Cannabis has now "evolved its own language, humour, etiquette, art, literature and music". Nick Brownlee writes: "Perhaps because of its ancient mystical and spiritual roots, because of the psychotherapeutic effects of the drug and because it is illegal, even the very act of smoking a joint has deep symbolism." However, the culture of cannabis as "the manifestation of introspection
and bodily passivity" — which has generated a negative "slacker"
stereotype around its consumers — is a relatively modern concept, as
cannabis has been consumed in various forms for almost 5,000 years.
New research published in the International Journal of
Neuropsychopharmacology claims to have refuted the "lazy stoner
stereotype".
The study finds that regular cannabis users were no more likely than
non-users to be apathetic or anhedonic (to experience a loss of interest
or pleasure).
The counterculture of the 1960s has been identified as the era that "sums up the glory years of modern cannabis culture", with the Woodstock Festival serving as "the pinnacle of the hippie revolution in the US, and in many people's opinion the ultimate example of cannabis culture at work". The influence of cannabis has encompassed holidays (most notably 4/20), cinema (such as the exploitation and stoner film genres), music (particularly jazz, reggae, psychedelia and rap music), and magazines including High Times and Cannabis Culture. Cannabis culture has also infiltrated chess culture, whereby the "Bongcloud Attack" denotes a highly risky opening sequence.
Cannabis was once sold in clubs known as "Teapads" during Prohibition in the United States; jazz was usually played at these clubs. Cannabis use was often viewed to be of lower class and was disliked by many.
After the outlawing of cannabis, its consumption became covert. Decades
later cannabis became once again tolerated by some regions'
legislation. Customs have formed around the consumption of cannabis such
as 420, named after the popular time of day to consume cannabis (4:20 p.m.) and celebrated on April 20 (4/20). If consumed in a social setting it is encouraged to share cannabis with others.
Euphemisms
have long been used by subcultures to identify parts of their culture,
and this pertains especially to subcultures of things that are taboo, including cannabis.
Cannabis as a product has among the highest number of direct
euphemisms, with even more for related elements of cannabis culture. One of the most common cannabis euphemisms, 420, was coined in the 1970s, but other terms are centuries older. A slang scholar, Jonathon Green, noted in 2017 that even though various countries and US states were decriminalizing and legalizing cannabis,
more slang terms were still being coined; he suggested that while the
need for euphemisms was originally because of the illegality, it had
become part of the culture as those using the slang terms did not focus
on the legal status of the drug, telling Time that coming up with new slang terms "is also simply fun".
However, in 2021, it was suggested by researchers that new euphemisms
were still being coined so as to evade internet censors and automated
moderation, so that members of cannabis subcultures could discuss their
use online even as common slang terms were added to banned word lists.
They also suggested that, for this reason, many of the more recent
euphemisms repurposed common words with innocuous meanings, as these
words are less likely to be banned (it gave the example of "pot", though this is older).
The use of euphemisms and other related argot
also identifies a person as belonging to a complex subculture of
cannabis use both globally and regionally, with different terms in
different regions. The argot also contributes to the identity of these
subcultures by "provid[ing] socially constructed ways of talking,
thinking, expressing, communicating and interacting among marijuana
users and distributors. [...] These words convey the dynamic
expressiveness involved in shared consumption and as a comprehensive
communication system among subculture participants."
In the arts
As the psychoactive effects of cannabis include increased appreciation of the arts, including and especially music, as well as increased creativity,
its influence and usefulness can be found in a variety of works. While
coded names of cannabis appeared in music as early as the 1920s, such as
Louis Armstrong's song, "Muggles," it wasn't until the 1960s and 70s when more artists began referencing it explicitly. Songs famous for their cannabis-centric lyrics produced during this time include "Got to Get You into My Life" by The Beatles, "Rainy Day Women#12 and 35" by Bob Dylan, and Black Sabbath's "Sweet Leaf."
Today, countless artists, not constrained to any
drug-culture-specific genre, have opened up about their substance
consumption and how it has inspired their works. Snoop Dogg's
love of marijuana is very well known, having created his own line of
weed, vaporizer pen, and website focusing on cannabis culture. Willie Nelson, who owns a cannabis company called Willie's Reserve, has even said that smoking saved his life.
Willie's Reserve Label, is known for promoting social reform in hopes
of ending marijuana and hemp prohibitions; it also partners with local
Colorado growers, extractors and edibles makers for his wholesale brand. Where as Jay-Z also represents TPCO, which is now one of the largest cannabis companies in the world as a 'Visionary Officer'. Young artists like Greg Welch produce hundreds of pieces of art using cannabis flowers and other related stuffs. Other contemporary artists who have been vocal about their cannabis use include Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Lady Gaga, Zayn Malik, Wiz Khalifa, Rihanna, and Dave Chappelle.
Process of making bhang in a Sikh village in Punjab, India. On the Hindu and Sikh festival of colors called Holi, it is a customary addition to some intoxicating drinks.
Cannabis — the plant that produces hemp and hashish — has been one of the most used psychoactive drugs in the world since the late 20th century, following only tobacco and alcohol in popularity.
According to Vera Rubin, the use of cannabis has been encompassed by
two major cultural complexes over time: a continuous, traditional folk stream, and a more circumscribed, contemporary configuration. The former involves both sacred and secular use, and is usually based on small-scale cultivation: the use of the plant for cordage, clothing, medicine, food, and a "general use as an euphoriant and symbol of fellowship."
