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The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand

Mini Dissertation (MSW (Healthcare)) University of Pretoria, 2021.

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Other Authors: Carbonatto, C.L.
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: University of Pretoria 2021
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access_status_str Open Access
author2 Carbonatto, C.L.
author_browse Carbonatto, C.L.
author_facet Carbonatto, C.L.
collection Thesis
dc_rights_str_mv © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria.
description Mini Dissertation (MSW (Healthcare)) University of Pretoria, 2021.
format Thesis
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institution University of Pretoria (South Africa)
language English
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:37:51.329Z
license_str Other — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
publishDate 2021
publishDateRange 2021
publishDateSort 2021
publisher University of Pretoria
publisherStr University of Pretoria
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source_str UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository
spelling oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/80651 The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand Carbonatto, C.L. u14166489@tuks.co.za Matebesi, Kearabilwe UCTD health social work Mini Dissertation (MSW (Healthcare)) University of Pretoria, 2021. One in six South Africans are reported to be suffering from mental health issues whereby only 27 % of the mentally ill population receive treatment. Similarly, to other global countries, South Africa also has a burden in terms of resources. Despite the implementation of the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002, South Africa still has challenges in terms of proper mental health infrastructure. There is a serious shortage of mental health professionals, community mental health and psychosocial rehabilitation remain undeveloped (Burns, 2011:104). It is therefore against the back drop of such challenges that the experiences of social workers in mental health were investigated. The aim of the study was to explore and describe the experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand District. Furthermore, the study adopted the use of an instrumental case study which was deemed appropriate for this study, as it aimed to explore and describe the experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand District. One-on-one, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from ten social work participants in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand. Non-probability purposive sampling method was used to select the participants using selection criteria. The findings of the study indicated that the social workers’ understanding of mental health as a field of service provision was average and focused on the services that they provide. In addition, the participants understanding of social work as a field of mental health service provision was explored. The participants had mixed views regarding their understanding and knowledge of the Mental Health Care Act 17 of 2002. Most participants were aware of the Act, but while some did not know the specific sections of the Act that they use. The majority of the participants had little insight about the DSM and further indicated that they have never used it in practice. The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health service was revealed to be negatively affected by the shortage of resources. This was due to a lack of funding from the government to non-governmental organisations. The social workers reflected on various roles and tasks that they perform in mental health settings, including the role of an advocate, mediator and educator. The study further found the services that the social workers provide to be psychosocial support services, statutory services, placement of mental health care users, counselling services and raising awareness on mental health. The study highlighted the impact of support and supervision on social workers in the provision of mental health services. Based on the findings of the study, it is recommended that the government increase the budget of the mental health sector, to allow the organisations to acquire more resources to provide mental health in-service training and to employ more social workers. Social Work and Criminology MSW (Healthcare) Unrestricted 2021-06-29T13:37:07Z 2021-06-29T13:37:07Z 2021-09 2021 Mini Dissertation * S2021 http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80651 en © 2019 University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. application/pdf University of Pretoria
spellingShingle UCTD
health social work
The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title_full The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title_fullStr The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title_full_unstemmed The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title_short The experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the West Rand
title_sort experiences of social workers in the provision of mental health services in the west rand
topic UCTD
health social work
url http://hdl.handle.net/2263/80651