Organizational Context and Healthcare Reforms: What Effect on the Professional Distress of Canadian Social Workers and Social Service Provision?

This study examined the lived experience of Canadian clinical social workers in light of the organizational context in which they work. The literature indicates an alarming rise of occupational psychological distress in social workers, which aligns with the rise of the neoliberal ideology within the Canadian healthcare sector. While we know that organizational constraints and structural reforms affect social worker’s workplace well-being, it remains unclear how these changes are represented by front-line practitioners and how they affect the provision of social services in healthcare settings. To deepen our understanding of this issue, we conducted a thematic analysis of thirty semi-directed interviews with social workers currently practicing in three Canadian cities (Ottawa, Moncton and Winnipeg). Discussions of daily work life, responsibilities, autonomy and subjective understandings of the social worker’s role revealed which organizational constraints were the most significant in everyday practice and how they relate to their professional identity and mandate. Provincial healthcare reforms were generally found to have negative effects on clinical social workers, whose struggles for recognition were impaired by the fundamentally neoliberal ideologies behind the large-scale restructuring of service provision, themselves at odds with the humanistic principles of social work. Our findings further suggest that structural changes under the New Public Management frame could be detrimental to both the quality of services provided by clinical social workers and their well-being. Overall, this investigation highlights the importance of organizational improvements in the workplace through systemic changes that would concurrently target managerial expectations, resources allocation, autonomy, work-life balance and respect for professional values.

How much does it cost to become a Licensed Clinical Social Worker?

There is little empirical evidence on the costs and benefits of licensing clinical social workers. Given the financial pressures faced by current students and a renewed national mandate to evaluate occupational licensing laws, it is important for social work to examine licensure in a rigorous manner. The following descriptive study calculated the average cost of attaining clinical licensure in social work for bachelor’s-level clinicians in the field. Using publicly available tuition data from the 250 graduate programs, 51 licensing boards, and anonymous survey data from 86 current social workers, the study provides an estimate of the cost of attaining licensure across 50 states and Washington, DC. Implications for aspiring social workers and social work policymakers are explored.

BEHAVIOR THERAPY PRINCIPLES, RECENT DEVELOPMENTS AND CONTRIBUTIONS

Psychotherapy is the use of psychological methods through regular interactions (counselling sessions) with clients to help them change behaviour and overcome problems with the aim of improving their well being and mental health. Psychotherapists may be psychiatrists, psychologists, clinical social workers or professional counsellors. This paper examines Behaviour Therapy approach which is one form of psychotherapy available for use by practitioners. It outlines the key ideas of behavior therapy, recent developments in the field and contributions in the field of behavior medicine.

The Influence of Clinical Supervision of Therapists in the Therapeutic Alliance Between Patient and Therapist

The therapeutic alliance between patient and Clinical Social Worker/Therapist is directly influenced by clinical supervision that therapists receive. This article will bring awareness to Clinical Supervisors’ abilities to correct and adjust to how they are providing Clinical Supervision or how Clinical Social Workers are receiving supervision.

Clinical social work in Aotearoa New Zealand: Origins, practice, and future implications

INTRODUCTION: Clinical social work is practised with individuals, groups and families in areas concerned with mental health and counselling for people’s wellbeing. As a field of practice, it has been insufficiently researched and often not understood in Aotearoa New Zealand. This article provides an overview of clinical social work in Aotearoa New Zealand.APPROACH: This is a theoretical article that discusses the development of social work, and clinical social work, in this country; attention is paid to professionalisation debates and registration. There is an overview of the social work training landscape and post-qualifying mental health specialisation options, with a brief discussion about the New Entry to Specialist Practice model for social workers. Theoretical underpinnings of clinical social work interventions are canvassed, including systemic models, recovery approaches, strengths-based models, indigenous models, narrative therapy, cognitive behavioural therapy and dialectical behaviour therapy. Four vignettes of clinical social work are presented, before a discussion about the future implications for clinical social work in Aotearoa New Zealand.CONCLUSION: Clinical social workers have a range of knowledge and skills to work with people in mental distress. A challenge is issued to clinical social workers to continue to uphold social work values within multidisciplinary mental health services. The development of a clinical scope of practice in the context of recent mandatory registration for social workers is recommended.

Sharing Psychotherapy Notes with Patients: Therapists’ Attitudes and Experiences

Evidence suggests that the practice of sharing clinicians’ notes with patients via online patient portals may increase patient engagement and improve patient–clinician relationships while requiring little change in providers’ workflow. Authors examined clinical social workers’ experiences and attitudes related to open psychotherapy notes using focus groups and telephone interviews. Twenty-four of 29 eligible therapists agreed to open their notes to patients, and nine participated in this study. Participants were generally positive about their experiences and reported few disruptions to their workload or practice. However, they were hesitant to bring up notes to patients during sessions, and they discussed the benefits of open therapy notes mostly hypothetically. The five therapists who did not share notes worried that open notes would be detrimental to therapeutic relationships, patient well-being, and workflow. However, the concern they discussed most often related to the electronic health record rather than to open notes, because therapy notes are visible to all authorized clinicians as part of the general medical record. Future research is needed to deepen our understanding of the risks and benefits of open psychotherapy notes and to inform development of training programs to support therapists in opening notes.