Sociological Practice: Intervention and Social Change

Slightly more than a decade ago, our text, Clinical Sociology: An Agenda For Action, was published by Plenum Academic Publishers. Since that time (1996), the Clinical Sociology Association has changed its name to the Sociological Pr- tice Association and has merged with the Society for Applied Sociology. This new organization and its joint journal became effective in 2005. Therefore, as we began planning a second edition to our text, we decided it would be only app- priate to change its original title to Sociological Practice: Intervention and Social Change. Intervention to bring about beneficial social change is the theme of this new edition of our text. We have attempted to write a "how to do it" type of book for students who are interested in careers in sociological practice. We emphasize the importance of establishing a theoretical foundation for planning an intervention for each client, followed by an extensive assessment, fact-finding, and dialogue with the client in selecting an appropriate intervention(s), establishing an ethical practitioner-client relationship, and a timetable of expectations and financial costs detailed in a written contract. Every intervention also involves an evaluation in order to determine its effectiveness and feedback for improvement with future clients. We emphasize how critical it is for practitioners to be ethical in all of their interactions as these impact referrals and the reputations of both the practitioner and the profession.