Strengthened by the use of case studies, the book presents five perspectives on understanding both individual and group oppression: historical, ecological, critical, ethical, and feminist. The second edition places an increased emphasis on "how-to" skills and introduces more material on the narrative and constructivist approach to empowerment. The most innovative addition is a new chapter designed to identify world-wide issues of oppression.

First published in 1994, this book was hailed as a cutting-edge, theory-driven report from the front-line trenches in the battle for social justice. Both clinical and community oriented and written from a global perspective, it presents clients speaking for themselves alongside reports of prominent social work educators. This new edition puts greater emphasis on "how-to" skills in working with people toward their own empowerment and stresses multiculturalism. A new chapter identifies worldwide issues of oppression such as abuse of women and children and neglect of the mentally ill.