May 2004

Behavioral Health

Behavioral Health Highlights

Mickey J. W. Smith, MSW
Senior Policy Associate, Behavioral Health
msmith@naswdc.org

Social workers have been involved in the behavioral health field for nearly as long as the profession has been in existence. The profession is represented in this field in a variety of ways, providing a range of services to clients in many mental health settings. According to a report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2001), the majority of direct mental health services are provided by social workers in the U.S.

Because social workers provide the majority of mental health services in the country, it is imperative that the profession be involved in advocating for clients at a variety of levels, be involved with key policy activities, and keep abreast of new and emerging best practices.

Advocating for Clients

During the past quarter, NASW staff has been involved in a number of activities relevant to client advocacy.

• Veterans Administration (VA) Committee on Care of Veterans with SMI
  NASW and other professional organizations have been invited to participate on the VA Committee on Care of Veterans with SMI. This committee met January 14 to 16, 2004 in Washington , D.C. The NASW representative participated in the meeting, providing input on behalf of clients served by social workers and the social work profession.

• 15th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month
  The planning partners—NASW being one of many—of the 15 th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month (“Recovery Month”) met on January 16 and March 24, 2004 . The theme for Recovery Month 2004 is: “Join the Voices for Recovery…Now!” National Recovery Month highlights the need for substance abuse treatment and recovery in the United States through a variety of events in September of each year, and the program will also include Web casts from January through September 2004.

• National Prevention Coalition
  On January 21, 2004 NASW staff participated in the National Prevention Coalition (NPC), a quarterly meeting convened and coordinated by the National Mental Health Association (NMHA). The NPC is composed of a variety of stakeholders, including mental health provider groups, government officials, prevention programs, researchers, and other organizations or individuals. The focus of the NPC is on mental health prevention, particularly as it relates to adolescents. This group participates in various lobbying efforts on issues relevant to adolescent mental health, as well as working on developing strategies to improve services in related areas.

Partnerships

• NASW has worked with Screening for Mental Health Inc., on the 6 th Annual National Alcohol Screening Day (NASD), held April 8, 2004 . NASD promoted alcohol awareness by providing individual sites with kits to conduct screening and educational activities.
  
  Registration brochures were provided to NASW Chapters and members of the ATOD Specialty Practice Section (SPS). This year NASD offered continuing education credits/units (CEUs) to social workers.
  
• NASW has also worked with Freedom From Fear on the 9th Annual National Anxiety Disorders Screening Project (NADSP), held on May 5, 2004 . NADSP promoted awareness about anxiety disorders through screening and educational activities as part of this project. Registration information was provided to NASW chapters and members of the Mental Health and Private Practice Specialty Practice Sections.

Workforce Development Activities

NASW announced that workforce development is one of the major initiatives for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2003 . Staff members at NASW have been working on improving the social work profession through a variety of activities. In addition, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), employment of social workers is expected to grow faster than the average for all occupations through 2010 (BLS, 2002). The two major areas in which this growth will occur in are services to older adults and substance abuse services.

• Partners for Recovery Trade Association Leaders meeting
  The Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) facilitated a meeting that consisted of the various alcohol and drug abuse treatment professional representatives on February 12, 2004 . The meeting focused on the need for workforce development in the arena of substance abuse treatment services, including the role of the various professional organizations, the federal government, and other entities. This was the second of four meetings being conducted by CSAT to obtain guidance on workforce development issues specific to the substance abuse treatment field.
• Alliance of Mental Health Professionals
  NASW has continued working with other provider organizations on the Alliance of Mental Health Coalitions workgroup—coordinated by the Center for Mental Health Services—which met on March 5, 2004 . This group is responsible for creating the biannual report titled, Mental Health, United States . The Alliance is continuing its work through our organizations to secure additional funds to complete a thorough survey of the entire mental health workforce in the United States .

• Practice Research Network
  The Practice Research Network (PRN) is a collaborative project funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) that provides resources to a variety of provider associations, including NASW, to obtain important information about the social work profession's role in providing substance abuse treatment services. The goal of the PRN project is to collect data from social work practitioners, and to use the data to potentially develop best practices, inform policy, and improve service delivery. Prior to the PRN project, little data existed about social workers' employment characteristics and the profession's involvement with substance abuse treatment. The second survey was administered September through November 2002. Information relevant to social workers working in the substance abuse arena from the PRN II survey has been summarized in a recent practice update and is located at: http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behavioral_health/bh1003.pdf

New Resources

A new NASW Behavioral Health Practice Update, A Summary of the Final Report from the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health , is available online at: http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/behvioralhealth

References:

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2001). Mental health, United States : 2000. Washington , DC : Author.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2002). Occupational outlook handbook (2002–2003 ed.) [Online]. Retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/oco/pdf/ocos060.pdf on August 27, 2003 .