Practice Evaluation Strategies Among Clinical Social Workers

Abstract

Objectives: Practice evaluation strategies range in style from the formal-analytic tools of single-subject designs, rapid assessment instruments, algorithmic steps in evidence-based practice, and computer software applications, to the informal-interactive tools of clinical supervision, consultation with colleagues, use of client feedback, and clinical experience. The purpose of this study was to provide practice researchers in social work with a more complete understanding of how and why social workers evaluate their practice the way they do. Methods: Questions about practice evaluation strategies were posed to 12 licensed clinical social workers in a 3-hour focus group. Findings: Drawing on advances in the cognitive and social neurosciences, the study identified among clinical social workers an informal-interactive tool preference that displays itself as a cognitively necessary, sufficient, and stand-alone preference that required neither the supplementation nor balance of formal-analytic tools. Conclusions: New directions in social work practice research are required and delineated.