Comorbidity of substance abuse and mental illness : An interview study from social workers´ perspective

Individuals with substance abuse or mental illness/neuropsychiatric disorderssuffer a higher risk of developing comorbidity. Due to the complexity of comorbidity individuals may often need multiple support from both social services and health care. Previous studies have shown that the relationship is a crucial aspect of the recovery process between the social worker and the client. It needs to be based on mutual trust, user participation and clarity. Social workers had to balance between individuals right over their own life situations and the responsibility to decide on compulsory care when the person opposes help and exposes their life to serious injury. The study aimed to investigate how socialworkers described the experience of responding to and support individuals living with comorbidity. The method chosen was semi-structured interviews with six social workers from four municipalities in Skåne. The findings showed attempts to contemplate different challenges of individuals. There were noted difficulties when investigating a person due to their mental health. Furthermore, their experiences were described as motivating and humane work. Their experience described the role of a social worker as a representative between a zero tolerance society and to start working with the client where they were. In addition, it was noted as important to familiarize oneself with aspects that the substance abuse contributed to. The insights into why individuals resorted to substance use opened up discussions about alternative solutions that did not include addiction. The reflections that emerged were adaptations of how meetings were designed and how the individuals were made involved, through the help of different strategies to examine the individual’s wishes.