Relevance of Competency-based Education to Work with Individuals with Serious Mental Illness

Abstract

Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) experience impairment in personal, social, and occupational domains of functioning. They interact with several systems to fulfill their day-to-day functioning. This paper reviews literature to identify systems with which the SMI population interacts with and highlights the ways those systems help or deter their functioning in society. The new Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) Educational Policy and Accreditation Standards (EPAS) requires competency-based curriculum to educate social workers on how best to serve hard-to-reach populations. This article includes four competencies essential in educating social workers to work with the SMI population. Finally, there is a discussion of the ways that the CSWE's new accreditation standards for social work can be incorporated in a curriculum that focuses on understanding the experiences and needs of individuals with SMI.

KEYWORDS:

• Serious mental illness
• mental health professionals
• competency-based training