This is the 2nd practice course in the social work professional foundation sequence. The course starts with a general introduction to the social work profession, covering the nature of social work, definitional issues, philosophical foundations, spirituality and social work practice, history of the profession and the changing conceptualizations of its concerns and knowledge base. It also explores social work practice with individuals and families.This course aims at enabling students to conceptualize the nature, mission, knowledge base, value base and practice methods of the profession. Further, they should be able to identify and to deal with unsettled issues in the conceptualization of social work practice in developing countries and to establish practice theories that are pertinent to the local practice situation.