Extending Mental Health Diagnostic Privileges to Social Workers in Saskatchewan

Austin, Stéphanie

doi:10.13162/hro-ors.v5i1.2835

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Presently, there are five jurisdictions where social workers with certain designations can diagnose mental disorders including British Columbia (BCCSW, 2022a), Alberta (ACSW, 2022a), Saskatchewan (SASW, 2020), New Brunswick (NBASW, 2017), and Newfoundland & Labrador (NLCSW, 2020a). In Saskatchewan, social workers are required to obtain the specialized classification of Authorized Practice Endorsement (APE) to diagnose mental health disorders (Austin, 2017; SASW, 2020). In Alberta, diagnosis is not a restricted activity and can be performed by all members, but Registered Clinical Social Workers are deemed to have this expertise due to their designation (Pearson, 2014).…”

Section: Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Social Work Practice in Canada: A Critical Examination of Regulation

Kourgiantakis¹,

Ashcroft²,

Mohamud³

et al. 2022

Research on Social Work Practice

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The most common form of social work (SW) practice in Canada is clinical which requires specialized knowledge and advanced clinical skills. The SW profession is more than 100 years old, but regulation is new to Canada and presently most jurisdictions have regulatory bodies to advance safe, competent, and ethical practices. Regulatory bodies establish admission requirements, standards of practice, ethical guidelines, supervision, continuing education requirements, and measures for complaints and discipline. This article examines regulation of SW practice in Canada with a focus on registration requirements, clinical SW designation, use of controlled acts such as psychotherapy and diagnosis, supervision, continuing education, technology, private practice, and how regulatory bodies address diversity, equity, reconciliation, racism, and discrimination. This critical examination of clinical SW practice found inconsistent standards across the country. It is important to harmonize the three pillars including education, association, and regulation to strengthen clinical SW practice in Canada.

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Section: Diagnosismentioning

confidence: 99%

Clinical Social Work Practice in Canada: A Critical Examination of Regulation

Kourgiantakis¹,

Ashcroft²,

Mohamud³

et al. 2022

Research on Social Work Practice

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show abstract

“…64 Responding to personnel shortages, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia opened the door to a bigger role for social workers in diagnosing addictions and mental disorders. 65 Nova Scotia is the site of a new “Choice and Partnership” initiative to expedite first appointments with a mental health clinician while enhancing the linkage between client goals and treatment plans. 51…”

Section: Behavioral Health Care In Canada: a National Perspectivementioning

confidence: 99%

Making Single-Payer Reform Work for Behavioral Health Care: Lessons From Canada and the United States

Rochefort

2020

Int J Health Serv

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The claim is often made that the adoption of single-payer health care in the United States would result in dramatic improvement of services for people with mental health and substance use disorders. Evidence from this sector in countries with such frameworks is mixed, however, presenting both positive and negative lessons for an American audience. Focusing on Canada as an example, this article sheds light on this topic by drawing on sources in the professional and academic literature, government reports, news stories and features, and research on-site by the author. A concluding section highlights key policy issues that American single-payer advocates will need to address for meaningful reform of the behavioral health care sector.

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Examining diagnosis as a component of Social Workers’ scope of practice: a scoping review

Sur¹,

Ashcroft

Adamson

et al. 2022

Clin Soc Work J

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Our study reports on a scoping review examining the role of diagnosis within social work practice in Canada and the United States (US). Adopting the process laid out by Arksey and O’Malley, the search captured 189 academic and grey literature drawn from six health and social sciences databases and published from January 1980 to April 2020. The majority of literature were based in the US, and studies covered a variety of practice settings including hospitals, community clinics, medical health clinics, and private practice. Various versions of the DSM was mentioned in over half of the publications that made mention of the use of a diagnostic tool. Four themes emerged from the analysis: professional positioning, clinical activities and diagnosis, contextual factors, and education and training. The focus on holistic care through intersecting identities and social determinants of health in social work provides a balance to the biomedical model adopted by the DSM. Further inclusion of social work perspectives in the development of the DSM may help raise awareness and inclusion of ecological factors in diagnosis. In addition, the lack of uniformity in the inclusion of diagnosis in social work curriculum has been noted as an opportunity to offer higher quality instruction and supervision to students to better utilize diagnostic tools. We suggest that expanding the scope of practice for social work to include diagnosis can help increase the capacity of the healthcare system to identify and address mental health concerns.

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Extending Mental Health Diagnostic Privileges to Social Workers in Saskatchewan

Cited by 3 publications

References 4 publications

Clinical Social Work Practice in Canada: A Critical Examination of Regulation

Clinical Social Work Practice in Canada: A Critical Examination of Regulation

Making Single-Payer Reform Work for Behavioral Health Care: Lessons From Canada and the United States

Examining diagnosis as a component of Social Workers’ scope of practice: a scoping review

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