This paper aims to establish the reason why Social Circumstances Reports (SCRs) are needed in the Mental Health Tribunal, and how social work knowledge, skills and values are being utilised in planning and producing these reports. The paper will also discuss the legislation, policies and procedures and the social work theoretical frameworks behind the reports. The dilemmas which may be faced by the social workers in writing the report and how the recommendation in the report is justified will also be explored in this paper. Any patient detained under the Section 2, 3 or 37 of the Mental Health Act (MHA) 1983, has the right to appeal to the court regarding their detention. This right is stipulated in the Section 12 of MHA (1983), while the MHA
Gupta, M. (2001): Treatment refusal in the involuntarily hospitalized psychiatric population: Canadian policy and practice. In: Medicine and Law, Vol. 20, Issue 2, pp. 245-265.
...children, young people and their families can be both complex and difficult. Social work practice is one of the most challenging as it involves work with a diverse range of both professionals and service users. However, there is more that one single reason for this. As all professionals, agencies and parents continue to work together in various different cases, a variety of skills are required including: communication, preparation, intervention skills, assessment of significant harm, research of current legislation and decision making skills, all of which contribute to the complexities and difficulties of social work. It could be argued that these difficulties are highlighted most in many public cases of child abuse; moreover these cases can be seen to be changing social work practice, affecting the difficulties and complexities of working within this profession.
The aim of this study is to use a simulated case to explore safeguarding and protection, social work methods, evidence- based practice, social work authority and accountability, legislative and regulatory frameworks, ethical and moral issues, impact on service users, carers and other professionals and the role of independent advocacy services.
Thompson, N (2005) Understanding Social Work: Preparing for Practice, Palgrave, MacMillan (Second Edition) Hampshire (Supplementary Course Reader)
Miss Lynn Peterson is an LPC NCC. She graduated from Mississippi State in May of 2014 and joined a practice the following September. She works with anxiety, trauma, and grief patients; this is her general population. I contacted Miss Peterson because I saw that she was interested in trauma; I am interested in PTSD and working with veterans. I was interested to find that her favorite population to work with are grief patients. I could tell she was very enthused about making people happy about themselves, and I found this delightful. Miss Peterson sounded very genuine and caring over the phone. I understood why she was in this profession, it was just very natural for her; I hope it is the same for me.
In some cases within the social care sector there are a multitude of agencies or professional practitioners to help with the needs of an individual. There are a multi-disciplinary and an interagency approach that some workers use to develop a support plan.
(Justia US Law website, n.d.) This means that involuntarily committed patients do have the right to refuse psychiatric treatment as long as they do not pose a danger to themselves or others as determined by a medical provider using professional judgement. (Wortzel, 2006, para. 6) The refusal of treatment is an issue because mental health professionals know that the medications will help the patient, however also knowing that forcing medication could be a liability. (Oriol & Oriol,
On March 10, 2015, a social work from University Medical Center (UMC) the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Abuse/Neglect Detail and to the Clark County Public Guardian’s Office stating they had suspected a patient who suffered from early onset dementia had sign a Power of Attorney (POA) and maybe getting taken advantage of by his representative. The social worker explained they had contacted Joanne Filippone, the defendant to make arrangement to place the victim into a long term care facility. The social worker believed the defendant may have been misappropriating the victim’s funds.
The MH bill 2013 has been passed by parliament in 2014 and will replace the 1996 Act. However, despite many improvements that are made to the act there are still deficiencies that arise. One of the major issues of the act is that it widens the scope for people to be considered involuntary patients. The UN principle 16 states that a person is to only be considered an involuntary patient if a qualified mental health practitioner authorises that the person is likely to cause harm to themself or others, or failure to admit the individual will result in a serious deterioration in his or her condition. Over the past 30 years, involuntary treatment has been one of the most consistently debated issues in mental health law. There have been substantial concerns that by widening the scope of people to be considered involuntary patients, it could cause a serious risk to the reputation of the person or cause irreparable damage to significant personal
Figure 1. Survivorship curves plotted on a log 10 scale of a cohort born before 1860 from the Millersville Mennonite Church, Millersville, PA. Survivorship between both females and males of the population dropped sharply between the first and second age class, then decreased slowly until reaching age class 80-89. The males of the population had a higher survivorship than the females over several age classes.
As a therapist, most are aware of how the first impression can become influential towards the therapist understanding of a client. In the Social Work profession relating to clients is an important as we constantly receive new cases or clients. The way we engage with the clients become crucial to developing a connection with the case. We begin to understand the vignette of LaShonda, describing and unemployed 32 years old African American female examining the engagement process. Furthermore, literature reviews give clear examples on how similar situations present similar obstacles and engagement methods to solve the client’s situation. Further analysis of the case explains engagement obstacles, connect with our clients, and find
I will initially outline the main concepts and main perspectives from a selection of these authors, and aim to conclude, that is is the “sociological thinking” gained from “unpacking” this knowledge, that can be applied to Social Work today. “Social theory, consists of major authors, perspectives and key issues, there are many different strands, that although have obstacles, can be drawn together can be connected in the study of Sociological knowledge” Layder (2006, preface). Specifically I will look at the Professional competence Framework (2012) section 5.1 “be able to reflect on and take account of the impact of inequality, disadvantage and discrimination on those who use social work”
Individuals who are mentally ill have been experiencing discrimination, stigma and are often socially isolated which has created major negative impacts on their wellbeing. Within our criminal justice system individuals with mental illnesses have been over-represented. According to an article by CAMH (centre for addiction and mental health) titled “Mental Health and Criminal Justice Policy Framework”, the importance of mental health and criminal justice is highlighted.
The objective for this stage is for the social worker to show competence in transferring or terminating the case. Also, the social worker must look for relevant ethical dilemmas during the transition or termination. For the community mental health group, the final session is termination.
Been prejudice and bias the social worker will need to be thoughtful as the social work definition ‘promotes social change’ and having ‘respect for diversities are central to social work’. Under the statement of ethical principles, it states “Ethical awareness is a fundamental part of the professional practice of social workers.” (IFSW, 2014) “Their ability and commitment to act ethically is an essential aspect of the quality of the service offered to those who use social work services” (IFSW,2014). Under the ANSAW code of ethics promotes “Members accurately inform the wider community about the services that they offer” (ANAZSW,2014, chapter 3) and do not misrepresent their knowledge, skills, statutory status, training, qualifications and experience.” “Members respect the worth and dignity of clients, and work in non-discriminatory ways that acknowledge the age, beliefs, culture, gender, marital, legal or family status, intellectual, psychological and physical abilities, race, religion, sexual orientation, and social and economic status of clients”. (ANAZSW,2014 chapter