Psychiatric Social Work
Introductory Guide to Psychiatric Social Work
By Kaitlin Louie
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.
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Compiler: Fateme Mohammady
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Published on the specialized media of Iranians social work
www.iraniansocialworkers.ir
