Topic- Duties and Responsibilities of Psychiatric Social

Worker

Paper -6: Psychiatric Social Work and Health

MSW semester IV (Regular)

Roll No. 180012620075

Department of Social Work

University of Lucknow,
Lucknow

Submitted By- Submitted To–

Sanjay Kumar Varma Dr. Rajneesh Yadav
Index
No. Chapter name Page
No.
1. Acknowledgement 1
2 introduction 2
3 Definition of mental health 3
4 Psychiatric social worker 4
5 Duties and responsibilities 5
6 Knowledge and skills 6
7 Abilities 7
8 conclusion 8
9 References 9
 Acknowledgement

The success and final outcome of this assignment required a lot of guidance and
assistance from many people and I am extremely privileged to have got this all
along the completion of my assignment. All that I have done is only due to such
supervision & assistance and I would not forget to thank them.
I would like to express my special thanks to my teacher, Dr. Rajneesh Yadav
who gave me this golden opportunity to do this assignment, which helped me in
doing a lot of research regarding the topic, future adding to my knowledge.
I am thankful to and fortunate enough to get constant encouragement, support and
guidance from Sir which helped me in successfully completing my project work.

-Sanjay Kumar Varma

Introduction
Psychiatric social work is a specialized type of medical social work that involves
supporting, providing therapy to, and coordinating the care of individuals who are
severely mentally ill and who require hospitalization or other types of intensive
psychiatric help. Psychiatric social workers complete a variety of tasks when
working with clients, including but not limited to psychosocial and risk
assessments, individualized and group psychotherapy, crisis intervention and
support, care coordination, and discharge planning services. Psychiatric social
workers are employed in a wide range of settings, ranging from intensive inpatient
wards to outpatient psychiatric clinics.
Psychiatric social work is a challenging and very demanding profession. Social
workers in this field must work closely with individuals suffering from complex
and hard to manage conditions, who are in deep emotional distress and/or who may
be a danger to themselves or others. Psychiatric social workers may also encounter
difficulties in getting clients the resources and support they need to fully address
their problems. However, some individuals gravitate to this work for its constant
intellectual and professional challenges, and for the opportunity to help deeply
vulnerable populations.
Due to their intensive work with clients’ severe mental health and behavioral
issues, psychiatric social workers often need graduate-level training in clinical
social work methods, including psychotherapy, crisis interventions, group therapy,
and developing sound treatment plans in collaboration with mental health and
medical staff. Therefore, individuals interested in this field of work should strongly
consider earning a Master’s in Social Work with a concentration in clinical or
psychiatric social work from a CSWE-accredited institution. Psychiatric social
workers may also be employed in outpatient centers, working with juveniles and
adults. They perform psychotherapy and assessments, educate the patient and his
or her family, and make referrals as necessary. Mental health therapies include
more than just talk. Social workers may, for example, employ Eye Movement
Desensitization and Reprocessing with young trauma survivors.
Master’s level social workers serve as case managers for individuals who have
severe needs, those who may require periodic hospitalization as well as intensive
use of community resources. Clients may include those with schizophrenia and
those with complex sets of co-occurring conditions.
Governmental agencies and residential care facilities are among the other
employment options for psychiatric social workers. Some eventually go into
private practice as psychotherapists.

The Definition of Mental Health

It is from this perspective that the following dynamic and interactive definition of
mental health has been developed:
Mental health is the capacity of the individual, the group and the environment to
interact with one another in ways that promote subjective well-being, the optimal
development and use of mental abilities (cognitive, affective and relational), the
achievement of individual and collective goals consistent with justice and the
attainment and preservation of conditions of fundamental equality.
Psychiatric
of or relating to the study of mental illness:
psychiatric treatment
a psychiatric patient
the hospital's psychiatric unit
Examples
 The psychiatric team decided that committal would not be beneficial in
her case.
 He worked as a nurse in a psychiatric hospital.
 The psychiatric section is segregated from the rest of the prison.
 He has been transferred to a psychiatric hospital.
 This is an interesting psychiatric case study of
a child with extreme behavioural difficulties.

