Mental Health and Social Work

This book showcases current thinking on social work in the field of mental health and illness from a bio-ecological and spiritual framework reflecting the transition in mental health care from institution to community. The book presents a valuable tool for understanding theories on aetiology and social work interventions in mental health from varying socio-cultural, economic and political contexts.

Topics covered include: the values and ethics of social work practice in mental health; psycho-social theories on mental health and illness, including psychological perspective and the structural/ social development perspective; social work approaches in working with individuals, families and communities; contextualized social work practice in mental health with a specific population group or community; structural factors such as legal provision and financial challenges in mental health and illness; and new directions in social work and mental health.

Abner Poon is a Lecturer of Social Work at the School of Social Sciences, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, University of New South Wales. His research focuses on social work practice in mental health, impact of mental illness on families and caregivers, family intervention in mental health, children of parents with mental illness, health and wellbeing of migrants facing mental health problems, recovery and community mental health teams. He has published articles on Assertive Community Treatment Program, caregivers of people with psychosis, Chinese migrants caring for people with schizophrenia and parents with mental illness.
Dr Rosaleen Ow is currently Senior Lecturer at the Department of Social Work, National University of Singapore with a M.Sc. from University College, Cardiff, Wales, and a Ph.D. from the National University of Singapore. She was a social work practitioner working mainly with children and families with very low income in Singapore and Wales before becoming an academic at the National University of Singapore. Her administrative role at the National University of Singapore included being the Head of Department before stepping down to go on sabbatical leave. Apart from teaching, she had been and is still an active volunteer with government and non-government agencies serving children with cancer and chronic illnesses, and families in need of formal social service support. Collaborating closely with non-governmental organizations and formal government bodies, her research and writing are focused on examining the social and cultural factors that are interlinked with the needs and challenges of different types of families and the service provisions available to support such families.