Using the Image Exchange to Enhance Interdisciplinary Team Building in Child Welfare Thomas Packard, D.S.W., Loring Jones, D.S.W., and Kristen Nahrstedt, M.A. ABSTRACT: A team building activity, the image exchange, was helpful to interdisciplinary teams in clarifying perceptions and opinions of participants about the roles of each discipline (child welfare, domestic violence, mental health, and substance abuse workers) at a five-day interdisciplinary training workshop. Discussion of team membersÕ perceptions and views provided opportunities to develop insights about misperceptions. Training in team development and role clarification provided a foundation for the development of eective interdisciplinary collaboration, which may improve interdisciplinary practice. KEY WORDS: Interdisciplinary; Team Building; Image Exchange; Roles; Perceptions. Introduction Interdisciplinary practice has been common in social work for dec- ades, but recently, a new emphasis on collaboration has taken inter- disciplinary practice in new directions (Berg-Weger & Schneider, 1998; Schecter & Edleson, 1994). This paper reports on the use of an interdisciplinary team building activity in a university-based Dr. Packard is an Associate Professor and Dr. Jones is a Professor in the School of Social Work at SDSU. At the time of writing, Ms. Nahrstedt was a Research Assistant in the School of Social Work at SDSU. Address correspondence to Thomas Packard, School of Social Work, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA 92182, USA; e-mail: tpackard@mail.sdsu.edu This project was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth, and Families. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal (Ó 2006) DOI: 10.1007/s10560-005-0035-4 Ó 2006 Springer ScienceþBusiness Media, Inc.