Major national survey of mental health social workers launches today
Social work has a long history in mental health services, but these services have developed without a clear understanding of the contribution that social work is intended to make.
Services are organised in very different ways across the country. While some work has been done in recent years to identify key aspects of the social work role in mental health, our research suggests that this may not have translated easily into the varied circumstances of frontline practice.
Consequently, defining mental health social work is a challenging task, with a lot of different ideas about what exactly it is that social workers do in mental health.
Can you see my client and help them fill out their ESA form?
Joe’s getting discharged from the psychiatric unit tomorrow and he needs respite care – can you set that up?
I don’t know what happened but you should ask my worker, because she’s a nurse.
I want to see my kids – you’re a social worker, isn’t that what you do?
Can’t you make her go to hospital? That’s what they did on the TV.
New study opens today
Today, the International Centre for Mental Health Social Research at the University of York is opening a new survey to explore mental health social workers’ perspectives on their roles.
It aims to explore whether mental health social workers have a shared understanding of their role across all settings, or whether what social workers offer in this field depends on the context of their practice.
The study involves completing an anonymous online survey. You are eligible to participate if you:
- Are a registered social worker in England or Wales
- Work primarily in a mental health setting
- Are willing to take part in an online survey lasting around 15 minutes
Please click here for further information and to access the online survey.
If you have any questions about the research, please contact Laura Tucker (laura.tucker@york.ac.uk).
Thank you!