Mental health

Social workers in mental health support and empower people with mental illness to take responsibility for their lives, protect them from unrealistic societal expectations and ensure that their illness does not put them or the wider community at risk. Since the amalgamation of health and social care, social workers are at the centre of implementing care packages. These could include medication, therapy and use of daycare facilities enabling the service user to gain necessary skills to cope and be involved in the community. Involvement with a service user might begin at a pre-hospital discharge meeting or after referral from a GP, and could last from a few days to several years. 

Working environments are varied, but social workers are normally part of a multi-professional team. Hours range from conventional to shift and out-of-hours work; both voluntary and statutory sectors have embraced flexible and part-time working options. Mental health work can be pressured, often involving working one-to-one with severely distressed individuals, so social workers need to be able to set boundaries and divorce work from their personal lives. 

A big issue for service users is coping with change; for example, when someone comes out of hospital they suddenly have to deal with finance, housing and relationships. Developing and maintaining relationships with family, friends or partners is hugely important: people with extended networks are better placed to cope in the community. Relationship building is an important part of mental health work – this could involve something as simple as ensuring that a person has access to public transport.

Shoptalk

Current government proposals to revise incapacity benefit could have serious impacts on people with mental illness. There is still a lot of misunderstanding and fear of mental illness, and funding cuts in mental health services receive far less media attention than cuts in other public health areas. Sector-specific acronyms and buzzwords include:

• CPA – community psychiatric assessment.
• CPN – community psychiatric nurse.
• CBT – cognitive behavioural therapy.
• ASW – approved social worker.
• Networking – liaison within and between services and service users.
• Holistic care – getting to the cause of the problem, which may initially be bypassed in favour of risk minimisation, for example by medication.

Skills required

• Adaptability and flexible thinking.
• Listening and communication skills.
• Ability to access knowledge about welfare, housing and benefits issues.
• Awareness of supplementary issues that could affect service users, for example drugs and alcohol.

Starting out

Newly qualified social workers would have a period of probation, with regular supervision and appraisals, working alongside more experienced social workers, as they get to grips with the job. Although communication skills are taught as part of any social work qualification, real experience of building relationships only comes with work. 

In brief

• Best bits
  When someone ‘drops you’ because they no longer need your help.
  Feeling that you’ve been a part of someone’s recovery.
• Worst bits 
  Frustration when a service user doesn’t want to change.
  Funding battles and frequent bureaucratic upheavals.
• Don’t bother if... 
  ...you’ve got a thin skin or expect constant appreciation.