Theory and Practice: An Integrative Model Linking Class and Field

Social work has evolved over the years taking on the challenges of the times. The profession now espouses a breadth of theoretical approaches and treatment modalities. We have developed a model to help graduate social work students master the skill of integrating theory and social work practice. The Integrative Model has five components: (l) The practice class as laboratory; (2) the integrative journal; (3) clinical supervision; (4) the clinical agenda, and (5) faculty field advisement. In this paper, each component of the integrative model is discussed and illustrated with a case example from a students' work. A discussion on implementation and evaluation of the model is also included.