Role of an Inpatient Mental Health Social Worker

This article discusses the role of an inpatient mental health social worker in assessing and treating people with mental health issues, as well as their responsibilities in ensuring proper discharge options for patients. It also explores the supportive legislative framework that helps mental health social workers and patients achieve the best possible results.

Running head: SOCIAL WORK
Social work with children young people and family
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1SOCIAL WORK
Role of an Inpatient Mental Health Social Worker, supportive legislative framework
and options of discharge from hospital
The Mental Health Workers contribute to the mental health space with a holistic
approach towards the people who need their helping hand. They are trained in assessing and
treating people with mental health issues like depression, family conflicts, relationship
problems, personality disorder, psychosis, adjustment issues, trauma, anxiety disorder, et
cetera (Turner, 2017). They are also responsible for ensuring the proper procedure and
discharge option for the mental health patients. Certain supportive legislations are there that
help the mental health social workers as well as the patients for achieving the best possible
result.
Inpatient mental health Social workers strive to resolve mental and psychological
issues of their patients pertaining to social problems thereby improving their quality of life.
This usually involves the family of the patients along with the peer group with whom they
hang out and spend a substantial amount of time (Aasw.asn.au, 2019). It is the duty of the
social worker to consider the wide implication of an individual who might be suffering from
a mental disease and the impact of such disease on his family, friends, peer group and
colleague (Golightley & Goemans, 2017). They take the help of interventions like Cognitive
behavioural therapy, relaxation strategies anger management strategies, Stress management,
interpersonal therapy, parenting skills, psycho-education, narrative therapy, cognitive
intervention, behavioural intervention, et cetera (Aasw.asn.au, 2019). They conduct personal
interviews sessions with the patients and their close ones to determine the appropriate
approach that needs to be applied in the particular case. They are responsible for developing
care plans, counselling strategies, treatment methods as a part of their treatment program
(Baldwin, 2016).

2SOCIAL WORK
The Inpatient mental health social worker must coordinate the discharge of the
patients as per the person’s care and support needs. The social worker must ensure that the
patient be discharged as per the care plan that the doctors suggest, the medicines that the
patient need to take after he goes home or care home, the equipment that the patient may
require after discharge, et cetera. The Mental Health Act 2015 is the federal legislation
regarding the mental health social work in Australia; however, the states have their own
legislations as well (Mental Health Commission - Western Australia, 2019). The Act ensures
when a person needs to be provided treatment for poor mental health, the criteria for referring
a patient to a psychiatrist, when a person could be discharged. The Mental Health
Regulations 2015 clarifies certain provisions of the Mental Health Act 2015 and it also
reduces health inequalities between the people (Ranzcp.org, 2019).
In this case study, the Mental Health Social Worker need to emphasize on the
parenting skill of Mohammed and Benazir who have not been a good parents to their kids.
Mohammed have been observed to be aloof from the family and not taking up any
responsibility of the children and household chores; he has only been contributing financially.
The social worker needs to ensure that Benazir should be more vigilant and strict towards the
children. The social worker needs to ensure that Asma gets out of the mess that she is in by
way of counselling and behavioural intervention. Wasim should be made to understand that
he needs to be more involved with the family being an elder brother to two other sibling. The
social worker needs to make sure that the parents are giving conscious effort to bind the
family together and that no one is left alone on their own. Badariya’s eating and hormonal
disorder needs to be taken care of by taking medical help initially. Counselling and
compassionate exchange of words is the key in cases of family issues.
Therefore, the mental social worker needs to focus on the main issue that they family
is facing which is poor parental skill, in this concerned case. The social workers needs to

3SOCIAL WORK
ensure that Mohammed and Benazir makes amends to their ways of treating the children;
Mohammed be more involved and Benazir be more firm and strict with her kids so that they
be more disciplined and connected to the family. In addition, the social worker must adhere
to the legislative frameworks like the Mental Health Act 2015 in order to take any crucial
decisions for the family.

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References
Aasw.asn.au. (2019). Accredited Mental Health Social Workers - AASW - Australian
Association of Social Workers. Retrieved from https://www.aasw.asn.au/information-
for-the-community/mental-health-social-workers
Baldwin, M. (2016). Social work, critical reflection and the learning organization.
Routledge.
Mental Health Commission - Western Australia. (2019). Mental Health Act 2014. Retrieved
from https://www.mhc.wa.gov.au/about-us/acts-and-legislative-changes/mental-
health-act-2014/
Golightley, M., & Goemans, R. (2017). Social work and mental health. Learning Matters.
Ranzcp.org. (2019). Mental health legislation Australia and New Zealand | RANZCP.
Retrieved from https://www.ranzcp.org/practice-education/guidelines-and-resources-
for-practice/mental-health-legislation-australia-and-new-zealan
Opler, M. (2018). Culture and social psychiatry. Routledge.
Turner, F. J. (Ed.). (2017). Social work treatment: Interlocking theoretical approaches.
Oxford University Press.