Promoting Drug Court Education in Schools of Social Work: Ideas in Action

Drug courts have provided an alternative to incarceration for arrestees with substance use disorders since 1989 in the USA, and the first drug court outside of the USA began in 1998 in Canada. As drug courts continue to increase throughout the world, it is important for social work students to learn about the role of drug courts in their communities, as they may interact with these programs directly or indirectly, whether it is being a member of a task force that begins a drug court or providing substance abuse treatment to participants. This Ideas in Action article conceptualizes drug courts and discusses their relevance for social work education. The article also proposes several direct service-learning techniques, such as completing practicums and course projects, which can be used within schools of social work to educate students about drug courts and promote civic engagement, reflection, and reciprocity.     

Working on Treatment Teams: Educating Social Work Students to Function as Addiction Specialists within Interdisciplinary Groups

Social workers specializing in the addictions field invariably work with multiple disciplines. Any intervention must be organized in consideration of various fields of practice such as mental health, criminal justice, child welfare, and health care. As part of their education, social workers become adept at understanding the influence of factors associated with physical, mental, and social functioning. Thus, they learn to appreciate the need for interdisciplinary collaboration. However, once students become practitioners, they are often left on their own to solidify their specific role as addiction specialists among several other professionals. Working as a member of an interdisciplinary team can be taught in the classroom. The authors apply Bronstein’s model for team collaboration to build a method for teaching interdisciplinary work specific to the role of the addiction specialist. Within the interdisciplinary team model, students take on the various team roles and decide the importance of these roles in a substance use case study. They are taught how to assess, diagnose, identify appropriate evidence-based methods, build client objectives and goals, solidify concrete action plans, and evaluate effectiveness. As these methods have yet to be researched in the classroom, the authors offer recommendations for evaluation and future research.     

Incorporating Substance Use Content Into Social Work Curricula: Opioid Overdose as a Micro,Mezzo, and Macro Problem

Problematic substance use has tremendous implications for the health and wellbeing of communities around the world. Social workers at the frontlines are likely to encounter clients with substance use disorders in the wide array of settings where they are employed. However, few undergraduate and graduate social work programs internationally require students to take coursework in substance use or have substance use specializations. In the short-term, incorporating substance use-related content into existing courses and institutional structures may be more viable for social work programs to educate students about substance-related issues rather than developing entire courses or concentrations. The rates of opioid overdose death are increasing internationally and it is a multifaceted public health problem which would provide students with an opportunity to explore a wide variety of micro, mezzo, and macro practice and policy issues related to substance use. This paper specifically suggests a number of strategies which could be used in practice and policy courses throughout the curriculum. Incorporating overdose-related content into existing courses could be a promising means to still provide students with some knowledge and skills to work with substance-using populations.     

Creating Continuous Conversation: Social Workers and Learning Organizations

This article presents some findings on one aspect of a qualitative study of the continuing education of social workers in New Zealand. Social workers interviewed were aware of the contemporary discourses of lifelong learning and in particular, the concept of learning organizations. Analysis reveals that while practitioners are positive about the ideals of the learning organization; this is tempered by practical considerations and constraints which reflect the critique of the learning organization found in the literature. When asked to define their hopes for post‐qualifying learning, participants identified intellectual refreshment, critical reflection and acknowledging successful work as priorities. Social workers clearly want ‘learning workplaces’ and as educators we need to support their development. Top‐down models may not provide the answer and small‐scale local initiatives which engender critical, reflective and inquiring ‘continuous conversations’ may serve practitioners better.     

Developing Effective Practice Learning for Tomorrow's Social Workers

This paper considers some of the changes in social work education in the UK, particularly focusing on practice learning in England. The changes and developments are briefly identified and examined in the context of what we know about practice learning. The paper presents some findings from a small scale qualitative study of key stakeholders involved in practice learning and education in social work and their perceptions of these anticipated changes, which are revisited at implementation. The implications for practice learning are discussed.     

