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In community mental health, limitation of service recipient choice and freedom takes place through mechanisms ranging from subtle to blatant. The justification of coercion in these settings typically focuses on recipient deficits. We argue that this focus must shift to the service system itself, and that the most successful efforts to improve recipient engagement will be those that support respectful provider-recipient relationships and the delivery of services that help recipients achieve goals of their choosing.

Case managers have been viewed as engaging in direct practice, community practice, or both. This article offers a third view: Case managers also engage in the practice of management. Employing Mintzberg's seminal research on chief executive behavior, the authors argue that case managers' work is similarly characterized by brevity, variety, and fragmentation. Case managers perform the 10 roles developed in Mintzberg's original study. These roles are divided into three groups: interpersonal, including figurehead, leader, and liaison; informational, including monitor, disseminator, and spokesperson; and decision-making, including entrepreneur, disturbance handler, resource allocator, and negotiator. Case managers' tasks associated with each role are presented. Considering their work as managerial in nature will help case managers more effectively assist clients in goal achievement.

In the past decade, concern for the plight of severely mentally ill people has centered on such issues as mental illness among the homeless population, the burden placed on families who care for ill loved ones, and the impoverished quality of life experienced by those who attempt to survive on their own. Some have called for a rethinking of the abandonment of the asylum and a relaxation of civil commitment laws, while others have advocated for increasing community-based services that specifically target severely mentally ill people. This article discusses these issues and considers how the response to severe mental illness has overrelied on pathology-based models of helping. The strengths perspective provides an alternative. Although severe mental illness presents a formidable obstacle to the afflicted, mentally challenged individuals have strengths and abilities that can be tapped to foster their continued integration in community settings. This adjustment is best conducted through the use of naturally occurring community resources rather than specialized, segregated programs.

Over the last decade, there has been increased momentum to bring the worlds of physical and behavioral health care together. Instead of social work education simply reacting to this change, it is imperative that we be proactive and prepare students to be "multilingual," that is, be able to speak and function in both the worlds of health and mental health so they can move seamlessly into the new world of integrated care. The purpose of this article is to explore curricular and pedagogical strategies needed to prepare graduate social work students for the coming shift in practice toward integrated health and mental health care.

This article provides an overview of the status of leadership in social work, with an emphasis on unique functions and challenges leaders face in the field. Included in this review is a consideration of the concept of leadership as distinct from management, a historical review of the development of leadership as a specialty within social work, and a look at the reported effectiveness of various leadership models. Finally, it is argued that among the various leadership models to choose from, client-centered leadership is consistent with the goals and values that undergird the profession.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption of telehealth in behavioral healthcare was rapidly accepted. This article reflects one component of a larger qualitative study that sought to understand the personal and professional experiences of front-line workers and their supervisors during the pivot to virtual services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current article is focused on the question, what were mental health workers' reactions, both personal and professional, to the rapid adoption of technology in their community mental health center practice? Thirty-six mental health professionals, ranging from front-line workers to supervisors, participated in telephone and Zoom interviews between late August and mid-November 2020. Respondents spoke of their organization's rapid response, the switch to telehealth for many services, the impact of this switch on professional practice, and their perceptions of the effectiveness of virtual services. They also shared their thoughts about the future of telehealth. The rapid changes, necessary for clients and the organization alike, brought an opportunity to reimagine service delivery. As social work is a profession that heavily emphasizes ethics and advocacy, and is the predominant professional group in community mental health, the final section examines implications for social work practice including practice ethics, consideration of factors on a micro, macro, and environmental level, the need to balance protection of the individual with the rights of many, and the necessity to take care of those doing the work as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, there has been increased momentum to bring the worlds of physical and behavioral health care together. Instead of social work education simply reacting to this change, it is imperative that we be proactive and prepare students to be “multilingual,” that is, be able to speak and function in both the worlds of health and mental health so they can move seamlessly into the new world of integrated care. The purpose of this article is to explore curricular and pedagogical strategies needed to prepare graduate social work students for the coming shift in practice toward integrated health and mental health care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among mental health case managers, burnout is rife and turnover rates are high, resulting in significant costs to agencies and compromising service quality. This study examines sources of frustration and satisfaction among case managers and the potential impact of these factors on recruitment and retention rates. In this exploratory study interviews were conducted with 40 mental health case managers who shared their observations on aspects of work that they enjoy and find least satisfying. The responses point to predictable sources of frustration such as paperwork, and productivity standards—while interactions with the recipients, outreach work, and the variety and flexibility in their jobs were sources of satisfaction. Results have implications for consumers of mental health services, front line workers, and organizational culture and practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article provides an overview of the future of strengths-based social work. According to the author, the future of strengths-based social work has been criticized as being poorly defined among many other traditional approach. The four strengths-based approaches which are used in demonstrating the characteristics of strengths-based practice are strengths case management, solution-focused therapy, individual placement and support model of supported employment and the asset-building model of community development.