Evidence-Based Practice Process in Social Work: Critical Thinking for Clinical Practice

"As a social worker, what would you do? How would you begin to address the issues of concern in this case? What questions would you ask and how would you ask said questions in a way that evokes clients' "true" feelings and experiences? What information would you want to gather from them? What would your assessment entail? How do you rely upon assessment data to search for the best available evidence to find interventions to address issues of concern? What if more than one evidence-informed intervention would "work". What if there are no interventions that address need, effective and culturally applicable? What else should I do to inform intervention and case planning? What if I don't have the capacity or training to implement evidence-informed interventions to mitigate risk factors for this case and other cases I am assigned to? What if I am unable to implement the intervention to fidelity? How do I ensure what I am doing will meet client goals and address their issues of concern? How do I grapple with simultaneously assessing client values or preference, best available evidence, and my own judgement and biases? These are just some of the questions that even the most seasoned social workers struggle to address"--