The Death of a Profession

1972 ◽  
Vol 120 (559) ◽  
pp. 647-649 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. I. Jansen
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Medical Profession ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Hospital Service ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
New Approaches ◽  
Psychiatric Social Work

Psychiatric Social Work as a profession with its tradition, training and culture rooted in the Hospital Service, will in all probability soon cease to exist. It would appear that the imminent decease of this profession is not generally known or understood. This account, an expression of much personal regret, is also an attempt to give a background to the current situation. It pays tribute to the medical profession, without whom the Psychiatric Social Workers would never have acquired their specialization and expertise. It has been in hospitals and other allied settings that the Psychiatric Social Workers have practised their professional skills and had the opportunities to keep abreast of clinical progress and new approaches to mental health, so essential to teaching new generations.

Contemporary Trends in PSW Teaching: Challenges and Opportunity to Expand

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Kamlesh Kumar Sahu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Private Institutions ◽  
Centre Of Excellence ◽  
Part Time ◽  
The Government ◽  
National Mental Health ◽  
Psychiatric Social Work

Psychiatric Social Work teaching has completed seven decades in India which was started with master course in medical and psychiatric social work at Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai in 1948 followed by various schools of social work across the country but unfortunately even after two year full time or part time course they are not counted as a mental health professional; still they need two more years of specialized training in mental health as Master of Philosophy in Psychiatric Social Work (M.Phil. PSW) which was offered in just a few institutions. Recently the Government of India formulated manpower development schemes under the national mental health programme to address the shortage of men power in mental health. Under this scheme, 25 centre of excellence in mental health are already stabilised and various post graduate departments were upgraded and M.Phil. PSW course is started or will be started. This figure is in raise in Government intuitions and few private institutions also. The prominence of social work in mental health is expected to enhance by this effort as highly trained social workers will be available to practice in the mental health field but there are some challenges to overcome to get the maximum outcome from this opportunity to expand.    Keywords:Psychiatric social work, mental health, men power development, India  Â

How to increase the role of social workers in suicide preventive interventions

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (4) ◽  
pp. 186-195
Author(s):  
Joshua Levine ◽  
Leo Sher
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Suicide Prevention ◽  
Suicide Risk ◽  
Preventive Interventions ◽  
Suicide Risk Factors ◽  
Suicidal Patients

AbstractObjective:Suicide is a serious public health issue that affects individuals, families and societies all over the world. International studies provide consistent evidence that the presence of psychiatrists in a region is associated with lesser suicide rates. However, many psychiatric patients including suicidal patients do not have access to psychiatrists. This indicates that mental health and non-mental health social workers need to be involved in suicide prevention efforts. This paper is the first comprehensive work that discusses how to increase the role of social workers in the area of suicide prevention.Methods:A review of the relevant literature.Results:Increasing the role of social workers in suicide prevention efforts may reduce suicide risk in groups and people at elevated risk for suicide, as well as the general population.Conclusion:Recommendations are provided for how the social work profession can improve upon suicide prevention while incorporating universal, selective and indicated suicide preventive interventions. Social work research efforts should focus on how to increase the role of social workers in suicide prevention and the management of suicidal patients. Social work education programmes should modify their curricula and increase their attention on suicide prevention. Mental health social workers need to educate the patient and their family on suicide risk factors. Furthermore, mental health and non-mental health social workers need to educate the general public on suicide risk factors.

scholarly journals Mental health social work in multidisciplinary community teams: An analysis of a national service user survey

2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Boland ◽  
Michele Abendstern ◽  
Mark Wilberforce ◽  
Rosa Pitts ◽  
Jane Hughes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
National Survey ◽  
Secondary Analysis ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Health Staff ◽  
Service Users ◽  
Limited Evidence ◽  
Mental Health Staff

Summary The article addresses the continued lack of clarity about the role of the mental health social worker within community mental health teams for working age adults and particularly the limited evidence regarding this from the perspective of service users. It compares findings from the literature, found to originate from a predominantly professional viewpoint, with secondary analysis of a national survey of service users to assess their views. Findings Three particular aspects of mental health social workers’ role identified in the literature were, to some extent, also located within the national survey and can be summarised as: approaches to practice, nature of involvement, and scope of support. The presence of these features was largely not substantiated by the survey results, with few differences evident between service users’ experiences of mental health social workers compared with other mental health staff. When nurses and social workers were compared, results were either the same for both professions or favoured nurses. The findings point both to the difficulty of articulating the social work contribution and to the limitations of the secondary data. Application The findings are a useful benchmark, highlighting the limited evidence base and the need for further research to improve both the understanding of the mental health social work role and how it is experienced by service users. The profession is keen to emphasise its specific contribution. Research evidence is required to underscore this and to ensure that the role is not subsumed within generic practice.

