Year
2024Credit points
10Campus offering
Prerequisites
SWTP217 Social Work with Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Communities or SWTP213 Race and Identity: Anti-Racist Social Work Practice
Incompatible
SWTP317 - Mental Health and Social Work
Teaching organisation
Teaching and learning strategies for this unit will include lectures, small group discussions, skills workshops and Canvas online activities.
Unit rationale, description and aim
Mental illness impacts on the welfare of many Australian individuals, affecting their capacity to work, sustain relationships, and live independent and satisfying lives. The AASW has recognised the necessity of social work graduates having a working knowledge of mental health problems and psychosocial interventions in order to be able to work with people experiencing mental health problems across a wide range of health and welfare settings. This unit provides foundational knowledge and skills for practice in these diverse areas. The aim of this unit is to prepare graduates for person centred, evidence based generic social work practice.
Learning outcomes
To successfully complete this unit you will be able to demonstrate you have achieved the learning outcomes (LO) detailed in the below table.
Each outcome is informed by a number of graduate capabilities (GC) to ensure your work in this, and every unit, is part of a larger goal of graduating from ACU with the attributes of insight, empathy, imagination and impact.
Explore the graduate capabilities.
| Learning Outcome Number | Learning Outcome Description | Relevant Graduate Capabilities |
|---|---|---|
| LO1 | Articulate the roles and responsibilities of social workers in mental health practice | GC1, GC12 |
| LO2 | Analyse ethical issues and reflect critically on ethical dilemmas in mental health practice | GC2, GC7 |
| LO3 | Undertake social work assessment with diverse individuals, families, groups and communities | GC2, GC9 |
| LO4 | Apply selected theories to the development of policies, programs and services in mental health practice | GC2, GC3 |
| LO5 | Interpret and apply research skills to explore the evidence base for social work assessment to develop appropriate evidence based intervention plans | GC2, GC8 |
AASW Practice Standards
This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565
1 Values and ethics |
2 Professionalism |
3 Culturally responsive and inclusive practice |
4 Knowledge for Practice |
5 Applying knowledge to practice |
6 Communication and Interpersonal skills |
7 Information recording and sharing |
8 Professional development and supervision |
ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes
This Unit has been mapped to the ACU Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes. The following table sets out the broad relationship between the Learning Outcomes, Graduate Attributes and the ASWEAS Profession-Specific Graduate Attributes provided in the Australian Social Work Education and Accreditation Standards: https://www.aasw.asn.au/document/item/13565
| Standard/Attributes/Criteria | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|
1.1 Practice in accordance with the Code of Ethics (2020). 2.2 Behave in a professional manner and be accountable for all actions and decisions. 4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice. | 1 |
3.1 Work respectfully and inclusively with cultural difference and diversity. 3.2 Respect, strive to understand and promote the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures. 5.3 Use a range of social work methods and techniques appropriate to area of practice. | 2 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice. 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice | 3 |
4.1 Understand higher level systemic influences on people with respect to an area of practice. 5.3 Use a range of social work methods and techniques appropriate to area of practice. | 4 |
4.3 Understand the role of research and evaluation in obtaining and generating new knowledge for practice 4.4 Understand and articulate how and when theories, knowledge bases and knowledge sources inform practice. 5.3 Use a range of social work methods and techniques appropriate to area of practice. | 5 |
Content
Topics will include:
Understandings of mental health
- social construction of mental health
- prevalence of mental illness
- national and state mental health policy
- critical analysis of current policies
Diagnosis (DSM5 ICD-10), diagnostic systems and treatment modalities
- schizophrenia
- depression
- anxiety disorders
- bipolar disorder
- borderline personality disorders
- eating disorders
- post-traumatic stress disorder.
The experience of mental health problems
- stigma
- powerlessness
- marginality and disadvantage
Influences on mental health problems
- age
- gender
- ethnicity
- socioeconomic status
- geographical location
Mental health practice issues in specific populations
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional well-being
- migrants and refugees
Social Work Assessments in Mental Health – Theory and Practice.
