Students' Perception of a Difficult Case in Psychotherapy

1997 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 67-75
Author(s):  
Sylvia A. Linares ◽  
Freddy A. Paniagua ◽  
Michael O'Boyle
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Graduate Students ◽  
Difficult Case ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Mental Health Practice ◽  
Present Sample ◽  
Definition Of

Paniagua, et al. suggested that the definition of a “difficult” case in psychotherapy implies a relational definition involving the characteristics of the patient, the case, and the therapist. This study concerned this hypothesis with 44 graduate students in social work who received the Difficult Case Questionnaire representing examples of variables across each domain, e.g., motivation of the client, nature of the disorder, generic factors, and orientation of the therapist. The results were compared with the 1993 findings reported by Paniagua, et al., for a group of professionals in mental health practice. As in the earlier study, the present sample also agreed that, although all such domains are important in the formulation of that definition, their importance is not equal. Whereas professionals rated patient's, case's, and therapist's characteristics as the most important order of domains in that definition, students in this study agreed on the order of therapist's, patient's, and case's characteristics.

scholarly journals What Does Collaborative Practice Mean Within Mental Health Care?: A Qualitative Study Exploring Understandings and Proposing a Definition.

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Margaret Jones ◽  
Toni Delany
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pilot Study ◽  
Mental Health Professionals ◽  
Assessment Tool ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Collaborative Practice ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Mental Health Practice ◽  
Definition Of

Background: Despite frequent appearances in service documents, the concept ofcollaborative practice is ill defined in mental health practice. The purposes of this pilot study were to gain insight into professionals’ conceptual and practical understandings of collaborative mental health practice (CMHP), to use these insights to develop a proposed definition, and to inform the development of a collaborative practice assessment tool.Methods and findings: This pilot study involved semi-structured interviews with four mental health professionals who have knowledge of a service model that endorses collaborative practice as a service principle. Thematic analysis of interview data revealed the importance of contextualized collaborative practice, a shared belief in the importance of equalized communication with clients, and concerns about the impacts of structural disincentives on collaborative practice. Using Habermas’ theory of communicative action, the findings were applied to develop a proposed definition of CMHP. The main limitations of the study relate to small sample size; however, efforts have been expended to ensure rich data were collected from all participants.Conclusion: These findings illustrate the importance of context-sensitive team formation and shared philosophical understandings regarding collaborative practice, which both provide a foundation for CMHP to improve client outcomes. Further research is required to build upon the proposed definition of CMHP, as well as the assessment tool that is suggested within the article.

Interprofessional dynamics that promote client empowerment in mental health practice: A social work perspective

2021 ◽  
pp. 146801732110097
Author(s):  
Jialiang Cui ◽  
Christy E Newman ◽  
Kari Lancaster ◽  
Limin Mao
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Cultural Influences ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Interprofessional Practice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Mental Health Practice ◽  
Mental Health Reforms

Summary Interprofessional practice has been broadly endorsed as a strategy which supports the delivery of high-quality health services. Few studies have addressed the dynamics inherent to interprofessional mental health practice in an era in which client empowerment is prioritised and valued. Social work perspectives are also underexplored in the studies which have been published on interprofessional health care, despite the increasingly important role of this discipline in community mental health contexts. Through a thematic analysis of 26 semi-structured interviews, this study explored the perspectives of mental health social workers located in two geographically and culturally distinctive sites (Hong Kong and Sydney), and identified a strong theme encompassing their concerns about the facilitation of client empowerment in interprofessional settings. Findings Participant accounts direct attention to the strategies required to co-constitute the shared territories of the different mental health professions. Findings also highlight the frustration with recent mental health reforms which aim to challenge power differentials in interprofessional decision-making. Strategies were proposed for supporting the construction of shared language among different professions, revealing the creativity and insight of practitioners in managing the conflicts arising from interactions between different professional knowledge systems. The comparison of Hong Kong and Sydney accounts highlights the importance of structural, political and cultural influences in supporting not only interprofessional collaboration but also the independence and effectiveness of distinct professional roles. Application This article provides unique insights which aim to strengthen the contribution of social work to interprofessional practice in the promotion of empowerment-oriented interprofessional practice and education.

Critical Clinical Social Work and the Neoliberal Constraints on Social Justice in Mental Health

2021 ◽  
pp. 104973152098453
Author(s):  
Catrina Brown
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Social Work ◽  
Social Workers ◽  
Professional Education ◽  
Clinical Social Work ◽  
Clinical Approach ◽  
Health Practice ◽  
Mental Health Practice ◽  
The Individual

Despite a strong history of social justice–based social work professional education in Canada, there has not been an intentional integration of direct critical clinical mental health practice with social justice–based theory. Progressive social work has tended to view clinical work as focusing on the individual and failing to contribute to social change. In this article, I elaborate upon a critical clinical social work approach influenced by postmodern critique, and feminist-, narrative-, and collaborative-based practice rooted in critical theory. Critical clinical practice disrupts the individual/social binary through counterviewing unhelpful dominant social discourses and producing counterstories that participate in social resistance. I explore the constraints of neoliberalism on social work mental health practice and its influence on the ability of social workers to practice social justice–based social work. Neoliberalism constrains social workers’ ability to address the social and structural determinants of mental health through its focus on economic rationalization, biomedicalization, and individual responsibilization, alongside rationalized practices that emphasize evidence-based and short-term efficiency-based models. I argue that social work is facing a crisis as a disempowered profession, as it attempts to reconcile its commitment to social justice and the importance of addressing inequity, marginalization, and oppression while often working in settings that demand the subordination of social work knowledge to neoliberal biomedicalism. Under these conditions, a critical clinical approach to mental health practice is needed now more than ever.

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