ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the potential of social work with older people, not only in terms of how social work can assist people when they are confronting difficulties, but also with regard to how it can facilitate a holistic response to people's needs and build on their strengths. It describes some key practice roles in which social workers engage when working with older people. The chapter outlines the importance of practitioners being attuned to ageing experiences across the life course, and the particular challenges and strengths of people identified as the 'young old' and the 'old old'. The older people with whom social workers are in contact have had diverse life journeys. Many have faced significant challenges over their lifetimes, both structural and personal, and to varying degrees have resolved them or continue to carry aspects of those issues into their later life experiences.
