This paper reports on three complementary research studies that set out to examine the incidence and nature of single sessions in hospital social work practice. The first study was a data-mining exercise that used statistics recorded by practitioners in nine public hospitals over a 12-month period to establish the extent of single session work, the clinical areas in which it occurred, and the types of issues it covered. This quantitative information was enhanced with the qualitative findings of the two subsequent studies: the first with hospital social workers; and the second with single-session clients. We concluded that single session work has not been sufficiently acknowledged in social work education and literature, and that it needs to become a more legitimate part of social work practice and training. At best, it represents social work at its highest level of skill, requiring expertise in quickly building rapport, assessment, and knowledge about sources of practical aid and information.
