Book review: D. Hardina, Interpersonal Social Work Skills for Community Practice

This book focuses on improving community organizing through interpersonal skills and basic social work concepts, including cultural competency, engagement, dialog, empowerment, and group process. The use of these skills could lead to better engagement with volunteers, better collaboration with diverse local organizations and groups, facilitation of task and coalition groups, and lobbying for legislation. The central thesis of the book is that these skills are essential not only to social work methods but also to community development. The book will be useful to students by referencing the Council of Social Work Education’s Education Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS), the National Association of Social Workers’ Code of Ethics, and the International Federation of Social Workers’ statement of ethical principles.