The Calgary Case Study: Social Work In Canada

In the video, “The New Asylums”, it demonstrated how deinstitutionalization has left thousands of mentally ill patients in the hands of the prison system. As the mental health hospitals closed down, the police department and prison system has become responsible for the mentally ill people that are on the streets. There was a firm point made about the release of mentally ill patients- “When hundreds of thousands of mentally ill are released, they do not magically become healthy. They went to the streets, became homeless, and turned to a system that cannot say no.” The video also stated that today, there are nearly 500,000 mentally ill people being held in jails and prisons throughout the country. Furthermore, there was no safety net for those

This assignment involves a case study where Ralph, a fourteen year old boy, is currently in foster care because his mother; Kerry, felt she was unable to control him due to his behaviour. However, Kerry has now expressed that she is unhappy with this foster placement and has requested that her son be returned to live with her and his two younger brothers. The scenario becomes more complex owing to the fact that Ralph has disclosed that his mother had regularly hit him with a walking stick. In this essay I will seek to consider the main practice issues raised by the scenario of the case study. Using the materials provided within the course along with my own professional experience, I will outline relevant legislation

Before 1955, the mentally ill took shelter in mental facility institutions. After 1955, the United States’ deinstitutionalized these facilities and made policy changes to the mental illness treatment system. However, those policy changes are flawed. Some say rather than abandoning mentally ill patients and depriving them of shelter, the United States government should change the way the mentally ill are treated in their current living situations. Instead of changing the attitudes of those who provide services to the mentally ill, it would be more beneficial to change the services themselves.

Attitudes toward the mentally ill started to change in the 60’s and 70’s from both the communities and professionals. The two began to recognize that the mentally ill had rights to live an independent life style like that of ordinary citizens. Before this, people with mental illness or developing disabilities had been institutionalized, giving strong medications, sedated and isolated from the rest of society. Living amongst the community, they receive their medication as well as interact with the general public. In addition, they also interact with security personnel and law enforcement officers, and all too frequently with unfortunate consequences. (Russell, 2012).

This section of the paper will discuss the definition of social work, values associated with social work and arguments for and against the use of systems theory in social work practice. Social work can be described as a field of study that encompasses individuals and their environment. Social work can be defined as work trained professionals do to elevate stressors of individuals so they may become more self-sufficient and empowered to live to their fullest potential.

Bachrach, the author of dozens of articles on mental health, reports on the development deinstitutionalization in “Deinstitutionalisation: promises, problems and prospects” (1995). Bachrach argues that deinstitutionalization is not a perfect solution to the problem of the treatment of PMI and supports her argument with discussions about both the drawbacks and “positive legacy” of deinstitutionalization. She explains that deinstitutionalization has three parts: the release of patients into the community, the diversion of possible new patients and the development of newer community programs; Bachrach logically explains that the last process is “particularly important” because it impacts the entirety of the patients new independent life in the community. Multiple sources remarked that the third step of deinstitutionalization had not been properly handled (SOURCES?), one author going so far as to call the last step, and deinstitutionalization as a whole, an “abject failure” (Kara, 2014). While the author supports this claim with the consequences that things such as the lack of community resources has had on the population of PMI, she does not concede any of the positive outcomes of deinstitutionalization making her argument somewhat one sided. The article explains that while institutions began closing, “hundreds of vulnerable people were displaced” to communities that were not properly equipped to support them. An article from the Canadian Mental Health Association website by Diana Ballon supports this claim with a more concrete figure stating that since 1950s and 60s and the beginnings of deinstitutionalization there has been “the closure of almost 80 percent of beds in psychiatric hospitals” (n.d.). This increase of PMI living in communities with a lack of proper housing lead to a disproportionally large number of PMI being homeless or living in poverty which “greatly increase[s] the odds of PMI

The mentally ill population in society is an oppressed group of individuals because they are powerlessness, exploited and marginalized. Powerless because of the inhibitions against the development of their capacity, the lack of power in decision making and the disrespect that they faced because of their status (Mullaly 2010, p. 37). Individuals will often stare, point, make negative ignorant statements and devalue the mentally ill because they behave in a different manner from the rest of society. They are oppressed on the personal and the structural level because of the inequities experienced, which in turn cause them disproportionate levels and incidences of stress, anguish, frustration, alienation, exclusions and a higher mortality rate (Mullaly 2010, p.153). Being incarcerated is also a form of oppression because they are a group that is segregated from the general population, denied specific rights and have

