Social Work Practice in Mental Health - Essay Example

Social Work By Course Instructor Institution Date Social Work Social work has long been the pinnacle of health and social welfare, including mental health. The social perspective of care, which forms the basis of our training as social workers, has over the years been applied in mental health treatment. However, recent years have seen a declining trend in social work mental health, with an upsurge in medical interventions. The weight of social perspectives in mental health is gradually facing erosion, to the detriment of those relying on our services. Medical perspectives rely on scientific methods of treatment without consideration of the effects of the social environment of mental health patients. Whereas social perspectives are holistic, clinical approaches often are not, with health concerns eclipsing the social aspect of mental health. Social work in mental health does not only focus on the ill individual but also their families and communities at large. Medical perspectives focus on treatment of the individual without involving their social circle of family and friends. Many agree that mental health is more of a social issue hence the need for social approaches to govern individual recovery. This paper reviews literature on the issue of declining influence of social perspectives in mental health, with the aim of identifying distinct roles of social work in mental health. What has come to be known as mental health actually came from research and treatment of mental disorders. Earlier definitions of mental health focused on behavioral and psychological features of individuals rather than on conditions facing the society as a whole (Lloyd et al 2004). In the same breath many of the services, professions, laws and programs dealing with mental health are really geared towards mental disorders. This is how mental health has simply come to be understood as the absence of mental disorder and freedom from any psychiatric symptoms. However, this definition has changed over time. A more recent definition refers to mental health as the ability of individuals, groups and the environment to influence each other in ways that promote optimal development, well being and realization of personal and collective goals aligned with justice, attainment and preservation of fundamental equality. From this definition, it is evident that mental health is not only concerned with an individual, but also the environment and others around him. This brings to view the social context of mental health, whereby anything that hinders the interaction between individuals, groups and the environment is a threat to mental health. Social work recognizes the intricacies of the social context and goes further than the medical perspective to identify and address structural problems and social inequities. A statement of domain from the Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) identifies the scope of the roles of social work in mental health as involving the social context, social justice and social consequences of mental illness. The aim of practice is to enhance recovery, restore the individual, family and community wellbeing and to promote ability of individuals to control their own lives. The level of social context involves the manner in which an individual’s social environment shapes their incidence of mental health problems. It observes the intra and interpersonal aspects of an individual’s functioning and broader social issues of economic wellbeing such as poverty, housing and employment. The social context within which social work operates opines that that human behavior cannot be justified outside social contexts. Therefore mental health social work is interested in both psychological condition of individuals and the quality of their social environment (Lloyd & King 2003). Social work through social justice aims to achieve social improvement of individuals because of their humanity, sociality and personal rights. This came into emphasis through written constitutions of countries worldwide and the adoption of international law and governance (Hepworth 2002). Mental health social workers are concerned with issues such as discrimination and stigma, civil rights and political freedoms, promoting consumer and carer rights to choice in mental health services and participation and promoting access to necessary treatment and support services (Morley 2003). On the point of social consequences, social work is concerned about the effect of mental health problems not only on the individual, but on family and the larger community as well. It deals with issues such as sense of self, economic security and family wellbeing. Social workers focus on mental health and wider health and welfare issues including child protection and domestic violence. Their purpose is to manage risk to both the community and the individual. With the current trend of dominance of mental health by medical perspectives, social workers are experiencing difficulty in ensuring services remain focused on their intended purpose. Their role in mental health of prevention, promotion of wellbeing and service delivery is fast fading with the renewed emphasis on medical approaches. The principles that guide contemporary mental health practice include uniqueness of the individual, real choices, attitudes and rights, dignity and respect, partnership and communication and evaluating recovery. Mental health social workers can draw from these principles to ensure that services include a focus on the social context and consequences of mental illness, and on social justice. On the part of uniqueness, mental health social workers can focus on empowering the individual to be the centre of care. Mental health issues are unique to each individual hence social workers can capitalize on this to ensure that through social justice they are able to acquire the relevant services suited to their needs and that their rights are protected (Healy 2005). Furthermore, mental health social workers can ensure that the risk associated with the individuals are minimized to protect them and those around them. The principle of real choices involves striking a balance between the duty of care and support the individual to take positive risks. In practice, social workers should prioritize the needs of those they are tasked with caring for while encouraging them to embrace their lives and take opportunities head on. This is essential in promoting broader social issues such as employment and economic security. The principle of attitudes and rights can be enhanced through advocacy and promotion of social justice. As mental health social workers we are required to acknowledge the rights of the individual and incorporate their wishes into the treatment program. Dignity and respect can also be upheld through incorporation of notions of social justice. This is whereby social workers do not discriminate their patients, instead aiming for the development of their personal rights by virtue of being human (Byrne 2008). The principle of partnership and communication can be upheld by involving individuals in their recovery. Mental health social workers must acknowledge the fact