Full Description
Critical thinking values, skills, and knowledge are integral to evidence-based practice in the helping professions. Inflated claims of knowledge, both in the media as well as in the peer-reviewed literature, show critical thinking to be ever more important to decrease the influence of marketing in the guise of scholarship. Practitioners must be able and willing to think critically about decisions that affect clients lives. This requires minimizing the influence ofcognitive and affective biases, such as hindsight bias, and avoiding misleading framing of problems that may harm clients but contribute to the profit of involved industries (e.g. ignoring environmental sources of distress and focusing on client characteristics). This book continues to focus onengaging students as active participants in exercises designed to hone their critical thinking skills, drawing on related research and theory in a variety of related areas, including judgement and decision making. Exercises are included to help students enhance their skills in the process of evidence-based practice, including posing clear, relevant questions and locating and critically appraising related research. This fourth edition of Critical Thinking for Helping Professionals isfor students of helping professions including social work, nursing, counseling, and psychology. Decision-making skills guided by an ethical compass are vital in all helping professions.
Contents
PART 1Exercise 1 Making Decisions About Intervention Exercise 2 Reviewing Your Beliefs About Knowledge Exercise 3 Controversy: Invaluable for Problem Solving and LearningExercise 4 Critical Thinking and AdvocacyExercise 5 Critically Appraising Human-Services Advertisements Exercise 6 Does Scaring Youth Help Them "Go Straight"? Exercise 7 Detecting Misleading Problem FramingExercise 8 Following the MoneyExercise 9 The Language of PropagandaDECISION MAKING Exercise 10 Using the Professional Thinking FormExercise 11 Reasoning-in-Practice Game A: Common Practice Fallacies and Biases Exercise 12 Reasoning-in- Practice Game B: Group and Interpersonal Dynamics Exercise 13 Reasoning-in-Practice Game C: More Cognitive and Affective Biases Exercise 14 Preparing Fallacy/Bias Festival Exercise 15 Fallacy Spotting in Professional Contexts Exercise 16 Avoiding Group Think PART 4: EVIDENCE-INFORMED DECISION MAKINGExercise 17 Applying the Steps in Evidence-Based Practice Exercise 18 Working in Interdisciplinary Evidence-Informed Teams Exercise 19 Preparing Critically Appraised Topics Exercise 20 Involving Clients as Informed Participants Exercise 21 Asking Hard Questions: Enhancing Assertive SkillsExercise 22 Evaluating Service OutcomesExercise 23 Reviewing Your Expertise.Exercise 24 Evaluating Effectiveness Studies: How Good Is the Evidence?Exercise 25 Critically Appraising Research Reviews and Practice GuidelinesExercise 26 Critically Appraising Self-Report Measures Exercise 27 Estimating Risk and Making Predictions Exercise 28 Critically Appraising Diagnostic Tests Exercise 29 Evaluating Research Regarding CausesPART 6: REVIEWING DECISIONSExercise 30 Critically Appraising ArgumentsExercise 31 Critical Thinking as a Guide to Making Ethical DecisionsExercise 32 Reviewing Intervention PlansPART 7: IMPROVING EDUCATIONAL AND PRACTICE ENVIRONMENTSExercise 33 Encouraging a Culture of ThoughtfulnessExercise 34 Evaluating the Teaching of Critical Thinking Skills Exercise 35 Forming a Journal Club Exercise 36 Encouraging Continued Self-Development Regarding the Process of Evidence-Informed Practice and PolicyExercise 37 Increasing Self-Awareness of Personal Obstacles to Critical Thinking. References Index
