The New Social Worker Vol. 20, No. 3, Summer 2013 | Page 32

Reviews
Neuroscience and Social Work Practice: The Missing Link., by R. L. Farmer. Sage Publications, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA, 2009, 200 pages, $58. Dr. Rosemary Farmer’s book, Neuroscience and Social Work Practice: The Missing Link, comprehensively analyzes a missing link that requires weaving through the professional practice of social work and the burgeoning field of neuroscience. Farmer’s book can be easily read in one sitting. The first chapter provides a tour of the brain, and subsequent chapters are enriched with case vignettes that make clear connections across social work practice and neuroscience findings. Two primary themes are highlighted in Farmer’s book. First, she presents selected neuroscience research findings in areas critical to social work and other human service professions. Farmer specifies why this knowledge is important for practicing clinicians and indicates how these findings can influence the development of neuroscience. Second, she applies a transactional model as the conceptual framework for incorporating neuroscientific knowledge into clinical practice. Readers will learn how the brain works and why such knowledge is relevant to social work practice. The transactional model is undergirded by the bio-psychosocial-spiritual perspective. Throughout each chapter, case vignettes help readers apply presented theories to practice models. Social work links to neuroscience because social workers must consider issues of attachment, bonding, trauma, psychotherapy, and psychotropic medications when assessing and counseling clients. Ample literature has been culled by Farmer, and her book cites four primary domains (biological, psychological, social, and spiritual) as being relevant to all human beings. The biological domain encompasses genetic processes, the brain and spinal cord, and endocrinology. The psychological domain involves cognition, emotion, motivation, intra-psychic, cognitive processes, defense mechanisms, and coping strategies. The social domain centers on interpersonal and family relationships, societal processes, and political/ cultural issues and events. The spiritual domain involves beliefs, behaviors, and patterns that are used to understand life’s

meaning, purpose, and the person’s connection to others and the world. Essentially, Farmer challenges social workers to ac