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

Boland, Jennifer and Abendstern, Michele and Wilberforce, Mark and Pitts, Rosa and Deactivated, Given Names Deactivated Family Name and Challis, David (2021) Mental health social work in multidisciplinary community teams : An analysis of a national service user survey. The Journal of Social Work, 21 (1). pp. 3-25.

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Abstract

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.

Item Type:
Journal Article
Journal or Publication Title:
The Journal of Social Work
ID Code:
159489
Deposited By:
Deposited On:
15 Sep 2021 14:31
Refereed?:
Yes
Published?:
Published
Last Modified:
28 Nov 2023 11:37