The second stream of expansion of cannabis use encompasses "the use of
hemp for commercial manufacturers utilizing large-scale cultivation
primarily as a fiber for mercantile purposes"; but it is also linked to
the search for psychedelic experiences (which can be traced back to the formation of the Parisian Club des Hashischins).
Cannabis has been used in the ancient past in places such as ancient India, Romania, Egypt, and Mesopotamia.
It was often used as medicine or for hemp, its main route of
consumption was smoking. In addition, the plant holds cultural
significance in many Eurasian countries. Hemp is associated within
cultural rituals like marriage, death, birth, healing, protection, and
purification. In some Eastern European folklore, hemp links a spirit to the afterlife.
Over time the culture became more international and a general
"cannabis culture" formed. The culture has been responsible for the
genre of films known as stoner films, which has come to be accepted as a mainstream cinema movement. In the United States the culture has also spawned its own celebrities (such as Tommy Chong and Terence McKenna), and magazines such as (Cannabis Culture and High Times).
Cannabis is indigenous to the Indian subcontinent.
Cannabis is also known to have been used by the ancient Hindus of the
Indian subcontinent thousands of years ago. The herb is called ganja (Sanskrit: गञ्जा, IAST: gañjā) or ganjika in Sanskrit and other modern Indo-Aryan languages. Some scholars suggest that the ancient drug soma, mentioned in the Vedas, was cannabis, although this theory is disputed.
Today cannabis is often formed into bhang,
which has become an integral part of tradition and custom in the Indian
subcontinent. In some sections of rural India, people attribute various
medicinal properties to the cannabis plant. If taken in proper
quantity, bhang is believed to cure fever, dysentery, sunstroke, to clear phlegm, aid in digestion, appetite, cure speech imperfections and lisping, and give alertness to the body.
By the 8th century, cannabis had been introduced by Arab traders to Central and Southern Africa, where it is known as "dagga"; many Rastas say it is a part of their African culture that they are reclaiming. It is sometimes also referred to as "the healing of the nation", a phrase adapted from Revelation 22:2.
Alternatively, the migration of many thousands of Hindus and Muslims from British India
to the Caribbean in the 20th century may have brought this culture to
Jamaica. Many academics point to Indo-Caribbean origins for the ganja
sacrament resulting from the importation of Indian migrant workers in a
post-abolition Jamaican landscape. "Large scale use of ganja in Jamaica
... dated from the importation of indentured Indians...."(Campbell
110). Dreadlocked mystics Jata, often ascetic known as sadhus or Sufi Qalandars and Derwishes, have smoked cannabis from both chillums and coconut shell hookahs in South Asia since the ancient times. Also, the reference of "chalice" may be a transliteration of "jam-e-qalandar" (a term used by Sufi
ascetics meaning 'bowl or cup of qalandar'). In South Asia, in addition
to smoking, cannabis is often consumed as a drink known as bhang and most qalandars carry a large wooden pestle for that reason.
United States
Marijuana's
history in American culture began during the Colonial Era. During this
time, hemp was a critical crop, so colonial governments in Virginia and
Massachusetts required land-owning farmers to grow marijuana for
hemp-based products. Two of the nation's founding fathers, Thomas Jefferson and George Washington, were notable cultivators of hemp. Another Colonial Era figure, John Adams, was a recreational user and wrote about hemp's mind-altering powers.
Marijuana use was associated with the subculture, and during the 1950s, Aldous Huxley's 1954 book The Doors of Perception further influenced views on drugs. This would later influence the hippie movement.
The term "Hipsters" define two cultural groups, the 1940s subculture dedicated to jazz, and the contemporary subculture today. Both are stereotyped as enjoying cannabis. In fact the early hipsters of the 1940s had many slang terms dedicated to the drug and its distribution.
Media
coverage of marijuana has progressed in recent history. Attention and
coverage of the drug began in the 1930s when fabricated horror stories
of its effects were used to scare the public and influence public
opinion. To push the negative connotations of marijuana even more, films such as Marihuana (1936) and Reefer Madness (1937) were created.
The social game Pot Farm
created "the largest cannabis community on earth", with 20 million
unique players across its platforms and a 2011 figure of over 1 million
users on Facebook.
Licensed
Clinical Social Worker, Licensed Master Social Worker, Licensed
Advanced Practicing Social Worker, Registered Social Worker
Activity sectors
Social
welfare, social services, government, health, public health, mental
health, occupational safety and health, community organization,
non-profit, law, corporate social responsibility, human rights
Description
Competencies
Improving the social environment and well-being of people by facilitating, and developing resources
Education required
Bachelor
of Social Work (BSW), Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Social Work, Bachelor of
Science in Social Work (BSc) or a Postgraduate Diploma in Social Work
(PGDipSW) for general practice; Master of Social Work (MSW), Master of
Science in Social Work (MSSW) for clinical practice; Doctorate of Social
Work (DSW) or Professional Doctorate (ProfD or DProf) for or
specialized practice; Accredited educational institution; Registration
and licensing differs depending on state
Fields of employment
Child
and women protection services, non-profit organizations, government
agencies, disadvantaged groups centers, hospitals, schools, churches,
shelters, community agencies, social planning services, think tanks,
correctional services, labor and industry services
Social work practice is often divided into three levels.
