EP104: Social Work in an Online World

David A. Wilkerson and Liam O’Sullivan are the co-editors of "Social Work in an Online World: A Guide to Digital Practice" (NASW Press, 2023).

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person social work service delivery was dramatically interrupted. The field continues to experience a shift toward modern technology-mediated forms of delivery. "Social Work in an Online World" addresses this shift and charts the changing landscape from analog to digital practice.

David A. Wilkerson, PhD, MSW, is an associate professor and director of the Office of e-Social Work Education and Practice at Indiana University School of Social Work. 

Liam O'Sullivan, MA, NQSW, is CEO of Care Alliance Ireland, an award-winning alliance of more than 95 nonprofit organizations supporting family caregivers in the Republic of Ireland. 


Elisabeth Lamotte

Our host for this episode is NASW member Elisabeth Joy LaMotte, LICSW, founder of the DC Counseling and Psychotherapy Center and author of "Overcoming Your Parents’ Divorce." She serves on the Board of Overseers of her graduate school, the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy and Practice, the Trustees' Council of Penn Women, and the board of NASW’s Private Practice Section Committee.


Posted July 6, 2023

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Related Resources

book cover

Social Work in an Online World: A Guide to Digital Practice

David A. Wilkerson and Liam O’Sullivan, Editors

Social Work in an Online World demonstrates that the shift to hybrid and digital practice is moving forward, largely positively, for social workers and for those they seek to serve. Readers wishing to adopt digital practices will be inspired by this groundbreaking guide to apply these standards in their own practice and applications.

Purchase "Social Work in an Online World" from NASW Press


Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice

NASW, ASWB, CSWE, and CSWA

NASW partnered with ASWB, CSWE, and CSWA to develop a uniform set of technology standards for professional social workers to use as a guide in their practice. The four associations formed the Task Force for Technology Standards in Social Work Practice and jointly developed the Technology Standards in Social Work Practice.

Read the Standards for Technology in Social Work Practice

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