ROLES OF A MEDICAL/PSYCHIATRIC SOCIAL WORKER IN A PSYCHIATRIC SETTING WITH A CLIENT IN COLLABORATION WITH OTHER PROFESSIONALS IN THE PSYCHIATRIC SETTING.

Introduction

Social work is a regulated profession in which social workers are uniquely educated and qualified to support individuals and families in meeting some of life’s biggest challenges. Social workers play a pivotal and often leading role in safeguarding people’s rights, building relationships to support and empower children, adults and families to make important choices about the direction of their lives.

Mental health professionals

A mental health professional is a health care practitioner or community services provider who offers services for the purpose of improving an individual's mental health or to treat mental illness.

These includes:

• Psychiatrist
• Clinical psychologist
• Mental health nurse
• Psychiatric social worker
• Pharmacist
• Occupational therapist
• Vocational specialist
• Arts therapist
• Counsellor

- Psychiatrist are qualified medical doctors who have decided to specialise in psychiatry and have gone on to complete specialist training and can prescribe medication. they work in hospitals, specialist outpatient clinics and in community-based teams supporting people with mental health problems.

-Clinical psychologist: People sometimes get confused between a psychiatrist and a psychologist. A psychiatrist is a qualified medical doctor, while a psychologist is not (and cannot therefore prescribe medication). Psychologists study the mind and behaviour of people, and clinical psychologists offer psychological ('talking') therapies – like cognitive behaviour therapy or family therapy – to help reduce people’s distress.

-Mental health nurses have had special training that means they can prescribe medication. some undertake training to be able to offer talking therapies such as cognitive behaviour therapy.

-Psychiatric social workers support people with mental health problems and their families. Mental health social workers can help with practical issues such as benefits, social care, housing and respite care. Mental health social workers may also assess the needs of family members of someone who has a serious mental health problem and offer them support to help them in their caring role.

-Pharmacists are experts in medicines and work alongside specialist mental health professionals in psychiatric hospitals and outpatient clinics.

-Occupational therapists offer support to people with mental health problems to get on with their daily lives, helping them live independently and safely. They help people feel more self-confident and can support employment, social and leisure activities. Occupational therapists have an important role in the process of recovery, helping people to learn skills that mean they can look after themselves.

-Vocational specialist/practitioners work within community-based mental health teams, helping people return to employment or keep their jobs. They are often based in early intervention teams when people are experiencing symptoms that could potentially lead to a first episode of psychosis and may be particularly worried about losing their job.

-Support, time and recovery worker: Some community-based mental health teams include a support, time and recovery worker (STR worker). A STR worker promotes people’s recovery by doing what their title suggests – offering support and time to people who have mental health problems. They offer practical support to help people get on with the lives they want to lead. A STR worker is often someone who has experience of mental health problems themselves.

-Arts therapists are trained psychotherapists who use a creative medium – such as art, music, drama or dance – to help people express their feelings and emotions. Arts therapists are based in psychiatric hospitals and also run community-based groups for people with psychosis.

-Counsellors are trained to help people to cope better with distressing events in their life, and with.

Social worker in psychiatric setting

A psychiatric social worker helps people who struggle with mental health issues cope with their problems and obtain important social services. He or she provides counseling to patients and family members, and helps them obtain both financial resources and medical services. The social worker might also investigate housing and job placement options for recovering patients. Mental health social workers are employed in many different settings, including inpatient psychiatric hospitals, outpatient mental health centers, prisons, and governmental social service offices.

Psychiatric social workers focus exclusively on patients with various mental illnesses, conditions, or delusions. The job is usually both diagnostic and therapeutic — that is, the social worker works to identify the root of the patient’s troubles then helps the patient find ways of coping.

As a medical/psychiatric social worker in a psychiatric setting; discuss your roles with your client in collaboration with other professionals in the psychiatric setting.

1.      Focus on Social Integration: The main goal of most psychiatric social workers is to help patients live and work in society with the highest degree of independence possible. Professionals arrange special living situations in inpatient hospitals, halfway houses, or assisted living facilities. Social workers may also contact potential employers to find out about job possibilities and explain a client's situation.

2.      Encourage clients to express their feelings, discuss what is happening in their lives, and help them to develop insight into themselves and their relationships.

3.      Guide clients in the development of skills and strategies for dealing with their problems (and desired life outcomes).

4.      Prepare and maintain all required treatment (and/or community service) records and reports.

5.      Counsel clients and patients, individually and in group sessions, to assist in overcoming dependencies (seeking new relationships), adjusting to life, and making changes. Most psychiatric social workers work closely with psychiatric hospitals. When patients are admitted with mental health concerns, social workers are called in to help assess the situation. Sometimes, brief counseling is all that is required. More often than not, however, professionals must spend a lot of time with patients, understanding their situation and helping them strategize ways forward. These professionals generally provide interpersonal counseling services to help patients, family members, and caregivers learn more about mental disorders and the best ways to cope with them.

6.      Collect information about clients through interviews, observations, and tests and most importantly, speaking with and planning with the person.

7.      Act as the client’s advocate in order to coordinate required services or to resolve emergency problems in crisis situations.

8.      Develop and implement treatment (or "person-centered") plans based on clinical (and community) experience and knowledge.

9.      Collaborate with other staff members to perform clinical assessments (and health may be contracted for specific consultations) and develop treatment (service) plans.

10. Evaluate client’s physical or mental condition (plan, not condition)based on review of client information. [Evaluate outcomes as planned with the client on a "quarterly basis".]

References

About:Psychology. (2007). Difference Between Psychologists and Psychiatrists. Retrieved March 4, 2007, from http://psychology.about.com/od/psychotherapy/f/psychvspsych.htm

Anthony, W. & Blanch, A. (1994). Research on community support services: What have we learned? "Psychosocial Rehabilitation Journal", 12(3): 55-81.

Anthony, W., Cohen, M., Farkas, M. & Gagne, C. (2002). "Psychiatric Rehabilitation". Boston, MA: Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation, Sargent College of Medicine and Rehabilitative Services, Boston University.

Raskin, N. (2004). "Client-Centered Therapy and Person-Centered Approaches". UK: PCCD Books.