Micro-work involves working directly with individuals and families, such
as providing individual counseling/therapy or assisting a family in
accessing services. Mezzo-work involves working with groups and
communities, such as conducting group therapy or providing services for community agencies. Macro-work involves fostering change on a larger scale through advocacy, social policy, research development, non-profit and public service administration, or working with government agencies. Starting in the 1960s, a few universities began social work management
programmes, to prepare students for the management of social and human
service organizations, in addition to classical social work education.
The social work profession developed in the 19th century, with some of its roots in voluntary philanthropy and in grassroots organizing. However, responses to social needs had existed long before then, primarily from public almshouses, private charities and religious organizations. The effects of the Industrial Revolution and of the Great Depression
of the 1930s placed pressure on social work to become a more defined
discipline as social workers responded to the child welfare concerns
related to widespread poverty and reliance on child labor in industrial
settings.
Definition
Social work is a broad profession that intersects with several disciplines. Social work organizations offer the following definitions:
Social work is a practice-based profession and an
academic discipline that promotes social change and development, social
cohesion, and the empowerment and liberation of people. Principles of
social justice, human rights,
collective responsibility and respect for diversities are central to
social work. Underpinned by theories of social work, social sciences,
humanities, and indigenous knowledge, social work engages people and
structures to address life challenges and enhance well-being.
Social work is a profession concerned with helping
individuals, families, groups and communities to enhance their
individual and collective well-being. It aims to help people develop
their skills and their ability to use their resources and those of the
community to resolve problems. Social work is concerned with individual
and personal problems but also with broader social issues such as
poverty, unemployment, and domestic violence.
Social work practice consists of the professional
application of social principles, and techniques to one or more of the
following ends: helping people obtain tangible services; counseling and
psychotherapy with individuals, families, and groups; helping
communities or groups provide or improve social and health services, and
participating in legislative processes. The practice of social work
requires knowledge of human development and behavior; of social and
economic, and cultural institutions; and the interaction of all these
factors.
Social workers work with individuals and families to help
improve outcomes in their lives. This may be helping to protect
vulnerable people from harm or abuse or supporting people to live
independently. Social workers support people, act as advocates and
direct people to the services they may require. Social workers often
work in multi-disciplinary teams alongside health and education
professionals.
The practice and profession of social work has a relatively modern and scientific origin,
and is generally considered to have developed out of three strands. The
first was individual casework, a strategy pioneered by the Charity Organization Society in the mid-19th century, which was founded by Helen Bosanquet and Octavia Hill in London, England. Most historians identify COS as the pioneering organization of the social theory that led to the emergence of social work as a professional occupation.
COS had its main focus on individual casework. The second was social
administration, which included various forms of poverty relief – 'relief
of paupers'. Statewide poverty relief could be said to have its roots
in the English Poor Laws
of the 17th century but was first systematized through the efforts of
the Charity Organization Society. The third consisted of social action –
rather than engaging in the resolution of immediate individual
requirements, the emphasis was placed on political action working
through the community and the group to improve their social conditions
and thereby alleviate poverty. This approach was developed originally by the Settlement House Movement.
This was accompanied by a less easily defined movement; the
development of institutions to deal with the entire range of social
problems. All had their most rapid growth during the nineteenth century,
and laid the foundation basis for modern social work, both in theory
and in practice.
Professional social work originated in 19th century England, and had its roots in the social and economic upheaval wrought by the Industrial Revolution, in particular, the societal struggle to deal with the resultant mass urban-based poverty and its related problems. Because poverty was the main focus of early social work, it was intricately linked with the idea of charity work.
Other important historical figures that shaped the growth of the social work profession are Jane Addams, who founded the Hull House in Chicago and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931; Mary Ellen Richmond, who wrote Social Diagnosis, one of the first social workbooks to incorporate law, medicine, psychiatry, psychology, and history; and William Beveridge, who created the social welfare state, framing the debate on social work within the context of social welfare provision.
United States
During the 1840s, Dorothea Lynde Dix,
a retired Boston teacher who is considered the founder of the Mental
Health Movement, began a crusade that would change the way people with
mental disorders were viewed and treated. Dix was not a social worker;
the profession was not established until after she died in 1887.
However, her life and work were embraced by early psychiatric social
workers (mental health social worker/clinical social worker), and she is
considered one of the pioneers of psychiatric social work along with
Elizabeth Horton, who in 1907 was the first social worker to work in a
psychiatric setting as an aftercare agent in the New York hospital
systems to provide post-discharge supportive services.
The early twentieth century marked a period of progressive change
in attitudes towards mental illness. The increased demand for
psychiatric services following the First World War led to significant
developments. In 1918, Smith College School for Social Work was established, and under the guidance of Mary C. Jarrett at Boston Psychopathic Hospital,
students from Smith College were trained in psychiatric social work.
She first gave social workers the "Psychiatric Social Worker"
designation.
A book titled "The Kingdom of Evils," released in 1922, authored by a
hospital administrator and the head of the social service department at
Boston Psychopathic Hospital, described the roles of psychiatric social
workers in the hospital. These roles encompassed casework, managerial
duties, social research, and public education.
