The Role of the Social Worker in Child and Adolescent In-patient Psychiatric Care: Perceptions of Professionals in a Johannesburg Specialised Hospital

In partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree Bachelor of Social WorkThe role of the social worker in in-patient child and adolescent psychiatric care has not been widely researched in South Africa. The contribution of the social worker in this context is not well understood, leading to role confusion and overlap or the underutilization of skills. To understand the social worker role, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of members of the multidisciplinary team who work in an in-patient child and adolescent unit in a psychiatric hospital in Johannesburg. The perceptions of social workers and members of other disciplines were compared to determine congruency, and examine whether there were any overlaps or gaps in services or confusion about professional roles. This qualitative study, with a single case study design, made use of semi-structured interviews to gather data. The findings indicate that the participants perceived the role of the social worker as that of assessing, supporting, educating and bridging. These roles were identified as occurring specifically with the individual, family, group and community. The bridging role showed that the social worker served as an intermediary between these levels of practice. The most congruency between perceptions was the description of the role of the social worker with the family of the in-patient. Potential roles of the social worker were identified, and the implications of role confusion noted. Participants also suggested ways for professional roles to be better understood by multidisciplinary teams. The implications of findings for psychiatric settings and universities are described with recommendations for future research. Key words: multidisciplinary team, in-patient, child and adolescent, role confusion, psychiatric illnessGR201