Behavioral Health Highlights
Social workers have been involved in the behavioral health field
for nearly as long as the profession has been in existence. Social
work is represented in this field in a variety of ways,
providing services to clients in many mental health settings. According
to a report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Administration (1998), the majority of direct mental health services in
the
During the past quarter, NASW staff were involved in a number of activities relevant to advancing the profession’s role in a variety of behavioral health arenas:
- NASW was a national planning partner for the 14th Annual National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month sponsored by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT), which occurred in September 2003. This year’s theme, “Join the Voices for Recovery: Celebrating Health,” encouraged everyone to help incorporate community treatment and recovery services as integral parts of the public health system. NASW provided kits that could be used to plan activities during Recovery Month to chapters and to members of the ATOD Specialty Practice Section.
- NASW was an organizational sponsor of the 13th Annual National Depression Screening Day held on October 9, 2003. The goal of this year’s program was to promote mental wellness and the ability of individuals and communities to bounce back from difficulties by ensuring that those who are at-risk or who are already ill become healthy and productive. In addition to providing materials to screen for depression, post-traumatic stress, generalized anxiety disorder, and bipolar disorder, information was included on how to manage stress and recognize the physical symptoms that often go hand-in-hand with mental health disorders.
- NASW is a co-sponsor of the SOS Suicide Prevention Program developed by Screening for Mental Health, Inc. (SMH). This program is a school-based suicide prevention program that has been selected for the national registry of effective programs. The SOS program has demonstrated a significant increase in help seeking by depressed students, according to a paper published in the August 13, 2003 issue of Adolescent and Family Health. For more information about this program contact SMH via their Web site at www.mentalhealthscreening.org
- 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. Some of the results from the survey have been put into datagrams and are available on the NASW Web site at www.socialworkers.org/naswprn/default.asp. A summary of the results is being developed. A third survey will be conducted during this fiscal year.
Two new practice updates are available:
- One, which explores the relationship between the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 and substance abuse issues is available at http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/children/cws1003.pdf
- The second update looks at the issues of teen club drug use and is available at http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/adolescent_health/ah1003.pdf