Managing Risk in the Pro-Empowerment Era of Mental Health Care: A Cross-Cultural Study of Social Work Perspectives in Hong Kong and Sydney

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jialiang Cui ◽  
Limin Mao ◽  
Christy E Newman ◽  
Chi Kin Kwan ◽  
Kari Lancaster
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Risk Management ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Work Practice ◽  
Social Work Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Assessment Guidelines

Abstract Risk management and empowerment have become key features of social work practice. Despite their increasing salience, relatively little is known about the perspectives of mental health social workers regarding how they navigate competing risk management approaches in modern practice that supports empowerment. The socio-cultural influences on risk management have also received insufficient attention in social work research. Focusing on these issues, this paper explored the perspectives of social workers in two geographically and culturally distinctive settings (i.e., Hong Kong and Sydney). Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with frontline social workers and were analysed using thematic analysis. Similar views were expressed by participants in both settings regarding assessment of clients’ readiness for risk-taking. Differences were identified in their practices of negotiating the perspectives of other key stakeholders and can be attributed to the influences of distinctive cultural and socio-political contexts. These insights may contribute to the development of more systematic, localised and practice-based risk assessment guidelines for mental health practitioners working towards the empowerment of clients.

Social Work Profession: History

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul H. Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
World War Ii ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Status ◽  
Outpatient Mental Health ◽  
Service Programs ◽  
The Great Depression ◽  
Social Betterment

The social work profession originated in volunteer efforts to address the social question, the paradox of increasing poverty in an increasingly productive and prosperous economy, in Europe and North America during the late 19th century. By 1900, working for social betterment had become an occupation, and social work achieved professional status by 1930. By 1920, social workers could be found in hospitals and public schools, as well as in child welfare agencies, family agencies, and settlement hoses. During the next decade, social workers focused on the problems of children and families. As a result of efforts to conceptualize social work method, expand social work education programs, and develop a stable funding base for voluntary social service programs, social work achieved professional status by the 1930s. The Great Depression and World War II refocused professional concerns, as the crises of depression and war demanded the attention of social workers. After the war, mental health concerns became important as programs for veterans and the general public emphasized the provision of inpatient and outpatient mental health services. In the 1960s, social workers again confronted the problem of poverty. Since then, the number of social workers has grown even as the profession's influence on social welfare policy has waned.

Social Work in Funeral Homes, a Unique Chinese Practice?

2018 ◽  
Vol 82 (3) ◽  
pp. 488-499
Author(s):  
Yunxian Huang ◽  
Weijia Tan ◽  
A. Ka Tat Tsang
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Funeral Home ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Funeral Homes ◽  
Death Care ◽  
Further Development

Social workers were introduced to funeral homes in China amid the transition and expansion of both the funeral home industry and the social work profession and are proving to play a valuable, though under-researched role in serving not just clients but also communities and funeral home staff. Funeral home social work fills gaps in after-death care and mental health and is distinct from palliative, hospice, end-of-life, and bereavement social work. Based on the experiences of funeral homes that employ social workers, this article argues that this innovation may bring new ideas to bridge some of the service gaps in after-death care in China and globally. This article outlines the support that will be needed from funeral homes, social work service agencies, and educational and research institutes to facilitate further development of funeral home mental health and social services and to promote the professionalization of funeral home social workers in China.

Social Workers in Child Mental Health: Securing a Future

2000 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 102-107
Author(s):  
Philip Messent
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Mental Health Services ◽  
Health Services ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Child Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Mental Health ◽  
Child And Adolescent ◽  
The Uk

A study was conducted to investigate reductions in the numbers of social work posts located within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services in the UK. Results suggested that reductions in posts noted in earlier studies are continuing. Interviewees' ideas about factors contributing to the survival of such posts are summarised. The significance of the loss of posts is discussed, with an account of changing ideas about the role of social workers within CAMHS teams, and of an audit undertaken of one service lacking such a post. Conclusions are drawn concerning ways of ensuring the preservation of such posts.

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