Abstract
Social work with individuals coping with chronic illness and disabilities is characterized by wide variation and diversity at both individual and systems levels. Assessment and intervention problems are challenging, and social and institutional contexts are only slowly developing more relevant service systems. Indeed, the problems are so varied that skilled social workers quickly learn the value in using a structured problem-specific assessment and case formulation process and a broad range of intervention approaches and techniques to provide comprehensive, effective care. Even so, the experience of persons with chronic illness and disability includes a number of profoundly important similarities as they