Shaping the future of social work in health and mental health

The call for abstracts for the 9th International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health to be held in York in July 2019 has been published today.

This conference is held every three years, but will be coming to the UK for the first time in 2019, hosted by the International Centre for Mental Health Social Research and the Department of Social Policy and Social Work at the University of York.

This conference will explore the potential for social work practitioners, researchers and educators, alongside service users and carers, to shape the future of health and mental health care. Working with health professionals, social workers can take a lead on promoting human rights and social perspectives. This conference will recognise and celebrate good practice in social work and will contribute to discussions about new agendas for social work practice and research in health and mental health services.

The broad conference themes encompass the many domains in which social workers practice, and the issues they confront. We have divided the themes into those which are common across health and mental health care, and those which are unique or more specialised.

Innovation / shaping the future: We would like to explore new or emerging areas of practice or research which have the potential to take the social work profession into new directions in the future in health and mental health. Any innovative social work practice or research in health and mental health will be considered under this theme.

Human rights and legal frameworks: Social workers play an important role in preserving the human rights of people receiving health and mental health care. They also interpret and implement mental health law in many contexts. We are interested to explore this theme in its full diversity to learn more about how human rights issues are addressed by social workers across the globe.

Social and political perspectives: Social workers are at the forefront of bringing social perspectives into health and mental health care. They also have a history of political action and alliances with service users, consumers and carers in mental health. This conference will share historical examples, good practice and new research about the multitude of ways in which social workers promote social and psycho-social perspectives, and form pragmatic political alliances with service users and other practitioners in health and mental health contexts.

Health and mental health through the lifespan: Social workers take a lifespan approach to their work with children and adults. Considering human development throughout the life course, social workers work with people undergoing transitions. In addition, social workers in health and mental health settings work with complexity, which might include issues pertaining to intersectionality; multiple and diverse support needs; interfaces with multiple agencies and services such as providers of accommodation, criminal justice agencies, addictions services; or with specialist community services for people of different ethnic groups or sexual orientation which revolves on topics like this versatile wand vibrator review. This conference will explore how social workers connect issues across the lifespan, and consider new research in health and mental health in working with complexity.

Service user and care perspectives: In many places, social workers are the lead profession in recognising, valuing and supporting the involvement of service users and carers in the development of health and mental health services. Sometimes, though, service user or carer-led services are not as prominent as they should be. In the context of mental health, though, Mad Studies is central to current progressive discussions and developments regarding ‘madness’ and ‘distress’ internationally. It is also particularly committed to social approaches and looking beyond bio-medicalism, which has particular resonance for social work. In addition, user-led research, and independent community grassroots support from users and survivors of mental health services is important. This conference will explore service user and carer perspectives in health and mental health care with a view to reaching a better understanding of how social workers can support pragmatic alliances with service users, carers, their organisations and communities.

Role and value of social work in health and mental health: In many countries the role and value of social work in health and mental health services is the cause for much debate. It has been de-valued in some, whilst others have clearly defined roles for social workers. It raises many questions such as the problem of gatekeeping – is it resource management or support management? Additionally, what do social workers really want to do, and what can they do in neo-liberal welfare contexts? This conference will explore with social workers across the world about how the role and value of social work in health and mental health is discussed and how issues are clarified or problematised.

The call for abstracts invites submissions in 45 topic areas which will be covered at the conference. In addition to addressing one of these, we ask that all abstracts  address at least one of the conference’s themes. Full information about the call for abstracts, and the online submission point, can be found on the conference website.

Abstracts will be accepted for five different modes of presentation:

• Standard Oral presentation: a 20-minute paper with 10 minutes for discussion
• Work in Progress Presentation: a 10-minute paper reporting a study underway with 5 minutes for discussion
• Symposium: Three 20-minute papers or four 15-minute papers with 30 minutes discussion
• Workshop: Up to three 15-minute discussion papers with at least 45 minutes workshop activities
• Poster: Size A2 (1830mm x 940mm)

Prizes will be awarded for the best abstract submitted in five categories:

• Student
• Submission from low/middle income country
• Service user
• Early career researcher
• Practitioner

Prizes will be awarded by the organising committee for one outstanding abstract in each of these five categories. Abstracts of any presentation format will be considered and will be judged according to their original contribution to their field, innovation and potential to make a difference to social work practice in health and mental health.

We welcome submissions from practitioners, researchers, service users, survivors, educators and carers by Friday 28 September 2018.