- case management
Contemporary approaches to mental health care
- early intervention
- relapse prevention
- rehabilitation
- recovery
Social work with people with mental health problems
- evidence based practice
- prevention and early intervention
- recovery and relapse
- consumer rights and perspectives
Skills and values in assessment
- social work assessment
- assessing risk
- reflection on personal and professional values
- ethical dilemmas in practice
Social work interventions
- recovery-focused mental health intervention
- crisis intervention
- suicide prevention
- family work
- CBT
Service provision
- multidisciplinary teams
- Group and Community Work
- working with families
Learning and teaching strategy and rationale
Lectures and Tutorials will incorporate small group, collaborative learning focused on Social Work practice in mental health. Case-based learning will be utilised enabling students to better understand and explore the application of theory to practice scenarios.
This unit involves 150 hours of learning with a combination of face-to-face lectures and interactive face to face tutorials. Lectures will provide students with foundational knowledge about mental health and illness and explore contemporary approaches to Social Work practice in mental health. Tutorials will provide students with opportunities to practice Social Work practice skills through case studies and role play.
Assessment strategy and rationale
The unit has three assessment pieces, designed to assess different learning outcomes for the unit. There is a focus on engaging with the research literature and applying knowledge in practice situations. The first assessment piece is a student presentation in class on a topic chosen by the student. This allows students a wide range of choice and a capacity to share ideas and knowledge from the broader mental health research literature. In the past some students have chosen to focus on their own “lived experience” or chosen a topic because of its relevance to themselves or family member.
The second assessment tasks enable students to identify and connect relevant theory and research literature to a mental health topic
The third assessment task asks students demonstrate their capacity to gather and organise information into a standardized assessment framework in response to a case study. This test their skills in observation, analysis, and professional writing. Students are then required to connect their assessment with theoretical concepts in mental health, particularly recovery theory.
Overview of assessments
| Brief Description of Kind and Purpose of Assessment Tasks | Weighting | Learning Outcomes |
|---|---|---|
Individual presentation: Opportunity to explore a specific area of mental health and develop presentation skills. | 20% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Report Enables students to explore and analyse a specific area of mental health and connect this to the research literature | 30% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Case study analysis: Identify and develop the key social work skills necessary for conducting social work mental health assessments and interventions with individuals and families. | 50% | LO1, LO2, LO3, LO4, LO5 |
Representative texts and references
Austrian, S. (2005). Mental disorders, Medications and Clinical Social Work (3rd ed.). New York: Columbia University Press.
Bland, R., Renouf, N., Tullgren, A. (2015). Social work practice in mental health. Crows Nest, Australia: Allen & Unwin.
Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H.,M. & Walker, R. (eds) (2014). Working Together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mental Health and Wellbeing Principles and Practice (2nd ed.). Australian Government Department of Australia Prime Minister and Cabinet, Canberra.
Dziegielewski, S. (2010). DSM-IV-TR in action (2nd ed.). Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons.
Gilbert, P. (2010). Social Work and Mental Health – the value of everything (2nd ed.). Lyme Regis, UK:), Russell House, UK.
Golightley, M. (2011), Social Work and Mental Health (4th ed.). Exeter, UK:), Learning Matters, UK.
Gould, N. (2010). Mental Health Social Work in context. London: Routledge. Context. University of Bath, UK.
Karban, K. (2011). Social Work and Mental Health, Polity, UK.
Meadows, G., Farhall, J., Fossey, E., Grigg, M., McDermott, F., & Singh, B. (Eds.) (2012). Mental Health in Australia: Collaborative community practice (3rd ed.), South Melbourne Australia: Oxford University Press.
Proctor, N., Hamer, H., McGarry, D., Wilson, R. & Froggatt, T. (2014). Mental Health – A Person Centred Approach, Cambridge University Press, Melbourne.
Rogers, A. & Pilgrim, D. (2010)., A Sociology of Mental Health and Illness (4th ed), Palgrave Macmillan, London.