Policy Press

Ian Cummins

Ian Cummins is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Salford University. He qualified as a probation officer and subsequently worked as a mental health social worker. His research interests including the history of community care and mental health issues in the CJS. His most recent work has focused on poverty, inequality and advanced marginality.
Showing 1-6 of 6 items.

Poverty, Inequality and Social Work

The Impact of Neo-Liberalism and Austerity Politics on Welfare Provision

A critical analysis of the domino effect of neoliberalism and austerity on social work. Applying theory including those of Bourdieu and Wacquant to practice, it argues that social work should return to a focus on relational and community approaches.

Policy Press

Mental Health Social Work Reimagined

This much-needed book calls for a return to mental health social work that has personal relationships and an emotional connection between workers and those experiencing distress at its core.

Policy Press

Social Work and Society

Political and Ideological Perspectives

This valuable book provides a comprehensive introduction to politics in social work, unifying the themes of political ideology and social construction across several areas of social work practice, including emerging areas of practice.

Policy Press

Mental Health Services and Community Care

A Critical History

This inter-disciplinary study considers the past, present and future of mental health services and community care. From the origins of provision as we know it in the 1960s, it sets out the political, economic and bureaucratic factors behind recent crises and considers what the founding principles of community care tell us about the way forward.

Policy Press

Welfare and Punishment

From Thatcherism to Austerity

From Margaret Thatcher’s first government to austerity politics, Ian Cummins traces changing attitudes to imprisonment and the social state. With fresh insights and critical thinking, he demonstrates how increasingly punitive approaches to crime and welfare have shaped the neoliberal economy and created stigma around those living in poverty.

Bristol Uni Press

Challenges in Mental Health and Policing

Key Themes and Perspectives

Police officers deal with mental illness-related incidents on an almost daily basis. Ian Cummins explores the policy failures that have led to this situation, and considers how the individuals in police officers’ care should be supported by community mental health agencies.

Policy Press