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Exploring social work’s important roles and functions in the context of the changing health and behavioral health care landscape served as the impetus for convening an interdisciplinary dialogue of representatives from front-line service delivery, federal agencies, national and state organizations, insurers, and university leaders on June 20, 2012.
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Social workers employed in health clinics and outpatient health care settings wear multiple hats—case managers, patient navigators, psychotherapists and community outreach coordinators—to name a few. In outpatient settings, social workers are often the bridge that connects primary and behavioral health care. In these busy environments, social workers identify psychosocial problems that are often overlooked or go unnoticed or by other health care practitioners. Social work practice in outpatient settings involves multiple methods, including clinical and macro approaches, as well as policy and advocacy.
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Social workers in hospitals and medical centers provide frontline services to patients with conditions spanning the entire health care continuum. According to a national survey of licensed social workers, hospitals are the most common primary employment setting for health care social workers (Whitaker, Weismiller, Clark & Wilson, 2006). For purposes of this document, the term “hospital” refers to the variety of general and specialized acute care medical facilities.
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Psychiatric hospitals specialize in the treatment of mental illnesses and provide mental health services in settings such as acute care, partial hospitalization, and residential care. Some hospitals admit patients on a voluntary basis, while others commit patients involuntarily in instances where the patients may pose a danger to themselves or others. Depression, severe anxiety, psychotic, and substance-related disorders are examples of some of the illnesses treated.
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