Social Work in Rural Australia

Social work practice in a country town or small remote community several hours'' drive from the nearest centre is very different from practice in the city. Social Work in Rural Australia offers an introduction to the challenges and rewards of professional practice in rural and remote areas. The authors explore the practical implications for social workers in non-urban regions, including teamwork with professionals from other fields, working with various sub-groups in communities and across distance with other social work colleagues, the diversity of rural livelihoods and lifestyles, and increasingly pressing environmental issues. Social work theories and case studies demonstrate how enabling practice can promote clients'' and communities'' ability to deal with some of the challenges of housing, youth unemployment, child protection, ageing, mental health, disability and the obstacles faced by Indigenous, migrant and refugee populations, in specific geographical