that individuals know themselves better including what is best for them, hence the need to establish a rapport to enhance better understanding of their needs. Social workers can include focus on social consequences of mental illness by ensuring that their partnership with individuals is aimed at minimizing the risks associated with the specific mental health problem. Mental health social workers can evaluate recovery in ways that centralize social context, justice and consequences of mental illnesses. For instance outcomes can be measured against a range of indicators such as social relationships, housing and employment. A comprehensive social work approach in mental health should be able to integrate clinical and critical perspectives. Clinical social workers have incorporated advocacy into their practice, sometimes emerging as the subject of malignment from their colleagues in the same profession (Bland et al 2009). They have chosen social justice through advocacy as the main focus of their work as social workers (Herbert et al 2008). Although many see this as a deviation from the original focus of social work, recent issues in mental health have called for the reinforcement of social justice. Issues such as reduced bed capacity for psychiatric patients in mental health institutions and incarceration for crimes committed by individuals suffering from mental illnesses have encouraged social workers to advocate for individuals’ rights using the clinical perspective. Hoefer (2006) explains social work advocacy as the component of social practice that involves the social worker taking action in systematic and meaningful ways to represent, defend, or advance the cause of one or more clients at individual, group or community level to promote social justice. Social workers in mental health can also integrate and emphasize on critical perspectives. Mental health social workers can incorporate crisis intervention systems into their work to respond to critical situations caused by individuals seriously affected by mental illness. This is another one of their roles as mental health social workers, their care should be limitless in that they are able to respond to the needs of the individuals at any time. This is critical in managing the consequences arising from mental health problems. This goes to show the multidimensional role that social workers play in mental health (Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2012). The Australian Association of Social Workers is the sole national organization for social workers in the country (Commonwealth of Australia 2009). It has outlined several roles of social workers including provision of services such as counseling, therapy, crisis intervention and advocacy. It also includes standards of practice which every social worker must adhere to. Additionally it has outlined the knowledge and skills required by social workers in the advancement of their goals. It cites the knowledge base of social work as being broad, the base of which includes practice based research, theories of intervention, philosophy and history. Specific knowledge of political science, medicine sociology and psychology is added to this base to create a broader spectrum. There are numerous opportunities within mental health services that can incorporate social workers and focus on social context and consequences of mental illness (Bland & Renouf 2001). Mental health services currently on offer include medication, therapy and crisis intervention. Social context can be incorporated into mental health services through various means such as counseling, support services from the individual’s social environment and advocacy. The centre stage of mental illness should be shifted from medical perspectives to accommodate social perspectives including clinical approaches. All this will lead to fulfillment of individual wellbeing as well as that of those in their social environment. Some of the contemporary mental health issues including budget cuts for mental health programs can be averted through inclusion of social work in the now medically dominated practice. More people are calling for the reinforcement of social work roles in mental health as a means of combating the issues currently facing the health sector (Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2008). There is an increased deficit of workers in the mental health sector, with budget cuts ensuring that most people are laid off work. However, if mental health issues could be made more community or social based, then there would be more chances and cases of recovery among affected individuals. The Australian Association of Social Workers should lobby for more inclusion of its members in mental health services. Research has shown that those individuals subjected to social perspectives of mental health treatment have higher chances of recovery as opposed to those solely reliant on medical approaches (Byrne 2010). The national medical associations should thus ensure inclusion of social work in mental health. The above literature clearly illustrates the role of social work in mental health, including its benefits and impact on individuals, groups and the community of those suffering from mental illnesses. References Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2008, AASW practice standards for mental health social workers, 2nd edn,  Australian Association of Social Workers (AASW) 2012, Social work and mental health position paper Bland, R & Renouf, N 2001, ‘Social work and the mental health team’, Australian Psychiatry, vol. 9, no. 3, pp. 238-241.  Bland, R, Renouf, N & Tullgren, A 2009, Social work practice in mental health an introduction, Allen & Unwin, Crows Nest. Byrne, L 2008, A consumer perspective on stigma, viewed 15 September 2014, Online Moodle Course, Term 2 2013, SOWK13012 Professional practice and mental health, CQUniversity. Byrne, L 2010, Recovery – a consumer perspective on applying recovery concepts, viewed 13 September 2014, Online Moodle Course, Term 2 2013, SOWK13012 Professional practice and mental health, CQUniversity. Commonwealth of Australia 2009, National mental health policy 2008. Healy, K 2005, Social work theories in context: creating frameworks for practice, Palgrave Macmillan, Houndmills. Lloyd, C & King, R 2003, ‘Consumer and carer participation in mental health services’, Australasian Psychiatry, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 180-184. Lloyd, K, King, R & McKenna, K 2004, ‘Generic versus specialist clinical work roles of occupational therapists and social workers in mental health’, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, vol. 38, pp. 119-124. Morley, C 2003, ‘Towards critical social work practice in mental health’, Journal of Progressive Human Services, vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 61-84.  Hepworth, D. H., Rooney, R. H., & Larsen, J. A. (2002). Direct social work practice: Theory and skills (6thed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Herbert, M., & Levin, R. (2008. The advocacy role in hospital social work. Social Work in Health Care, 22(3), 71-83. Hoefer, R. (2006).Advocacy practice for social justice. Chicago: Lyceum Books Inc. Read More