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Mental Health
Did you know that social workers provide most of the country’s
mental health services? According to government sources, 60% of mental
health professionals are clinically trained social workers, compared
to 10% of psychiatrists, 23% of psychologists and 5% of psychiatric
nurses.
Social workers provide mental health services in a variety of settings,
including:
- Community mental health programs;
- Disaster relief programs;
- Employee assistance programs;
- Military and veteran services;
- Private practice;
- Hospitals and skilled nursing facilities;
- Schools; and,
- Rehabilitation programs
Social workers see people within their environment—as part
of a family, an employee in an organization, or a community member.
Because of this, their mental health work is multi-faceted, combining
psychological, social and practical elements. They have special skills
in assessing, treating, and preventing psychological, behavioral,
emotional, social and environmental problems affecting individuals
negatively.
Social workers provide an array of varying mental health services.
In an employee assistance program a social worker may help employees
with personal problems and workplace concerns. Social workers also
help their clients adjust to major lifestyle changes due to the death
of a loved one, disability, divorce, or loss of a job. They also
provide substance abuse treatment and help people experiencing depression,
anxiety, a crisis or trauma.
Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, social workers
were among the first on the scene providing mental health care to
rescue workers, families, and others in the community. Many Americans
were grappling with grief, anxiety, fear, and uncertainty; social
workers, as part of the Red Cross Disaster Relief program, quickly
offered assistance and counseling to families and loved ones as well
as to other relief workers overcome with trauma.
Other social workers, especially those working with children, offered
counseling and advice to parents and families in reaction to the
attacks.
In one example, Jim, a clinical social worker, was mobilized to
go to the plane crash site in Pennsylvania where he would spend days
providing emotional and psychological support for emergency and recovery
workers. Jim is a member of a critical incident stress management
team (CISM) and is trained to provide peer support for emergency
workers. Jim knows that it’s important to get people to discuss
what they have seen and what how they feel. If such feelings aren’t
adequately addressed, additional and perhaps more serious problems
can arise later. Though what happened was abnormal, members of the
critical incident teams determined that the feelings of stress and
anxiety were very normal. Many Americans are still battling the after
effects of September 11 and mental health counseling has not only
been key to the recovery of emergency workers, but also vital for
those directly affected by the attacks.
Using individual, group or family counseling, clinical social workers
are skillful in helping people to gain an understanding of their
problems and in alleviating major stresses that impact daily life.
Whether it’s for a child, adolescent, adult, or older individual,
clinical social workers can be counted on to provide the best mental
health care in the nation.
http://www.socialworkers.org/bhealth.asp
http://www.helpstartshere.org/mind_and_spirit/default_page.html
REFERENCES
-
- Gibelman, M. (1995). What Social Workers Do (4th ed.).
Washington, DC. NASW Press.
- NASW (2000) Social Work Speeaks (5th ed.).
Washington, DC NASW Press.
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