After World War II, a series of mental hygiene clinics were
established. The Community Mental Health Centers Act was passed in 1963.
This policy encouraged the deinstitutionalisation
of people with mental illness. Later, the mental health consumer
movement came by 1980s. A consumer was defined as a person who has
received or is currently receiving services for a psychiatric condition.
People with mental disorders and their families became advocates for
better care. Building public understanding and awareness through
consumer advocacy helped bring mental illness and its treatment into
mainstream medicine and social services.
The 2000s saw the managed care movement, which aimed at a health care
delivery system to eliminate unnecessary and inappropriate care to
reduce costs, and the recovery movement, which by principle acknowledges
that many people with serious mental illness spontaneously recover and
others recover and improve with proper treatment.
Social workers made an impact with 2003 invasion of Iraq and War in Afghanistan (2001–2021); social workers worked out of NATO hospitals in Afghanistan and Iraqi
bases. They made visits to provide counseling services at forward
operating bases. Twenty-two percent of the clients were diagnosed with posttraumatic stress disorder, 17 percent with depression, and 7 percent with alcohol use disorder. In 2009, there was a high level of suicides among active-duty soldiers: 160 confirmed or suspected Army suicides. In 2008, the Marine Corps had a record 52 suicides.
The stress of long and repeated deployments to war zones, the dangerous
and confusing nature of both wars, wavering public support for the
wars, and reduced troop morale all contributed to escalating mental
health issues. Military and civilian social workers served a critical role in the veterans' health care system.
Mental health services is a loose network of services ranging from highly structured inpatient
psychiatric units to informal support groups, where psychiatric social
workers indulges in the diverse approaches in multiple settings along
with other paraprofessional workers.
Canada
A role
for psychiatric social workers was established early in Canada's history
of service delivery in the field of population health. Native North
Americans understood mental trouble as an indication of an individual
who had lost their equilibrium with the sense of place and belonging in
general, and with the rest of the group in particular. In native healing
beliefs, health and mental health were inseparable, so similar
combinations of natural and spiritual remedies were often employed to
relieve both mental and physical illness. These communities and families
greatly valued holistic approaches for preventive health care.
Indigenous peoples in Canada have faced cultural oppression and social
marginalization through the actions of European colonizers and their
institutions since the earliest periods of contact. Culture contact
brought with it many forms of depredation. Economic, political, and
religious institutions of the European settlers all contributed to the
displacement and oppression of indigenous people.
The first officially recorded treatment practices were in 1714, when Quebec opened wards for the mentally ill. In the 1830s social services were active through charity organizations and church parishes (Social Gospel Movement). Asylums for the insane were opened in 1835 in Saint John and New Brunswick. In 1841 in Toronto
care for the mentally ill became institutionally based. Canada became a
self-governing dominion in 1867, retaining its ties to the British
crown. During this period, age of industrial capitalism
began and it led to social and economic dislocation in many forms. By
1887 asylums were converted to hospitals, and nurses and attendants were
employed for the care of the mentally ill. Social work training began
at the University of Toronto in 1914. Before that, social workers
acquired their training through trial and error methods on the job and
by participating in apprenticeship plans offered by charity organization
societies. These plans included related study, practical experience,
and supervision. In 1918 Dr. Clarence Hincks and Clifford Beers founded the Canadian National Committee for Mental Hygiene, which later became the Canadian Mental Health Association.
In the 1930s Hincks promoted prevention and of treating sufferers of
mental illness before they were incapacitated (early intervention).
World War II
profoundly affected attitudes towards mental health. The medical
examinations of recruits revealed that thousands of apparently healthy
adults suffered mental difficulties. This knowledge changed public
attitudes towards mental health, and stimulated research into preventive
measures and methods of treatment. In 1951 Mental Health Week was introduced across Canada. For the first half of the twentieth century, with a period of deinstitutionalisation
beginning in the late 1960s psychiatric social work succeeded to the
current emphasis on community-based care, psychiatric social work
focused beyond the medical model's aspects on individual diagnosis to
identify and address social inequities and structural issues. In the
1980s Mental Health Act was amended to give consumers the right to
choose treatment alternatives. Later the focus shifted to workforce
mental health issues and environmental root causes.
In Ontario, the regulator, the Ontario College of Social Workers
and Social Service Workers (OCSWSSW) regulates two professions:
registered social workers (RSW) and registered social service workers
(RSSW). Each provinces has similar regulatory bodies. The Canadian Association of Social Workers
(CASW) is the national professional body for social workers. Prior to
provincial-level politicization, registrants of this professional body
were able to engage in inter-provincial practice as registered social
workers.
India
The earliest citing of mental disorders in India are from Vedic Era (2000 BC – AD 600).
Charaka Samhita, an ayurvedic textbook believed to be from 400 to 200
BC describes various factors of mental stability. It also has
instructions regarding how to set up a care delivery system. In the same era, Siddha was a medical system in south India. The great sage Agastya
was one of the 18 siddhas contributing to a system of medicine. This
system has included the Agastiyar Kirigai Nool, a compendium of
psychiatric disorders and their recommended treatments.
In Atharva Veda too there are descriptions and resolutions about mental
health afflictions. In the Mughal period Unani system of medicine was
introduced by an Indian physician Unhammad in 1222. The existing form of psychotherapy was known then as ilaj-i-nafsani in Unani medicine.
