Mental Health Social Work – Opportunities, Threats and Strategic Directions

Abstract

With a history of over a hundred years, mental health social work (MHSW) is one of the oldest specializations in the social work profession. Initially MHSW was largely hospital-based. Following the breakthrough in the pharmaceutical treatments for severe mental illnesses (SMI) in the 1960’s, community mental health services have been rapidly developing. In parallel, MHSW ventured into the community and pioneered many innovative service models. The scope of MHSW also gradually expanded to common mental disorders (CMD) and the promotion of mental well-being. In Hong Kong, the development of psychiatric rehabilitation services for persons with chronic SMI took off in the 1960’s. Since the turn of century, more new resources were diverted to services for CMD. In 2010, the government reorganized the fragmented services into 24 Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness (ICCMW), with an ambitious aim of providing one-stop mental health service at the neighbourhood level. As a result of service expansion, the number of mental health social workers has been steadily increasing over the past few decades. However, the specialization of MHSW in Hong Kong is lagging behind the rapid pace of service expansion. To drive the specialization of MHSW, the MHSW Chapter under the Hong Kong Social Workers Association was established in 2014. This symposium will critically examine the opportunities and threats ahead, and deliberate on the strategies to achieve our goal.