APPLICATION OF SOCIAL CASE WORK METHOD IN

PSYCHIATRY AND MEDICAL SETTING; EXPLORING

CORRECTIONAL INSTITIUTION

SUBMITTED BY:
DHARSANA T S
BSC PSYCHOLOGY 2ND SEM
23UPSYC016
 INTRODUCTION
Social case work is a method employed by social workers to help
individuals find a solution to problems of social adjustment which they
are unable to handle in a satisfactory way by their own effort.

In social work, casework means to engage a client in learning their

situation, to build a suitable plan of action, and helping the client to
solve their problems through client commitment and use of their own
and community resources, the coordinated service is called case
management.
INTEGRATION INTO PSYCHIATRY
• In psychiatry, the social case work method enables
professionals to develop holistic treatment plans that
consider the social and environmental factors impacting
patients’ mental health.

• Social casework has been a predominant social work

method of practice in psychiatric setting. Casework involves
wide variety of activities in various settings, aimed to help
individuals, couples and families to cope up more
effectively with problems which impaired their socio-
occupational functioning.

• 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.
APPLICATION IN MEDICAL SETTINGS

• In medical settings,the social case work method assists in

addressing the psychosocial challenges that can affect patients’
physical health and recovery.

• The main tasks of the caseworker are to maintain constant

contact with the family of the patient; mediate between the
doctors and the patient/family; provide counselling to the
patient; assist in discharge and after care of the patient.

• In a psychiatric hospital, the social worker obtains, records, and

interprets facts about the patient's background and his
environment that reveal the social problems involved in the
illness and will aid the psychiatrist in diagnosis and treatment.
CO L L A B O R AT I V E APPROACH
• The collaborative nature of the social casework method
encourages interdisciplinary teamwork among professionals,
fostering a comprehensive approach to patient care.

• However, they can't do it alone. Instead, there needs to be a

collaborative approach to social work that connects
professionals, agencies, and resources across communities,
helping people thrive in any circumstance.
ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS
• Ethical considerations such as client self-determination, informed consent, the
right to privacy and the right to quality mental health care are paramount.
While a client-first mindset won't eliminate all ethical dilemmas in social work, it
can help clarify a social worker's course of action.

• Ethical principles such as confidentiality, autonomy, and non-discrimination are

integral to the social casework method, ensuring the protection and rights of
individual.
CORRECTIONAL INSTITUTIONS
• In correctional settings, the social worker provides a safe
emotional climate in which offenders can express and
verbalize them.

• The social worker provides needed information to offenders

in correctional settings.

• By giving information, the probation and parole officer can

help offenders to make decisions.
FUTURE DIRECTIONS
• Continued research and innovation in the application of the social case
work method can further enhance its effectiveness in addressing the
complex needs of individuals in psychiatric and medical settings.

• Social case work establishes adjustments between individual capacities

and resources. It consists of the study of mental, emotional and social
factors. In social case work an individual, group situation or phenomena is
recognized as unit of study and various units are studied properly.
 CONCLUSION
In conclusions, the social casework method serves as an
essential tool for professionals in psychiatry and medical
settings, enabling them to address the complex needs of
individuals through individualized care and
interdisciplinary collaboration
 REFERENCES
• "Social Work in Health Settings: Practice in Context" by Judith L.M.
McCoyd and Carolyn J. Tice.

• "The Handbook of Social Work in Health and Aging" edited by

Barbara Berkman.

• "Social Work Practice in Mental Health: An Introduction" by Robert

G. Adams and Lena Dominelli.

• "Social Work in Corrections and Reentry" edited by Leanne Fiftal

Alarid and Ruth E. Masters.
THANK YOU!