The 18th century was a very unstable period in Indian history,
which contributed to psychological and social chaos in the Indian
subcontinent. In 1745, lunatic asylums were developed in Bombay (Mumbai)
followed by Calcutta (Kolkata) in 1784, and Madras (Chennai) in 1794.
The need to establish hospitals became more acute, first to treat and
manage Englishmen and Indian 'sepoys' (military men) employed by the
British East India Company.
The First Lunacy Act (also called Act No. 36) that came into effect in
1858 was later modified by a committee appointed in Bengal in 1888.
Later, the Indian Lunacy Act, 1912 was brought under this legislation. A
rehabilitation programme was initiated between 1870s and 1890s for
persons with mental illness at the Mysore Lunatic Asylum, and then an
occupational therapy department was established during this period in
almost each of the lunatic asylums. The programme in the asylum was
called 'work therapy'. In this programme, persons with mental illness
were involved in the field of agriculture for all activities. This
programme is considered as the seed of origin of psychosocial
rehabilitation in India.
Berkeley-Hill, superintendent of the European Hospital (now known as the Central Institute of Psychiatry
(CIP), established in 1918), was deeply concerned about the improvement
of mental hospitals in those days. The sustained efforts of
Berkeley-Hill helped to raise the standard of treatment and care and he
also persuaded the government to change the term 'asylum' to 'hospital'
in 1920.
Techniques similar to the current token-economy were first started in
1920 and called by the name 'habit formation chart' at the CIP, Ranchi.
In 1937, the first post of psychiatric social worker was created in the
child guidance clinic run by the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work
(established in 1936). It is considered as the first documented evidence
of social work practice in Indian mental health field.
After Independence in 1947, general hospital psychiatry units
(GHPUs) were established to improve conditions in existing hospitals,
while at the same time encouraging outpatient care through these units.
In Amritsar Dr. Vidyasagar instituted active involvement of families in
the care of persons with mental illness. This was advanced practice
ahead of its times regarding treatment and care. This methodology had a
greater impact on social work practice in the mental health field
especially in reducing the stigmatisation. In 1948 Gauri Rani Banerjee,
trained in the United States, started a master's course in medical and
psychiatric social work at the Dhorabji Tata School of Social Work (now
TISS). Later the first trained psychiatric social worker was appointed
in 1949 at the adult psychiatry unit of Yerwada Mental Hospital, Pune.
In various parts of the country, in mental health service
settings, social workers were employed—in 1956 at a mental hospital in
Amritsar, in 1958 at a child guidance clinic of the college of nursing,
and in Delhi in 1960 at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences and
in 1962 at the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital. In 1960, the Madras Mental Hospital (now Institute of Mental Health)
employed social workers to bridge the gap between doctors and patients.
In 1961 the social work post was created at the NIMHANS. In these
settings they took care of the psychosocial aspect of treatment. This
system enabled social service practices to have a stronger long-term
impact on mental health care.
In 1966 by the recommendation Mental Health Advisory Committee,
Ministry of Health, Government of India, NIMHANS commenced Department of
Psychiatric Social Work started and a two-year Postgraduate Diploma in
Psychiatric Social Work was introduced in 1968. In 1978, the
nomenclature of the course was changed to MPhil in Psychiatric Social
Work. Subsequently, a PhD Programme was introduced. By the
recommendations Mudaliar committee in 1962, Diploma in Psychiatric
Social Work was started in 1970 at the European Mental Hospital at
Ranchi (now CIP). The program was upgraded and other higher training
courses were added subsequently.
A new initiative to integrate mental health with general health services started in 1975 in India. The Ministry of Health, Government of India
formulated the National Mental Health Programme (NMHP) and launched it
in 1982. The same was reviewed in 1995 and based on that, the District
Mental Health Program (DMHP) was launched in 1996 which sought to
integrate mental health care with public health care. This model has been implemented in all the states and currently there are 125 DMHP sites in India.
National Human Rights Commission
(NHRC) in 1998 and 2008 carried out systematic, intensive and critical
examinations of mental hospitals in India. This resulted in recognition
of the human rights of the persons with mental illness by the NHRC. From
the NHRC's report as part of the NMHP, funds were provided for
upgrading the facilities of mental hospitals. As a result of the study,
it was revealed that there were more positive changes in the decade
until the joint report of NHRC and NIMHANS in 2008 compared to the last 50 years until 1998. In 2016 Mental Health Care Bill was passed which ensures and legally entitles
access to treatments with coverage from insurance, safeguarding dignity
of the afflicted person, improving legal and healthcare access and
allows for free medications. In December 2016, Disabilities Act 1995 was repealed with Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act
(RPWD), 2016 from the 2014 Bill which ensures benefits for a wider
population with disabilities. The Bill before becoming an Act was pushed
for amendments by stakeholders mainly against alarming clauses in the
"Equality and Non discrimination" section that diminishes the power of
the act and allows establishments to overlook or discriminate against
persons with disabilities and against the general lack of directives
that requires to ensure the proper implementation of the Act.
Mental health in India is in its developing stages. There are not enough professionals to support the demand. According to the Indian Psychiatric Society,
there are around 9000 psychiatrists only in the country as of January
2019. Going by this figure, India has 0.75 psychiatrists per 100,000
population, while the desirable number is at least 3 psychiatrists per
100,000. While the number of psychiatrists has increased since 2010, it
is still far from a healthy ratio.
