Originally published in 1964, this book studies social work in relation to the evolving role of social workers in the social services and to their training at the time. Dr Younghusband considers past discoveries and setbacks insofar as they bear upon the present position, and she studies the present for the light it casts on the future. Her emphasis is upon the new situation created as knowledge advances and the social services become increasingly aware of personal problems and social disabilities. The contribution of social work to mental health is indeed a continuing theme throughout this book. There are chapters on the juvenile courts; and a section on international aspects in which the philosophy of social work and its contribution to social change are discussed.

At the time of publication the author was Adviser on Social Work Training at the National Institute for Social Work Training, and President of the International Association of Schools for Social Work. She had also been for some twenty-five years chairman of a London Juvenile Court and was chairman of the Working Party on Social Workers in the Local Authority Health and Welfare Services (Ministry of Health). She had been from time to time a Social Affairs Consultant to the United Nations and was a lecturer at the London School of Economics. To social workers, whether active at the time, or in training, she would have needed no introduction and they will have welcomed a book incorporating her immense experience and all the originality and clarity of thought they had learned to expect from her.