Search results for ‘Subject term:"mental health problems"’ Sort:
Results 1 - 2 of 2
Child protection and mental health services: interprofessional responses to the needs of mothers
- Authors:
- STANLEY Nicky, et al
- Publisher:
- Policy Press
- Publication year:
- 2003
- Pagination:
- 148p.,bibliog.
- Place of publication:
- Bristol
Health and social care professionals are constantly exhorted to work collaboratively. This book reports on research which examines interprofessional work with families in which mothers have a mental health problem and where there are also concerns about child protection. Breakdowns in interprofessional collaboration, issues of risk and relevant resources are all addressed. Mothers' views and experiences are contrasted with professional perspectives. This book: reports on a survey of 500 practitioners working in health, social services and the voluntary sector; presents data from in-depth interviews with mothers with severe mental health problems; identifies weaknesses in interprofessional coordination in this area of work; and suggests a new model for work with families where mental health problems and child protection concerns co-exist.
Working on the interface: identifying professional responses to families with mental health and child-care needs
- Authors:
- STANLEY Nicky, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 11(3), May 2003, pp.208-218.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
The gaps between mental health and child-care services constitute a recognised barrier to providing effective services to families where parents have mental health problems. Recent guidance exhorts professionals to co-ordinate and collaborate more consistently in this area. This study aimed to identify barriers to inter-professional collaboration through a survey of 500 health and social care professionals. The views of 11 mothers with severe mental health problems whose children had been subject to a child protection case conference were also interrogated through 2 sets of interviews. The study found that communication problems were identified more frequently between child care workers and adult psychiatrists than between other groups. Communication between GPs and child-care workers was also more likely to be described as problematic. While there was some support amongst practitioners for child-care workers to assume a co-ordinating or lead role in such cases, this support was not overwhelming and reflected professional interests and alliances. The mothers themselves valued support from professionals whom they felt were 'there for them' and whom they could trust. There was evidence from the responses of child-care social workers that they lacked the capacity to fill this role in relation to parents and their statutory child-care responsibilities may make it particularly difficult for them to do so. Recommends that a pair of workers from the child-care and community mental health services should share the co-ordinating key worker role in such cases.