Lack of any universally accepted single licensing authority
compared to foreign countries puts social workers at general in risk.
But general bodies/councils accepts automatically a university-qualified
social worker as a professional licensed to practice or as a qualified
clinician. Lack of a centralized council in tie-up with Schools of
Social Work also makes a decline in promotion for the scope of social
workers as mental health professionals. Though in this midst the service
of social workers has given a facelift to the mental health sector in
the country with other allied professionals.
State welfare organization was previously part of health and social security ministry.
Theoretical models and practices
Social work is an interdisciplinary profession, meaning it draws from a number of areas, such as (but not limited to) psychology, sociology, politics, criminology, economics, ecology, education, health, law, philosophy, anthropology, and counseling, including psychotherapy. Field work is a distinctive attribution to social work pedagogy. This equips the trainee in understanding the theories and models within the field of work. Professional practitioners from multicultural aspects have their roots in this social work immersion
engagements from the early 19th century in the western countries. As an
example, here are some of the models and theories used within social
work practice:
American educator Abraham Flexner in a 1915 lecture, "Is Social Work a Profession?",
delivered at the National Conference on Charities and Corrections,
examined the characteristics of a profession concerning social work. It
is not a 'single model', such as that of health, followed by medical
professions such as nurses and doctors, but an integrated profession,
and the likeness with medical profession is that social work requires a
continued study for professional development to retain knowledge and
skills that are evidence-based by practice standards.
A social work professional's services lead toward the aim of providing
beneficial services to individuals, dyads, families, groups,
organizations, and communities to achieve optimum psychosocial
functioning.
Its eight core functions present in its methods of practice are described by Popple and Leighninger as:
Engagement — social worker must first engage the client in early meetings to promote a collaborative relationship
Assessment — data gathered must be specifically aimed at guiding and directing a plan of action to help the client
Planning — negotiate and formulate an action plan
Implementation — promote resource acquisition and enhance role performance
Monitoring/Evaluation — ongoing documentation for assessing the
extent to which the client is following through on short-term goal
attainment
Supportive Counseling — affirming, challenging, encouraging, informing, and exploring options
Graduated Disengagement — seeking to replace the social worker with a naturally occurring resource
Administration — planning and managing social work programs,
providing operations management support, and administrating case
management services
There are six broad ethical principles in National Association of
Social Workers' (NASW) Code of Ethics that inform social work practice,
they are both prescriptive and proscriptive, and are based on six core
values:
Service — help people in need and provide pro bono services
Social Justice — engage in social change activities for and with people to promote social justice and challenge social injustice
Dignity and worth of the person — treat people with care and
respect, be sensitive to cultural and ethnic diversity, and promote
individuals socially responsible self determination
Importance of human relationships — maintain positive client
relationships because they play a vital role in driving change, and
engage with people as partners who empower them through the helping
process
Integrity — engage clients with honesty and responsibility to build
trust, and you are not only responsible for your own professional ethics
and integrity but also of the service organization
Competence — practice and build expertise as a social worker, and
continually seek to enhance and contribute professional knowledge and
skills
The International Federation of Social Workers
also outlines essential principles for guiding social workers towards
high professional standards. These include recognizing the inherent
dignity of all people, upholding human rights, striving for social
justice, supporting self-determination, encouraging participation,
respecting privacy and confidentiality, treating individuals
holistically, using technology and social media responsibly, and
maintaining professional integrity.
A historic and defining feature of social work is the
profession's focus on individual well-being in a social context and the
well-being of society. Social workers promote social justice and social change with and on behalf of clients. A "client" can be an individual, family, group, organization, or community.
In the broadening scope of the modern social worker's role, some
practitioners have in recent years traveled to war-torn countries to
provide psychosocial assistance to families and survivors.
Newer areas of social work practice involve management science. The growth of "social work administration" (sometimes also referred to as "social work management")
for transforming social policies into services and directing activities
of an organization toward achievement of goals is a related field.
Helping clients with accessing benefits such as unemployment insurance
and disability benefits, to assist individuals and families in building
savings and acquiring assets to improve their financial security
over the long-term, to manage large operations, etc. requires social
workers to know financial management skills to help clients and
organization's to be financially self-sufficient. Financial social work
also helps clients with low-income or low to middle-income, people who
are either unbanked (do not have a banking account) or underbanked
(individuals who have a bank account but tend to rely on high cost
non-bank providers for their financial transactions), with better
mediation with financial institutions and induction of money management
skills.
A prominent area in which social workers operate is Behavioral Social
Work. They apply principles of learning and social learning to conduct behavioral analysis and behavior management.
Empiricism and effectiveness serve as means to ensure the dignity of
clients, and focusing on the present is what distinguishes behavioral
social work from other types of social work practices. In a
multicultural case, the behavior of multiple members from different
cultures matters. In such cases, an ecobehavioral perspective is taken
due to the external influences. The interpersonal skills that a social
worker brings to the job make them stand out from behavioral therapists.
Another area that social workers are focusing is risk management, risk
in social work is taken as Knight in 1921 defined "If you don't even
know for sure what will happen, but you know the odds, that is risk and
If you don't even know the odds, that is uncertainty."
