Assessment in mental health practice of a social worker is the identification of the nature and causes of physical or mental illness, based on a comprehensive study of the patient. Mental illnesses are the result of complex interactions between the patient, other individuals and groups. Diagnoses of mental illness should always take into account socio-cultural aspects and effects of the environment on the patient as human nature is not stable - it undergoes processes of constant change and development.
The essence of social diagnosis lies in accurate determination of cause-effect relationships generated by life conditions of individual. Social diagnosis involves the collection of person’s information and his life conditions as well as its analysis for the development of social assistance programs.
Social diagnosis is an essential component of social technology and scope of practice of social worker. The purpose of diagnosing is establishing the reliability of information about individual and his environment, its changes and their possible impact, development of recommendations for planning his social activities and providing social assistance. Formulation of social diagnosis, being a creative process, still has a certain sequence of actions, use of procedures and solutions.
Social diagnosis solves typical problems, which include:
1. Identification of specific social qualities, characteristics and behavior of the individual.
2. Determination of the degree of development of various characteristics, their expression in quantitative and qualitative terms.
3. A description of features of diagnosed individuals.
4. Ranking of the specific qualities of the individual.
In the technology of mental health assessment a number of procedural steps can be distinguished:
1.Familiarization with the client, setting of the task, the selection of diagnosed cases, the elements of the case (situation), the choice of key indicators or criteria;
2. Measurement and analysis of chosen indicators;
3. The formulation and execution of the findings, conclusions based on the diagnosis.
References
Meadows, G., Singh, B. & Grigg, M., 2007. Mental health in Australia: Collaborative community practice, Oxford University Press, Sydney.
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