Kia J. Bentley

Professional Dissonance: Colliding Values and Job Tasks in Mental Health Practice

This study investigated the relationship between individual and job characteristics of mental health social workers and professional dissonance—an experienced conflict between values and job tasks. A 33-item questionnaire, designed specifically for the study’s purposes was utilized. A total of 320 usable study questionnaires were returned (44.5% response rate). The primary study hypothesis, that professional dissonance is related to individual and job characteristics, was partially supported by the data. While job characteristics appeared to have little influence on dissonance, several individual characteristics of the respondents were statistically related to level of dissonance. Specifically, men with the most years of experience and with lower reported attachment to self-determination reported higher levels of dissonance. Study participants affirmed the importance of life-long supervision in managing dissonance in practice.

Factors associated with the psychological and behavioral adjustment of siblings of youths with spina bifida.

The intensive health management activities associated with spina bifida (SB) often command a pervasive presence in the lives of families and may place some members at risk for psychosocial difficulties. However, research on the risk and protective factors associated with sibling adjustment is limited. Anchored upon a social-ecological theoretical framework, the purpose of this cross-sectional study was to explore the relationships between select individual, family, and peer factors and sibling adjustment. A convenience sample of 224 adolescent siblings and parents of youths with SB responded to anonymous mailed surveys. Siblings completed measures of attitude toward spina bifida, family satisfaction, warmth and conflict in the sibling relationship, peer support, and three dimensions of adjustment-self-concept, prosocial behavior, and behavior problems. Parents provided SB clinical data and family demographics. The individual, family, and peer factors explained a significant amount of variance in sibling self-concept, prosocial behavior, and behavior difficulties, with R(2) ranging from .27 to .57. Differing patterns of the relationships between the ecological factors and sibling adjustment emerged. Findings highlight multi-level opportunities to intervene and support siblings. Minimizing threats and bolstering protective influences on sibling adjustment is an essential component of family-centered services in SB.

Psychiatric Medication and Meaning-Making in a Residential Program for Adults with Serious Mental Illness:

This community-based qualitative inquiry asks: what is the meaning and impact of taking psychiatric medications in the lives of people with severe mental illness living in a residential program. Participants were twenty-one adults with extensive histories of mental illness, numerous hospitalizations, currently taking multiple medications. In addition to a thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews, participants each created a color drawing related to their experience with medication, which they titled and ‘interpreted’ themselves (see http://blog.vcu.edu/kbentley/). The main finding is a distillation of themes into a seven dimension typology of the meaning. A staff-resident Advisory Panel guided the research, and final results take into account participant feedback and member checking. Included here are plans and hopes for using the findings to enhance specific programming at the residential program to better reflect the role and importance of medication issues in the everyday lives of residents.

Student Knowledge of and Attitudes toward Psychotropic Drugs

Abstract Expanding social work roles in medication management and psychoeducation, especially in mental health, clearly require that students possess an enlarged knowledge base and a set of enlightened attitudes regarding psychotropic medications and their use. This article reports the results of a survey that investigated the knowledge of and attitudes toward psychotropic medications among a population of social work students. If the survey results were scored like a school exam, then the average student surveyed scored a “C !.” The article also suggests that both personal and professional experiences in the mental health field apparently influence knowledge of and attitudes toward psychotropic drugs. It is recommended that social work course content be expanded to include relevant information on psychotropic drugs.

Psychopharmacology Decision-Making Among Pregnant and Postpartum Women and Health Providers: Informing Compassionate and Collaborative Care Women's Health

Psychopharmaceutical use by pregnant and postpartum women is complicated by the complexity of prescribing as well as the sociocultural context in which medication-related decisions are made. This study sought to advance understanding of decision-making processes and communication experiences regarding use of psychopharmaceuticals during pregnancy by considering both provider and consumer perspectives. An electronic survey was conducted with health care providers (N = 88) and women consumers (N = 83) from July 2010 through October 2011 regarding the perceived costs and benefits of taking mental health medication during and around the time of pregnancy. Descriptive analysis compared and contrasted experiences between the two groups regarding consumer-provider communication, critical incidents and triggers in decision-making, and response to case scenarios crafted around hypothetical client experiences. Both similarities and differences were evident among health care provider and women consumer responses regarding costs, benefits, communication experiences, and case scenario responses. Both quantitative and qualitative survey results indicated the need for more accurate, unbiased, and complete information exchange around mental health and medication. Study results suggested the centrality of the client-provider milieu to guide decision-making and emphasized the expressed need within both groups to create a shared decision-making practice environment characterized by authenticity, non-judgmental decision-making, compassion, humaneness, and reciprocity.

Quality Guidelines for Social Work PhD Programs

The Group for the Advancement of Doctoral Educationin Social Work (GADE) adopted a new version of quality guidelines for PhD social work programs at its annual meeting in April 2013. These guidelines are reprinted in this article, together with a discussion of the context in which they were developed and approved. They are offered with the aim of advancing excellence in research-focused doctoral education and continuing the decades-long conversation about what constitutes excellence in those programs.

Ethical Dilemmas of Practicing Social Workers Around Psychiatric Medication: Results of a National Study

Abstract It is acknowledged that social workers in mental health and other settings routinely experience client-related ethical dilemmas. Further, there is wide recognition of the potential impact of ethical dilemmas on social work practice with clients who use psychotropic medication. Little is know empirically, however, about the experiences of practitioners with these dilemmas. This article describes the results of a national survey of practicing social workers regarding the nature of ethical dilemmas they face related to their work with clients on medication issues. The results make it clear that social workers regularly confront a variety of ethical dilemmas in this type of practice. Many of these dilemmas are related to ambiguities around the knowledge base of practice, appropriate roles of providers, and basic personal and professional values. The authors present implications of these findings for social work practice and further research.

Toward an Evaluation Framework for Doctoral Education in Social Work: A 10-Year Retrospective of One PhD Program's Assessment Experiences

This article presents a framework for evaluation in social work doctoral education and details 10 years of successes and challenges in one PhD programs use of the framework, including planning and implementing specific assessment activities around student learning outcomes and larger program goals. The article argues that a range of innovative and traditional internal and external assessment strategies can be tailored to the needs and resources of other programs. Easily adaptable exemplars, rubrics and rating forms, measurement devices, and assessment reports are provided. The article ends by highlighting the ways used to build student, faculty, and alumni participation in evaluative activities and by proposing ideas for related research assessment.

Changing Conceptualizations of Mental Health and Mental Illness : Implications of Brain Disease and Behavioral Health for Social Work

ABSTRACT Conceptualizations of mental health and mental illness continue to be an important influence in shaping social work practice and education. By critically analyzing the emergence of the current concepts of “brain disease” and “behavioral health,” we are able to better understand the stakeholders in this renaming process. The inherent assumptions and the sociopolitical aspects of these two concepts are analyzed. Recommendations for social work practitioners and educators in preparing for a future in which they will participate more fully in the professional dialog about changes in the vocabulary of mental illness and thus more meaningfully shape the service delivery system in general, and the social work domain, in particular, are offered.

Women as Social Work Scholars: An Empirical Analysis

This article reports on a study of the characteristics, experiences, and scholarly productivity of a group of 96 successful female social work scholars and compares them to a group of 130 successful male social work scholars. It presents information on the supports and barriers for women in academe and offers insights into the quality of the womens professional lives.