Risk management in social work means minimizing the risks while
increasing potential benefits for clients by analyzing the risks and
benefits in the duty of care or decisions.
Occupational social work is a field where the trained professionals
assist a management with worker's welfare, in their psychosocial
wellness, and helps management's policies and protocols to be humanistic
and anti-oppressive.
Social workers play many roles in mental health settings, including those of case manager, advocate, administrator, and therapist. The major functions of a psychiatric social worker are promotion and prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation. Social workers may also practice:
Psychiatric social workers conduct psychosocial
assessments of the patients and work to enhance patient and family
communications with the medical team members and ensure the
inter-professional cordiality in the team to secure patients with the
best possible care and to be active partners in their care planning.
Depending upon the requirement, social workers are often involved in
illness education, counseling and psychotherapy. In all areas, they are pivotal to the aftercare process to facilitate a careful transition back to family and community.
Qualifications and license
The education of social workers begins with a bachelor's degree (BA, BSc, BSSW, BSW, etc.) or diploma in social work or a Bachelor of Social Services.
Some countries offer postgraduate degrees in social work, such as a
master's degree (MSW, MSSW, MSS, MSSA, MA, MSc, MRes, MPhil.) or
doctoral studies (Ph.D. and DSW (Doctor of Social Work)).
Several countries and jurisdictions require registration or license for working as social workers, and there are mandated qualifications.
In other places, the professional association sets academic
requirements as the qualification for practicing the profession.
However, certain types of workers are exempted from needing a
registration license. The success of these professionals is based on the
recognition of and by the employers that provide social work services.
These employers don't require the title of a registered social worker as
a necessity for providing social work and related services.
Northern America
In the United States, social work undergraduate and master's programs are accredited by the Council on Social Work Education. A CSWE-accredited degree is required for one to become a state-licensed social worker. The CSWE even accredits online master's in social work programs in traditional and advanced standing options. In 1898, the New York Charity Organization Society, which was the Columbia University School of Social Work's
earliest entity, began offering formal "social philanthropy" courses,
marking both the beginning date for social work education in the United
States, as well as the launching of professional social work.
However, a CSWE-accredited program doesn't necessarily have to meet
ASWB licensing knowledge requirements, and many of them do not meet
them.
The Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) is a regulatory
organization that provides licensing examination services to social work
regulatory boards in the United States and Canada. Due to the limited
scope of the organization's objectives, it is not a social work
organization that is accountable to the broader social work community or
to the ones certified by ASWB exams. ASWB generates an annual profit of
$6,000,000 from license examination administration and $800,000 from
publishing study materials. As such, it is an organization that is
focused on revenue maximization, and by principle, it is only
responsible and answerable to its board members.
The objective of a social work license is to ensure the public's safety
and quality of service. It is intended to ensure that social workers
understand and can follow NASW's
Code of Ethics in their occupational practices, ascertain social
workers' knowledge in service provision, and protect the use of the
Social Work title from misuse and unethical practices.
However, a study found out that having a social work license is not
related to improved service quality for consumers. They substituted
paraprofessionals with qualified licensed social workers and found out
that there was no improvement in overall facility quality, quality of
life, or the provision of social services. The paraprofessionals with
training were able to perform similarly to licensed social workers, just
like any trained human resource in a workforce would perform a job for
which they are trained. Social work graduates gain this knowledge and
training through academic and financial investment in earning an
accredited social work degree, degree equalization process, and from
receiving professional supervision during and post-graduation.
For decades, the social work community has called on ASWB for
transparency regarding the data on the validity and racial sensitivity
of the exams. However, ASWB suppressed this information, leading many
critics to assess that if the exams were free from flaws and bias, such
data would have been released a long time ago. In 2022, ASWB released the pass rate data, and a Change.org
petition called "#StopASWB" highlighted with academic citations that
the Association of Social Work Boards' exams are biased with feedback
from white social workers. The petition also pointed out that the exams
unfairly penalize social workers who practice in other languages,
require privileged resources for success, and utilize oppressive
standards in formatting the exams, which are inconsistent with social
work values.
The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) expressed opposition
to the social work licensing exams conducted by the Association of
Social Work Boards (ASWB). This came after analyzing ASWB data, which
revealed considerable discrepancies in pass rates for aspiring social
workers of diverse racial backgrounds, older individuals, and those who
speak English as a second language (ESL). Pass rates of exams indicate that white test takers are more than twice as likely to pass on their first attempt compared to BIPOC
test takers. This finding raises questions about the credibility and
validity of the licensure process through ASWB exams. NASW's firm stance
on the matter serves as a significant reckoning moment regarding the
systemic racism in the social work profession, particularly within its
regulatory system. It also highlights ASWB's silence about the licensure
apparatus that perpetuates racial disparities, leading its association
members to institutional betrayal. After the release of ASWB data showing race and age-related discrepancies in pass rates, the national accreditation body, the Council on Social Work Education
(CSWE), removed the ASWB licensure exam pass rates as an option for
social work education programs to meet accreditation requirements. Members from various communities in social work have expressed that discussions about addressing this systemic oppression should be guided by a formal acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a spirit of reconciliation and healing.
The state of Illinois passed a landmark bill, HB2365 SA1, marking a
significant step in reducing its regulatory body's dependency on ASWB.