Social Work and Drug Use Teaching: A Personal View from Lancaster University

This article offers a personal view about teaching the module ‘Social Work and Drug Use’ at a university in the North West of England, UK. It describes the establishment of the module and the development of the module content over the years. It discusses the nature of teaching the subject within a research focused establishment and the problems this presents. This is all contextualized within the campaign to have social work and drug use as a compulsory part of the national social work curriculum.     

Mental Health Difficulties and the Support Needs of Social Work Students: Dilemmas,Tensions and Contradictions

There are a growing number of students in higher education who experience mental health difficulties and have support needs. The behaviour of small numbers of students on social work programmes indicates also a need to examine the mental health difficulties and needs of social work students. There is only limited factual information on this topic. It is rarely discussed or written about. There is a danger of discriminating against those experiencing such difficulties, especially black or female students. Yet, at the same time, undertaking a social work programme is a demanding experience, as is doing social work itself. Furthermore, on courses leading to a professional qualification, such as social work, there is an obligation to protect the rights of, and assess possible risks to users, as well as to support students. Programmes should give particular attention both to the mental health difficulties and support needs of social work students at selection, during the programme itself and upon conclusion of the programme at a wide range of levels, both within the higher education system and outside that system.     

Cross-cultural Child Development for Social Workers: An Introduction

Abstract

The transgender community represents a highly marginalised portion of the Australian population, frequently experiencing discrimination, social isolation, and harm. This review explores literature informing Australian social work with transgender people. It highlights the importance of generating a transgender-positive discourse within Australian social work to effectively engage with and advocate for individuals with nontraditional gender identities. Key themes emerged from reviewing the literature related to the medical model, the mental health of transgender people, interdisciplinary and alternative transgender literature, minority status of transgender people, existing social work approaches to transgenderism, and Indigenous transgender literature. The views of transgender Australians are largely absent from the literature. However, the Australian transgender community's emerging voice and political activism highlights the potential for collaboration to play a significant role in the process of building a working knowledge base for social work. Based on the identified gaps in literature, in this paper we call for continued progress in developing a theoretical and practical knowledge base that incorporates the lived experiences of transgender Australians. We argue for the development of an approach to practice that is responsive to gender diversity. Highlighted in the review are the conditions that promote greater engagement with the transgender community.     

A Comparison of On-Campus and Off-Campus (or Distance) Social Work Education

Abstract

This study explored the differences between on- and off-campus social work education focusing on student demographics, academic achievements, and student satisfaction. The study focused on a cohort of recent graduates from Monash University Bachelor of Social Work course. The study is quantitative with a small amount of qualitative data used to illustrate some of the quantitative findings. Data were collected using a telephone questionnaire/survey and student records. The data were analysed using the statistical computer package, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. The study found differences in the demographics of on- and off-campus recent graduates but minimal differences in terms of general satisfaction and grades. However, while off-campus recent graduates were generally satisfied with their course, they tended to be less satisfied with their off-campus mode of study. It seems that they often studied off-campus because it was the only, or the most convenient, choice open to them. It is concluded that off-campus social work education meets the needs of a particular group of students and as such is an important option for social work education.     

Developing Advanced Practitioners in Mental Health Social Work: Pedagogical Considerations

Advanced social work practitioners in mental health services daily face the challenges of working alongside the more powerful professions of psychiatry and psychology. Advanced post-qualifying programmes in mental health social work equip practitioners with the knowledge, skills and expertise to confidently work alongside both psychiatrists and clinical psychologists in multi-disciplinary teams. This includes training in empirical research methods, which are used to develop the evidence base for psychiatry and psychology, although social work practitioners find this particularly challenging. This paper explores the importance of research methods teaching in the development of advanced practitioners in mental health social work. Using learning theory to explore possible reasons why practitioners find it so difficult, it offers some solutions which may enhance the learning and teaching of research methodology to experienced social workers.     

Social Work Students' Pre-placement Anxiety: An International Comparison

This paper compares the degree and nature of anxiety experienced by American and Israeli social work students as they anticipate beginning field placement. Despite having greater prior exposure to social work through relevant coursework and experience, American students were significantly more anxious than Israeli ones. Overall, Americans reported a slightly higher sense of preparedness, but this difference was not statistically significant. While there were some shared worries, notably regarding the quantity and quality of field instruction, and their capacity to meet both field and academic obligations, specific concerns regarding field agencies, clients, and social work education differed between the groups, likely reflecting the distinct social, cultural, historical and educational contexts. Implications for social work education and future research are discussed.     

