ABSTRACT
For many decades there have been books and articles describing social work ‘methods’. Task-centred social work will usually feature as one of those methods.
A social work practice method has a set of boundaries that define it. First, it is systematic, it has a coherence, it works as an entity. Second, it will have connections to one or more particular bodies of knowledge, perhaps organised into a theory or theories. Third, it will have been tested in social work settings with social work issues. Fourth, it will need to be explicit about its value base, clear about the ethical dimensions connected with its prescriptions. Last, it will need to have an associated technology, telling us how to use it in practice: this cannot just be an exhortation, it does need to provide clear advice (see Box 4.2).