In the early 1960’s, Canada began its movement towards deinstitutionalization, based on the belief that community based care would better serve populations affected with mental illness (Davis, 2014). As a result, legislation sanctioning involuntary treatment within community settings became increasingly used (Davis, 2014). Currently under civil law, there are three methods of initiating mandatory outpatient treatment in Canada (Davis, 2014). In British Columbia, mandatory outpatient treatment occurs when an individual is placed on a leave provision following involuntary admission in hospital (Davis, 2014). Once this is completed, the individual is considered to be on extended leave, and their care is transferred to a community mental health

Many Americans have started to realize the need for better assistance for the mentally ill patients, as there as been ridiculously the amount of innocent people losing their lives due to them, and how they are a danger to themselves as well. Every week there is shocking incidents popping up on the news. Incidents such as homicide, gang violence, murder, school shootings, suicides, and much more is happening in our country. All of this is happening because we are not providing the much assistance to the mentally ill patients as we can.

Homelessness has become an epidemic across the United States of America over the past 40 years. Despite the fact that most individuals are reminded of this problem on a daily basis when they see those without homes on the street, few solutions have been implemented that would fix the causes of this horrendous issue. Funding for programs that assist the homeless and homeless prevention programs is abysmal, while the costs incurred due to such a large homeless population continue to rise. Over the past century, a variety of acts and programs have been put in place that has dramatically affected the homeless population of the time, both positively and negatively. This problem can be directly linked to the outcomes of these acts and programs. In order to attack the root cause, the American population needs to look back at the history of homelessness and increase our awareness of what is truly preventing the homeless from mobilizing.

I spent a morning with an Assertive outreach mental health team, a community healthcare team which support individuals with severe mental health problems; including people who are generally marginalized by society, including drug users, the homeless and sex worker (studies, 2013). The team I spent my time with make daily visits to these people in the community, helping them with day to day jobs, such as finding housing, getting to doctors appointments, and basic things such as shopping. This service is invaluable as it allows patients who may not voluntarily interact with the healthcare system to be monitored in some way, helping to prevent deterioration of their condition, and for them to receive the healthcare they need. We visited a 32 year old gentleman with Schizophrenia, a psychiatric condition affecting 0.5% of the global population, causing an array of cognitive, behavioral and perceptual disturbances, including, paranoia, disorganized thinking and behavior, and auditory hallucinations (Ballinger,

Despite geographically on different corners of the world, there remains a lot of similarities between the Canadian and Philippine social work practice. In both jurisdictions, social work is a recognized profession. In the Philippines, Republic Act 4373 laid the basis for professionalization social work. The organized social work practice in the Philippines was introduced during the American rule (1898-1946) to gradually extend public coordination of welfare services. (Aspalter, 2014). In Canada, although there is no law creating the profession, the Canadian Association of Social Workers was established to establish standards of social work practice. Each province established its own Colleges to govern the practice of social work on the local level. The first recognition of social workers in the Philippines came after its liberation from the United States when the Philippine Association of Social Workers was organized (Almanzor, 1966; Yu, 2006 as cited in Aspalter, 2014). Through their influence further, social welfare gradually transitions towards professionalization to emphasize the need to coordinate welfare services. Landa Jocano (1980: 63 as cited in Aspalter, 2014). In both territories, a governing body supervises the practice. In both jurisdictions, practice theories are based on Western origin and orientation. Though Canada has pioneered some intellectual contributions in social work academia, Philippines education, and

This social worker met Dick on time at the client’s residence. The client asked if we could change the location of our session, because he was hungry. This social worker agreed to have the session at Dan’s Coffee Shop located on 16th and Nob Hill, for a 1-hour session. Dick states that Mike continues to complete his chores. Dick states that the chore system is successful and has noticed that Mike looks for ways to improve the decorating of his room. Dick continues to witness the coping techniques work for himself and Mike.

As the saying goes, “Our children are our future” and who you are as a child can determine who you can be later on in life. It is important for a child to be in a safe, comfortable and loving environment during its development so that the child can have the full advantage to become the best he can be in his future. My future career as a social worker will ensure just that. I chose this profession because of my own history. Growing up, I’ve had my share of social workers in my house. I experienced them as people who helped my family during a hard time. This is a career where I can fight for people’s rights. I will also be able to protect

This paper will explore the practice of international social work, the history of how it came about and will examine the context of how we understand the roles and responsibilities of social workers practicing at a regional level and a global level. It will analyze the implications of globalization and internationalization for social workers, their profession and the importance of education and practice from a global perspective. From a critical lens, it will analyze and question Western models of social work practice and applications of universal knowledge.