A Comparative International Analysis of Religion and Spirituality in Social Work: A Survey of UK and US Social Workers

As service populations have changed, the social work profession in the UK and the US has attempted to respond to the needs of diverse cultures, which often include issues of religion and spirituality. This can be problematic, however, due to the extrication of religious and spiritual concerns from the public social services that resulted from the process of secularization. Members of the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) in the US were sampled to explore the attitudes and perceptions of social workers regarding the placement of religion and spirituality in practice and education. In general, US social workers in this sample were more accepting of religion and spirituality than their UK counterparts, even among those respondents who expressed non‐religious world views (e.g. atheism). A majority of the respondents in the UK (76%) and the US (73%) indicated that their training programs lacked content on religion and spirituality. In the UK, 57% of the respondents believed that social workers should increase their knowledge on spirituality, compared with 90% of the US respondents. The lower level of acceptance of religion and spirituality among UK social workers may be related to higher levels of secularism in UK society.     

Minimising Coerciveness in Coercion: A Case Study of Social Work Powers under the Victorian Mental Health Act

The balance between care and control in mental health social work is one of constant tension. In the State of Victoria, Australia, the Mental Health Act 2014 gives coercive powers to social workers employed by public mental health services. These include the power to decide if a person needs to be assessed by a psychiatrist, to “take” a person using bodily restraint, to enter premises, and to search and seize a person’s belongings. This paper applies a doctrinal analysis to examine the law, then argues that the use of these powers by social workers, where safe, may be less restrictive than when they are used by police or paramedics. The exercise of these powers may be less traumatic and stigmatising to the people who are subject to them, and social workers may be both legally and ethically obligated to use coercion when appropriate.

IMPLICATIONS

• More social work literature on the coercive powers under mental health legislation is needed as well as more guidance on using these powers for social workers in practice.

• In some circumstances, these coercive powers may be better exercised by social workers than by other professionals.

• Social workers should carefully consider their legal and ethical obligations to use these powers in some circumstances.

     

Risk,Recovery and Capacity: Competing or Complementary Approaches to Mental Health Social Work

Mental health social workers have a central role in providing support to people with mental health problems and in the use of coercion aimed at dealing with risk. Mental health services have traditionally focused on monitoring symptoms and ascertaining the risks people may present to themselves or others. This well-intentioned but negative focus on deficits has contributed to stigma, discrimination, and exclusion experienced by service users. Emerging understandings of risk also suggest that our inability to accurately predict the future makes risk a problematic foundation for compulsory intervention. Therefore it is argued that alternative approaches are needed to make issues of power and inequality transparent. This article focuses on two areas of practice: the use of recovery-based approaches, which promote supported decision-making and inclusion; and the assessment of a person's ability to make decisions, their mental capacity, as a less discriminatory gateway criterion than risk for compulsory intervention.     

Reflexive Development: A Model for Helping Social Workers Contribute to a Sustainable Global Future

It is difficult for many social work students to grasp the importance they and their traditional client base play in global environmental issues. International development generally focuses on supporting human development through the development of natural resources. However, increased human consumption everywhere in the world is disrupting the global system upon which all life depends. Continued Western consumption habits are simply unsustainable. It is therefore incumbent that any increase in consumption, even in the ‘developing’ world, be considered in terms of global environmental sustainability; change must also occur within the developed world. To address this problem, reflexive processes that support transnational analysis and action must be developed. This paper suggests classroom activities that help students analyze and problem solve around this process of Reflexive Development.     

Homelessness and Social Exclusion: A Foucauldian Perspective for Social Workers

Abstract

The present article considers the malleability of the concept of social exclusion as a tool of policy analysis and intervention in relation to homelessness. The article uses Foucauldian concepts of discourse, power/knowledge and surveillance to pose a challenge to the construction of homelessness as a social exclusion, while alluding to the need for researchers, policy and service provision to be more inclusive of the voices of homeless people in the development of both policy and services. The author argues that the concept of social exclusion, which informs major policy initiatives of the Rann Labor Government in South Australia and the Blair Labour Government in Britain, has a primarily rhetorical purpose and obscures both structural contexts and the subjectivities and lived experience of those labelled homeless.     