With this bill, Illinois has addressed the uneven power that ASWB held
and its unfettered pursuit of profit, which affected the qualification
of educated social workers for practice entry. Now, educated social
workers can obtain licensing by completing 3000 hours of professional
supervision, eliminating the previous requirement of ASWB exam results
for licensure, which often led to issues of unemployment and related
emotional, behavioral, and physical health consequences.
Since the early 1990s, researchers have critiqued ASWB exams for their
lack of content and discriminant validity. In a study conducted in 2023,
it was discovered that there are questions in ASWB exams that have
rationales based on theories that are not evidence-based, and that have
significant item validity issues. The researchers used generative AI
application, ChatGPT
to test ASWB rationales and found that the rationales provided by
ChatGPT were of higher quality. They revealed that ChatGPT exhibited an
excellent ability to recognize social work-related text patterns for
scenario-based decision-making and offered high-quality rationales while
taking into account the safety and ethics in social work practice, even
without specific training for such a task. They suggested that it may
be necessary and timely to move away from oppressive assessment formats
used to evaluate social workers' competence and reconsider licensing
exams with serious validity issues that disproportionately exclude
individuals based on their race, age, and language. A proposed
assessment format is one based on mastery learning, which would lead to competency-based licensing.
Professional associations
Social
workers have several professional associations that provide ethical
guidance and other forms of support for their members and social work in
general. These associations may be international, continental,
semi-continental, national, or regional. The main international
associations are the International Federation of Social Workers (IFSW) and the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW).
The largest professional social work association in the United States is the National Association of Social Workers, they have instituted a code for professional conduct and a set of principles rooted in six core values: service, social justice, dignity and worth of the person, importance of human relationships, integrity, and competence. There also exist organizations that represent clinical social workers
such as the American Association of Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social
Work. AAPCSW is a national organization representing social workers who
practice psychoanalytic social work and psychoanalysis. There are also
several states with Clinical Social Work Societies which represent all
social workers who conduct psychotherapy from a variety of theoretical
frameworks with families, groups, and individuals. The Association for
Community Organization and Social Administration (ACOSA) is a professional organization for social workers who practice within the community organizing, policy, and political spheres.
In the UK, the professional association is the British Association of Social Workers (BASW) with just over 18,000 members (as of August 2015), and the regulatory body for social workers is Social Work England. In Australia, the professional association is the Australian Association of Social Workers
(AASW) that ensure social workers meet required standards for social
work practice in Australia, founded in 1946 and have more than 10,000
members. Accredited social workers in Australia can also provide
services under the Access to Allied Psychological Services (ATAPS)
program. In New Zealand, the regulatory body for social workers is Kāhui
Whakamana Tauwhiro (SWRB).
Trade unions representing social workers
In the United Kingdom, just over half of social workers are employed by local authorities, and many of these are represented by UNISON, the public sector employee union. Smaller numbers are members of the Unite the Union and the GMB. The British Union of Social Work Employees (BUSWE) has been a section of the trade union Community since 2008.
While at that stage, not a union, the British Association of Social Workers
operated a professional advice and representation service from the
early 1990s. Social Work qualified staff who are also experienced in
employment law and industrial relations provide the kind of
representation you would expect from a trade union in the event of a
grievance, discipline or conduct matters specifically in respect of
professional conduct or practice. However, this service depended on the
goodwill of employers to allow the representatives to be present at
these meetings, as only trade unions have the legal right and
entitlement of representation in the workplace.
By 2011 several councils had realized that they did not have to
permit BASW access, and those that were challenged by the skilled
professional representation of their staff were withdrawing permission.
For this reason BASW once again took up trade union status by forming
its arms-length trade union section, Social Workers Union (SWU). This gives the legal right to represent its members whether the employer or Trades Union Congress
(TUC) recognizes SWU or not. In 2015 the TUC was still resisting SWU
application for admission to congress membership and while most
employers are not making formal statements of recognition until the TUC
may change its policy, they are all legally required to permit SWU
(BASW) representation at internal discipline hearings, etc.
Use of information technology in social work
Information
technology is vital in social work, it transforms the documentation
part of the work into electronic media. This makes the process
transparent, accessible and provides data for analytics. Observation is a
tool used in social work for developing solutions. Anabel Quan-Haase
in Technology and Society defines the term surveillance as "watching
over" (Quan-Haase. 2016. P 213), she continues to explain that the
observation of others socially and behaviorally is natural, but it
becomes more like surveillance when the purpose of the observation is to
keep guard over someone (Quan-Haase. 2016. P 213). Often, at the
surface level, the use of surveillance and surveillance technologies
within the social work profession is seemingly an unethical invasion of
privacy. When engaging with the social work code of ethics a little more
deeply, it becomes obvious that the line between ethical and unethical
becomes blurred. Within the social work code of ethics, there are
multiple mentions of the use of technology within social work practice.
The one that seems the most applicable to surveillance or artificial
intelligence is 5.02 article f, "When using electronic technology to
facilitate evaluation or research" and it goes on to explain that
clients should be informed when technology is being used within the
practice (Workers. 2008. Article 5.02).
Social workers in literature
In 2011, a critic stated that "novels about social work are rare", and as recently as 2004, another critic claimed to have difficulty finding novels featuring a main character holding a Master of Social Work degree.
However, social workers have been the subject of many novels, including:
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