Social Workers Need Mental Illness Literacy Training
By Kathleen Mochnacki
Social work practice in mental health emphasizes a strengths-based and recovery-oriented approach, empowering individuals to live fulfilling lives despite mental health challenges. Yet in order to empower a person living with a severe mental illness, it is important that the social worker know about the trajectory of the illness, the many symptoms and the repercussions of not receiving appropriate treatment and the importance of timely care. This would enhance empathy, compassion and communication and prevent misunderstanding. People with severe mental illnesses and their families face the most complex challenges and barriers to treatment within the mental health system. Social workers can help improve this outcome by understanding the illnesses and promoting mental illness literacy among the general public. Too often social workers don’t receive this training.
Social workers need to be informed about how these illnesses evolve slowly, how symptoms can appear ‘out of nowhere’, how some behaviours remain inexplicable, and how an environment that includes little in terms of mental illness literacy adds to the confusion and stigma.
Social workers need to know about the positive, negative and cognitive symptoms of psychotic illnesses. A delusion, which is a fixed false belief, is an example of a positive symptom. It is important that the social worker know how to communicate with someone who is experiencing delusions by using the strategies involved in the LEAP model developed by Dr. Xavier Amador which provides a structured approach to conflict resolution. It’s a method that encourages understanding, fosters respect, promotes clear communication and helps bring someone into medically based treatment.
Anosognosia is a negative symptom common in psychotic illnesses. The person suffering from anosognosia is unable to recognize that they have a treatable illness and will often refuse treatment because they genuinely believe that they are not ill. LEAP training can assist the social worker to communicate with the person with the illness and could be helpful in gaining his or her cooperation in a respectful way.
Mental Health Acts do allow involuntary treatment for people with anosognosia with proper safety measures in place. The general public’s perception, however, of this necessary life saving measure is often not well informed. Social workers could help promote a general understanding of why involuntary treatment is sometimes necessary.
Amotivation is another negative symptom of a psychotic illness that would be beneficial for social workers to know of.
This symptom can prevent the person from reaching out for assistance or to plan for their future.
Cognitive deficits are symptoms of psychotic illnesses that contribute to problems in functioning, such as social relationships, work, school, or self-care and independent living. Cognitive remediation can help individuals who have, for example, poor memory, lack of hygiene, and a disheveled appearance. A social worker who is aware that people with psychotic illnesses have this symptom would be less likely to judge the person negatively and could promote the value of cognitive remediation.
The primary mission of social work is to enhance human well- being of those who are vulnerable by meeting their complex needs. It is therefore imperative that social work education include mental illness literacy to enhance their understanding of the experience of the person with psychotic illness and their families.
Suggestions for Researchers:
Researchers could investigate to what extent the curriculum content suggested above is present in various programs training social workers.
Researchers could survey family caregivers or interview them about their experiences with social workers. They may want to focus on families’ experiences in trying to develop cooperative relationships with social workers in clinical and community settings.
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