Robert Lee Barker (born 1937) is a psychotherapist, author, editor, and professor of social work. He is most noted as the creator and author of The Social Work Dictionary through its first five editions and has written 20 other textbooks in the fields of family therapy, behavioral dysfunctions, and legal-social issues. He was an early advocate and systematizer for the case management approach to delivering social services, for private practice in social work, and for the emerging field of forensic social work.