The Expansion of the Peer Adviser Workforce: Opportunities and Challenges for Social Work

ABSTRACT

Peer adviser roles are becoming an increasingly common—and celebrated—aspect of agencies where social workers are located. This article reports on a qualitative research study exploring the experiences of staff within a homelessness outreach service in which three peer advisers (people with a lived experience of homelessness) commenced employment. Drawing on action research principles, the study explored the experiences of the peer advisers and the broader team following the introduction of the peer adviser roles. Themes identified include, realising the skills of peer advisers, defining the role, taking a “whole of team” approach, and reflecting on power. This study demonstrates that the introduction of peer adviser roles into human service organisations is a promising strategy for creating services that are more likely to respond effectively to the needs of service users. However, social workers need to be aware of the pitfalls of tokenism and the devaluing of experiential knowledge.

IMPLICATIONS

• Peer advisers in health and welfare agencies add significant benefits to an agency’s capacity to respond to the needs of service users.

• The introduction of the peer workforce is aligned to social work values of service user empowerment and the valuing of experiential knowledge.

• In order to avoid tokenism, the introduction of peer adviser roles should be supported by both the attitudes and actions of other staff members, as well as organisational support structures.

     

Using Social Work Theory and Values to Investigate the Implementation of Community Treatment Orders

Abstract

This paper establishes the value of a social work investigation of good practice with people on Community Treatment Orders in the context of social work's longstanding interest in the ethical challenges of working with involuntary clients. The emancipatory values of social work were used to guide this research, thereby ensuring the participation of consumers and their families or carers. Critical social work theory provided an important theoretical base. A mixed methods approach was undertaken, including a cluster analysis and case studies. Five principles of good social work practice emerged from the qualitative data: (a) use and develop direct practice skills; (b) take a human rights perspective; (c) focus on goals and desired outcomes; (d) aim for quality of service delivery; and, (e) enhance and enable the role of key stakeholders. These principles are briefly presented along with recommendations for practice and service development.     

Student to Practitioner: A Study of Preparedness for Social Work Practice

Abstract

Australian social work graduates face an increasingly complex work environment where the role of the social worker is often overlooked or misunderstood. In order to examine the anticipated and concrete practice reality for social workers, this qualitative study examined the expectations of social work students preparing to enter the workforce (n=29) and the experiences of new social work graduates in the workplace (n=9). Findings suggest that undergraduates have a realistic understanding of the challenges they would encounter in practice, including anticipated value and ethical conflicts, and allied professions' conceptions of the social work role. They did not anticipate the busyness of the workplace or the level of supervision offered.     

Medicare Funded Mental Health Social Work: Better Access to What?

ABSTRACT

Better Access to Psychiatrists, Psychologists and General Practitioners through the Medicare Benefits Scheme initiative (Better Access), is an Australian Federal Government scheme aiming to improve access to mental health services. Accredited mental health social workers have been involved in the delivery of services under Better Access for more than a decade. In this time, there have been significant changes in the field of mental health services, with consequent increases in size and costs for Better Access. Better Access now represents public spending of more than one billion dollars per annum, yet there is no ongoing account of its impact. In this paper we consider the policy chronology and evaluation of the program, using current available data to question the impact of Better Access on both the service system and the nature of mental health social work practice. This case highlights the importance of a clear articulation of the scope of mental health social work, and ongoing monitoring of the impact of policy in a policy environment increasingly characterised by individualised funding and service delivery structured according to the principles of New Public Management.

IMPLICATIONS

• Social workers' increasing involvement with Better Access has reshaped the scope of mental health social work practice.

• The impact of Better Access on outcomes for service users and mental health social work is not currently a focus of research attention.

• Better Access is a case study illustrating the potential of the policy context to directly shape social work practice, therefore critical engagement with the impact of Better Access is an essential professional imperative.