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Watching the ExpertsFindings from an Australian Study of Expertise in Mental Health Social WorkLa Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia, martin.ryan{at}latrobe.edu.au
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia Summary: What characterizes the practice of expert mental health social workers? An observational study of social workers in a public mental health network in Melbourne, Australia sought to answer this question and the findings are reported in this article. As part of a larger study of mental health social work expertise, direct observation was done of the work of six practitioners engaged in a range of activities about which they were subsequently interviewed. Findings: In the first stage based on group interviews, six themes were identified. These were termed: 1) ‘The Knowledge’; 2) ‘A lot of hard grind’; 3) ‘We are here for the clients’; 4) ‘The complicated and the difficult’; 5) ‘The stone in the shoe’; and 6) ‘Going ten rounds with the system’. In this second stage observational study, evidence was found for all of these six themes, plus two additional ones relating to supervision and the emotive content of the work. Applications: Development of expertise consists of three elements: 1) a personality predisposition and personal capacity; 2) education; and 3) a conducive workplace environment. The application of the findings lies in developing the conditions for these elements to emerge.
Key Words: expertise • mental health social work • observational study
Journal of Social Work, Vol. 5, No. 3,
279-298 (2005) |
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