5 Conclusion This unit has picked up on a number of key themes relating to mental health practice. For example, you have considered the effects of discrimination that can arise when people experience some form of mental distress. It has also highlighted the stigma that is frequently experienced by mental health service users and the way this stigma can act as a barrier to receiving appropriate support, resulting in people becoming increasingly isolated and even more disadvantaged. The unit has also explor
4.2 Essential shared capabilities for mental health While professional groups will be expected to retain their distinctive roles to some extent, the demand for change is increasingly strong. Professionals are increasingly expected to focus on the range of elements of good practice which they share, many of which have been historically associated with social work. One important example of the demand for change in this direction can be found in the introduction in England of The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities: A Framework for the Whole of
4.1 Mental health specialists Social workers are often regarded as the chief proponents of the social model of mental health. Because of the value-base of social work, they are also often seen as being in a strong position to challenge inequality and address the consequences of stigma and discrimination in mental health. In this section you will see how other professionals are increasingly expected to emphasise similar goals in The Ten Essential Shared Capabilities for mental health professionals. As well as
3.2 Racism in mental health services Research has shown that people from particular minority ethnic groups are over-represented in some psychiatric diagnostic categories compared with others. One of the most hotly debated issues concerns what appears to be the relatively high number of African-Caribbean men who receive a diagnosis of schizophrenia, compared with white or other minority ethnic groups. Given what you have seen about the difficulties in defining mental health and illness, it will be no surprise to learn that
3.1 Understanding stigma In the first half of Section 3, the focus is on the nature of the stigmatisation and discrimination which can be experienced by people with mental health problems. The section then turns to consider racism in mental health services and the impact this has on black service users. The ‘stigma’ of mental illness and distress refers to the idea that such experiences are a disgrace or an embarrassment, not only to the person concerned, but also to those around them. To be mentally d
2 Social work skills: empowerment and advocacy Qualified social workers are expected to have the necessary skills to empower service users to participate in assessments and decision making and also to ensure that service users have access to advocacy services if they are unable to represent their own views. The requirement for these skills can be found in the key role ‘Support, representation and advocacy’. Both empowerment and advocacy are concerned with power and the ways in which it is distributed between people. Empowerment a
1.4 A community resource centre in action It is clear that the well-being of communities and the well-being of the individuals within them are intrinsically linked. The Orchard Centre is a community resource centre for people with mental health problems in Bonnyrigg in Midlothian, Scotland. 1.3 Models of understanding in mental health Because mental health is such a complex area, it is important that the models of understanding which are applied to it are broader than the ‘biomedical’ one alone, which focuses simply on professional activity and on diagnoses and treatment. The box below provides a quick summary of the biomedical model. 1.1 Introduction Like many subjects, mental health is complex. This is partly because the language used in discussions about mental health is diverse, can mean different things to different people, and can sometimes be misleading. For example, the term ‘mental health’ is usually used in discussions about just the opposite: ‘mental illness’! There are, however, good reasons for the confusion surrounding its language. One reason is that decisions about what constitutes ‘mental he Next steps After completing this unit you may wish to study another OpenLearn Study Unit or find out more about this topic. Here are some suggestions: 7.7 References for Extract 6 Barclay, R. (1982) Social Workers: Their Role and Tasks, London, NISW, Bedford
Square Press. De Long, P. and Berg, I.K. (2001) ‘Co-constructing Cooperation with Mandated Clients’, Social Work, 46(4), pp. 361–74. Department of Health (DoH) (1998) Modernising Social Services, London, HMSO. Harris, R. (1997) ‘Power’ in Davies, M. (ed.) The Blackwell Companion to Social Work, Oxford, Blackwell. Hugman, R. (1991) Power in t 7.6 Conclusion This extract has emphasised the importance of becoming familiar with the framework of learning outcomes within which your progress would be assessed. It is imperative for you to be an active learner and take responsibility for what you want and need to get out of your studies. You willl achieve this through reflection on the process of your practice learning experiences and feedback from those involved in assessing your progress. Original Copyrigh 7.5.1 The statement of expectations A social work degree places an increased emphasis on service users' perspectives. This was first outlined in the White Paper Modernising Social Services (DoH, 1998) that introduced legislation to set up the new qualification along with the regulatory and registration mechanisms discussed above within the devolved nations of the UK. This emphasis on the perspectives of service users is illustrated through the results of extensive consultation exercises carried out with them, their carer 7.4.1 Employers and employees As a student on a professional social work qualification programme, you would need to sign up to the codes of practice as part of registration with your nation's care council. Codes of practice have been devised for all the nations of the UK. In principle they have much in common, providing a clear guide for all those who work in social care, social work or social services generally. They set out the standards of practice that both workers and their employers should meet. While there is much 7.3 Key roles of social work The internationally agreed key purpose is, as we have seen, a broad statement that is open to debate. It encapsulates a wide brief for social work. You may well want at this stage to focus in more detail on what it is you will need to do to demonstrate your knowledge and skills to become a qualified social worker in the UK. The key purpose of social work was used as a basis for the development of a number of roles for social workers in the UK and these form part of the overall frameworks used 7.2 The key purpose of social work The starting point for the development of these standards is the identification of the key purpose of social work, for which the international definition of social work has been adopted: a profession which promotes social change, problem solving in human relationships and the empowerment and liberation of people to enhance well-being. Utilising theories of human behaviour and social systems, social work intervenes at t 7.1 What must qualifying social workers do? In a historical sense there has never really been widespread consensus about what it is that social workers should do. The last government enquiry in the 1980s (Barclay, 1982) had to be published with two dissenting minority reports. Consequently, the education and training of social workers has seen a changing backdrop of expectations. The new social work degree is firmly placed within a more detailed framework than has ever been available before. This has advantages and disadvantages. This 6.2 References for Extract 5 Barnes, M. and Walker, A. (1996) ‘Consumerism versus Empowerment: a principled approach to the involvement of older service users’, Policy and Politics, 24 (4) pp. 375–93. International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW) (2001) ‘International Definition of Social Work’. Available from: [accessed 11 January 2008]. 6.1 Empowerment and advocacy Qualified social workers are expected to have the necessary skills to empower service users to participate in assessments and decision making and also to ensure that service users have access to advocacy services if they are unable to represent their own views. The requirement for these skills can be found in the key role ‘Support, representation and advocacy’. Both empowerment and advocacy are concerned with power and the ways in which it is distributed between people. Empowerment a 5.7 References for Extract 4 Barn, R. (1999) Working with Black Children and Adolescents in Need, London, BAAF. Butler-Sloss, E. (1988) Report of the Inquiry into Child Abuse in Cleveland, London, HMSO. Department of Health (2000) Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families, London, Department of Health. Gardner, R. (2003) Supporting Families: Child Protection in the Community, Chichester, John Wiley. James, A. and Prout, A. (1997) Constructin
The biomedical model
