: 2015
"Including more than 11,000 definitions, this authoritative and up-to-date dictionary covers all branches of psychology." -- from resource intro
Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology, 2nd ed. by Cautin & Lilienfeld
Publication Date: 2015
"The Encyclopedia of Clinical Psychology includes well over 500 A-Z entries covering the main topics, key concepts, and influential figures in this field."
The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology, 4th ed.
Publication Date: 2010
Through its four editions starting in 1984, Corsini has been the basic reference work for psychology. Brief articles with short bibliographies are most easily found by browsing the "Articles by Topics" hierarchy. Corsini includes some brief biographies for major figures in psychological research - a handy way to identify major publications or classic experiments.

PEP consolidated psychoanalytic glossary (2016 ed)
Psychoanalytic Electronic Archive, 2016.
A polyglot compilation of terms, definitions, and discussions drawn from several published glossaries.

Handbooks

Handbooks contain concise overview essays on theory, research methods, instruction, or established research.

Handbook of Social Work
Handbook of Social Work Research
Handbook of Practical Program Evaluation. 4th ed.
Handbook of International Social Work
APA Handbooks in Psychology Series
Overviews and in-depth analyses of a variety of sub-fields within psychology. Published by American Psychological Association.
Oxford Handbooks Online
More succinct treatments of specific subjects.
Routledge Handbooks Online (RHO)
Coverage of 23 subject areas including Sociology, Linguistics, Education.
Comprehensive handbook of social work and social welfare
4 volumes. Wiley, 2008.
Vol. 1, The profession of social work.
Vol. 2, Human behavior in the social environment.
Vol. 3, Social work practice.
Vol. 4, The profession of social work.
Oxford Clinical Psychology
Fulltext ebook collection with 300+ titles, with several useful reference series, including:
• ABCT Clinical Practice Series.
• Best Practices in Forensic Mental Health Assessments.
• Oxford Guides to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.
• Programs That Work.
• Treatments That Work.
• Specialty Competencies in Professional Psychology.
The interface offers filtering for specialties, including clinical adult psychology and counseling psychology, for disorders and clinical problems.

Theory and Practice in Clinical Social Work, 2nd ed. by Brandell
Publication Date: 2018
"The most comprehensive anthology of clinical practice in the field of clinical social work."
Routledge Handbook of Social Work Practice Research by Joubert & Webber
Publication Date: 2020
"Provides...the latest thinking in practice research whilst also providing practical advice on how to undertake practice research in the field."

Pocket Guides to Social Work Research Methods
Oxford University Press book/ebook series. Example titles:
• Culturally competent research : using ethnography as a meta-framework.
• Mixed methods research.
• A social justice approach to survey design and analysis

Case Studies in Social Work Practice by LeCroy
Publication Date: 2014
Real-world demonstrations of social work theories and concepts applied in practice.
Routledge Handbook of Social Care Work Around the World by Christensen & Pilling
Publication Date: 2018
"Chapters on long-term care services, particularly for older people and cover key issues and debates, based on research evidence, on social care work in a specific country. They look at perspectives of social care work from the macro level: the structural conditions for long-term care, including demographic challenges and the long-term care policy, the meso level: the level of provider organizations and intermediaries, and the micro level: views of care workers, care users, and unpaid informal carers."
Routledge International Handbook of Social Work Supervision by O'Donoghue & Engelbrecht
Publication Date: 2021
"Provides a comprehensive overview of social work supervision internationally and presents an analytical review of social work supervision theory, practice and research."
APA Handbook of Clinical Psychology
Publication Date: 2016
5 vols. Individual volumes cover "Roots and branches", theory and research, applications and methods, psychopathology and health, education and profession.
Oxford Handbook of Clinical Psychology
Publication Date: 2014
"Comprising chapters from the foremost scholars in clinical psychology, this handbook provides even and authoritative coverage of the research, practice, and policy factors that combine to form today's clinical psychology landscape."
Cambridge Handbook of Research Methods in Clinical Psychology
Publication Date: 2020
"Integrates philosophy of science, data acquisition methods, and statistical modeling techniques to present readers with a forward-thinking perspective on clinical science."
APA Handbook of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy by Wenzel
Publication Date: 2021
2 vols. "This book consists of three main sections. Part I provides a contextual background to understand the roots of CBT, its major theoretical and empirical findings, and current issues in the field. Part II focuses on strategies and techniques that are used across many specific approaches within the family of CBTs...Part III focuses on cognitive behavioral psychotherapy packages."

Reference Works for Diagnoses

Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders [electronic resource] : DSM-5.
DSM-5 is used by health professionals, social workers, and forensic and legal specialists to diagnose and classify mental disorders. The criteria are concise and explicit, intended to facilitate an objective assessment of symptom presentations in a variety of clinical settings- inpatient, outpatient, partial hospital, consultation-liaison, clinical, private practice, and primary care.
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders : DSM-5 (print)
There are non-circulating copies at Van Pelt Library and the Holman Biotech Commons.

PsychiatryOnline
Online access to DSM-IV-TR, as well as American Psychiatric Publishing textbooks, journals, and the DSM archives. Includes:
DSM Library
- DSM-IV-TRB.
- DSM-IV-TRB. Handbook of Differential Diagnosis
- DSM-IV-TRB. Casebook and its Treatment Companion complete DSM archives (I-IV)
American Psychiatric Association Practice Guidelines
Textbooks:
- The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry
- What Your Patients Need to Know About Psychiatric Medications
- Essentials of Clinical Psychopharmacology
- Manual of Clinical Psychopharmacology
- Gabbard's Treatments of Psychiatric Disorders
- The American Psychiatric Publishing Textbook of Substance Abuse Treatment
Journals (current content):
- American Journal of Psychiatry
- Psychiatric Services
- Academic Psychiatry
- Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences
- Psychosomatics
- Psychiatric News

CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Psychiatry, 2e
This book emphasizes the practical features of clinical diagnosis and patient management. This is the chapter on Psychiatry.
Kaplan & Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry (9th edition)
Known as "CTP," this thorough text on all aspects of mental health covers psychotherapies, biological therapies, child psychiatry, geriatric psychiatry, and cognitive disorders.