Working with Families, Third Edition is an accessible and practice-oriented guide that equips students and practitioners alike with the knowledge and tools to support families facing complex and evolving challenges. Through clinical and sociological perspectives and employing a strengths-based approach, this thoroughly updated edition provides a broad overview of factors affecting Canadian families such as diverse family structures, healthy and unhealthy forms of communication, family culture and beliefs, couple dynamics, addiction, and developmental and psychiatric disabilities.
Covering a range of topics, the author draws special attention to 2SLGBTQI+ and military families, the effects of violence and trauma, and professional ethics and self-care. Thorough updates to this third edition reflect contemporary issues such as trauma-informed practice, social media and its impact on families, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Indigenous families, colonialism, and “good enough parenting.”
Utilizing straightforward language, applied focus, and extensive pedagogical supports Working with Families, Third Edition remains an indispensable resource for students and practitioners of social services, child and youth work, family studies and health-related programs, and early childhood education.
Features:
Robust pedagogical features include epigraphs, chapter summaries, reflection questions, classroom resources, classroom activities, and further reading
Instructor resources include PowerPoint slides, an instructor manual, and a test bank of true/false and multiple choice questions
Designed to bridge theory and practice in health and human services settings, the text emphasizes practical strategies students can apply in placements and early career roles
The strengths-based and reflective frameworks centre resilience, family capacity, and relational strengths, while encouraging a reflective practice over deficit-based assessment
Chapter 2 Building on Family Strengths and Promoting Resilience
Chapter 3 Developmental Stages in Families
Chapter 4 Family Communication Styles and Couple Dynamics
Chapter 5 Family Roles, Diversity, and Gender Issues
Chapter 6 Family Scripts, Myths, Beliefs, Secrets, and Legacies
Chapter 7 Family Functioning, Scapegoating, and Attachment Issues
Chapter 8 Couple Relationships
Chapter 9 Families and Disability
Chapter 10 Family Violence
Chapter 11 Addiction and the Family
Chapter 12 Family Assessment
Chapter 13 The Covid 19 Pandemic, Social Isolation, and the Impact of Social Media
Chapter 14 Positive Strategies for Working with Families
Chapter 15 Working with Parents with Complex Needs
Chapter 16 Working with Military Families
Chapter 17 Grieving Families
Chapter 18 Common Pitfalls in Working with Families
Index
Biography
Dr. Patricia Spindel has worked with youth and engaged in systemic advocacy for people with developmental disabilities and their families and older adults for over forty years. She taught at both the University of Guelph-Humber and the Humber College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, where she also coordinated the Social Services Worker Program and was an Associate Dean of Health Sciences. She is a former President of Concerned Friends of Ontario Citizens in Care Facilities, co-founder of the Advocacy Centre for the Elderly, organizer of the Ontario Coalition for Nursing Home Reform, and co-founder of Seniors for Social Action Ontario.
“Dr. Spindel’s third edition of Working with Families offers a timely exploration of the complexity and diversity of modern families, moving beyond traditional definitions. Blending theory with practice, it equips health and human services professionals with strengths-based, trauma-informed approaches. With insightful case examples and a focus on ethical, self-aware reflexive practice, this textbook is a valuable resource for understanding and supporting families in an increasingly complex and divided world with an important underlying message of challenging monolithic held beliefs.”
“Working with Families, Third Edition is an essential learning resource for human service and health professionals supporting diverse Canadian families. It offers clear, comprehensive insight into families in terms of their changing structures, developmental stages, and both healthy and challenging dynamics. The text addresses complex issues impacting families—such as disability, domestic violence, substance use, grief—and provides practical, evidence‑informed strategies to build family resilience. Case studies and reflection questions make the material engaging and immediately useful for students.”
—Dr. Keith Dormond, Instructor, Social Services, Langara College
“Working with Families is an extremely useful guide for professionals. Unlike most resources on families, this book outlines clinical, community, and systemic issues. Dr. Spindel understands the culture and the complexities of the modern family, and she helps the reader to navigate the challenges that families face. This text deserves to be widely used in college and university courses, as well as with ongoing training for professionals that work with families.”
—Dr. John Lord, Founder, Centre for Community Based Research, and Author, Aging and Elder Care: Time for Transformation
Instructor Resources
Instructors adopting Working with Families, Third Edition will receive access to supplementary resources, including PowerPoint chapter slides, a test bank, and an instructor’s manual.
Contact your rep to view a supplement sample or request a download code.
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