Psychiatric Social worker

Social workers who are employed at psychiatric hospitals also do psychosocial
assessments and provide therapy. They are in frequent contact with the family
members of patients. They meet with other members of the mental health team
(psychiatrists, nurse practitioners etc.) to discuss patient care
Psychiatric social workers’ main goal is to stabilize and support people
experiencing intense psychological distress or behavioral issues that are
threatening their safety and well-being, or the safety and well-being of others.
Psychiatric social workers accomplish this goal through a combination of
 diagnostic assessments (ex. psychosocial assessments and risk assessments),
individual and group therapy, and care coordination/case management services.
The psychiatric social worker provides individual, family, and group social work
counseling and other social work treatment interventions to psychiatric hospital
patients and assumes primary responsibility for discharge planning.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Individual Evaluation and Assessment.
Typical tasks: develops patient evaluations or court letters based on patient
interviews and interviews of family members, friends, and other contacts in the
community; describes psychosocial functioning, nature and extent of disability,
potential for rehabilitation, assessment of dangerousness, and identification of
resources needed upon discharge; initiates and secures available resources.
2. Treatment and Discharge Planning.
Typical tasks: participates as a member of a treatment team to determine eligibility
of persons for admission to the institution and identifies community resources as
an alternative to admission; works with treatment team to formulate and
periodically evaluate a plan of treatment which is in compliance with Federal
entitlement programs and regulatory agencies; develops and implements
discharge/aftercare plans for all patients; assists patient in planning return to
community and arranges needed resources for continuing care; identifies,
coordinates, and plans for financial needs of patients, assists patient in
management of financial resources as needed, and acts as patient advocate in
obtaining needed services.
3. Counseling.
Conducts individual, family, and group therapy sessions to reach therapeutic goals
determined in consultation with the treatment team; trains students and interested
staff in various therapy techniques
4. Documentation of Services.
Maintains ongoing documentation of social work intervention, planning, and
outcome by preparing reports and making necessary entries to treatment plan
documents
5.Liaison Functions.
 Acts as a community and family liaison by initiating and maintaining necessary
contact with the patient's family, the courts, Psychiatric Security Review Board,
district attorneys, human resource agencies, mental health agencies, parole and
probation personnel, residential care facilities, and related resource and regulatory
agencies; provides support and consultation to community service providers in the
form of guidance and counseling; compiles data and conducts studies on program
effectiveness via follow-up of discharged patients.
Relationship with Others
Employees in this class have daily contact with patients, relatives of patients, and
treatment team members from a variety of professions to assess patients' needs,
provide direct patient services, or arrange for services to be provided to the patient
by others. Employees in this class are also frequently in contact (by telephone or in
person) with other human resource agency staff, police agencies, court and
Psychiatric Security Review Board personnel, attorneys, Social Security
Administration and Veterans' Administration personnel, and certified residential
care facility personnel to provide other necessary services to the patients.
Supervision Received
Employees in this class work under general supervision. Work is reviewed by the
unit program supervisor and social work department head for conformance with
established policies and procedures, Federal regulations and current social work
standards. Treatment and services being provided to the patients on a daily basis
are also reviewed by the treatment team for conformance with the objectives
outlined in the patient treatment plan.
General Information
Positions are primarily found within mental health facilities and institutions. They
require the willingness to work in the environment associated with the positions'
location and purpose.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
General knowledge of normal and abnormal human development and behavior.
General knowledge of recognized treatment interventions such as behavior
modification; family, group, and individual psychotherapies; psychosexual
education; substance abuse interventions; and use of psychotrophic medications.
 Skill in developing and maintaining a therapeutic relationship with mentally ill
patients.
 Skill in communicating with patients and families who may be experiencing
distress.
 Skill in conducting and teaching individual, family, and group therapies.
 Skill in patient and family education regarding various aspects of mental illness.
 Skill in interviewing to gather data needed to diagnose the needs of individuals and
their families.
 Skill in preparing clear, concise written case narratives and reports.
 Skill in functioning as patient advocate to ensure that appropriate social services
are being delivered which could include working with State and Federal agencies
and community organizations for the coordination of services.

Abilities
 Ability to work with resistive, acutely, and chronically mentally ill; character
disordered; and substance abusing patients.
 Ability to understand and reduce the effects of institutionalization on patients.
 Ability to maintain effective working relationships with both professional and
paraprofessional institution staff and public and private sector professional staff.
 Ability to understand organizational systems and how to work within them for the
benefit of the patient.
 Ability to assess the level of dangerousness of patients and the potential for
explosive behavior.
 Ability to build and maintain effective working relationships with representatives
of a wide variety of community agencies.
 Ability to work as a member of a treatment team. Some positions in this class will
require the following ability:
 Ability to testify clearly, effectively, and professionally in Psychiatric Security
Board hearings or in court as an expert witness.
Conclusion

Social workers are essential members of psychiatric care team.Trained and Skilled
social workers would accelerate the recovery and rehabilitation process among
persons with mental illness. Psychiatric social workers’ main goal is to stabilize
and support people experiencing intense psychological distress or behavioral issues
that are threatening their safety and well-being, or the safety and well-being of
others. Psychiatric social workers accomplish this goal through a combination of
diagnostic assessments (ex. psychosocial assessments and risk assessments),
individual and group therapy, and care coordination/case management services.
The psychiatric social worker provides individual, family, and group social work
counseling and other social work treatment interventions to psychiatric hospital
patients and assumes primary responsibility for discharge planning.
Reference

 https://www.depts.ttu.edu/psy/advising/files/Workshop/psychiatricsocialwor
k.pdf
 https://www.slideshare.net/sojan47/psychosocial-issues-and-psychiatric-
social-work-interventions-in-69615591
 https://socialworklicensure.org/types-of-social-workers/psychiatric-social-
worker/
 https://www.casw-acts.ca/en/role-social-work-mental-health