It is unfair to criticize a set of principles written at a different time and a different place. However, a reflection with the advantage of 40 years of hindsight gives us an opportunity to examine Harriet Bartlett's working definition of social work practice. It is important to understand the times in which this definition emerged and the context of history and social change that influenced her proposal. There are lessons to be learned for those trying to understand the social work mission in our own current troubled times, in various countries of the world.
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