Mental Health Act Assessments – Professional Narratives on Alternatives to Hospital Admission

Abstract

This article draws on themes derived from research conducted as part of a doctoral study, using Framework Analysis, in which fifteen mental health professionals were involved in nine Mental Health Act assessments in the UK. In this work, risk is explored in terms of the social context, using a social constructionist perspective, in which concepts of ‘social crisis/mental illness’, professional negotiations and social capital are explored. The key findings highlighted: the social constructions of service users’ worlds, as presented by the Approved Social Workers (ASWs) and Home Treatment Professionals (HTPs), were notably different; the negotiations between the ASWs and HTPs provided the ASWs with a number of roles including negotiator, deal-maker and decision-maker; and the service user’s social network and the provision of home treatment showed that the ‘treatments’ provided can be seen as a shared role. Finally, the implications for contemporary mental health social work practice are presented.

Keywords:

• Mental Health Act assessment
• home treatment
• social crisis
• professional decision-making
• social capital
• social work practice

Notes

1. All names anonymised.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Peter Hall

Peter Hall is a senior lecturer on the Social Work BA (Hons) Social Work programme at the Department of Psychology, Sociology and Social Work, University of Suffolk, UK and is an External Examiner for Leeds and Northumbria Universities. He holds an MA in Public and Social Administration from Brunel University and a Doctorate in Health Service Management from Essex University. He has acted as Chair of BASW, Associate Editor of Practice and book reviewer for the BJSW. He has practiced as a social worker, team manager, consultant social worker, ASW and AMHP and practice educator in mental health care before embarking on a career in social work education. [email: [email protected]]