W. Patrick Sullivan

There's More Than Meets the Eye: The Nuances of Case Management

In this exploratory study, 50 mental health case managers from 2 Midwestern states were interviewed to capture their observations about the consumers they serve; aspects of the job they like and dislike; and their beliefs about the concept, process, and possibility of recovery from mental illness. The nature of the professional relationship in case management is described from the perspective of these professionals, as well as the methods these informants identify as key to the helping process. It is argued that effective case management requires complex and nuanced professional skills that might go unrecognized and underappreciated in community mental health.

Spirit Lifting: Hope and Recovery in Case Management Practice:

Case managers play an important role in the recovery process for consumers with severe mental illness. This study sought to capture the perspectives of case managers in two Midwestern states regarding the consumers they serve and their beliefs about the concept, process, and possibility of recovery from mental illness. Interviews from 50 mental health case managers were reviewed and rated on the basis of their perceived hopefulness about the prospects of recovery from mental illness. The study revealed that case managers hold divergent views on the definition and likelihood of recovery. The results suggest that practitioners may benefit from additional training and support to further develop their perspectives on recovery, which may also increase their hopefulness toward consumer outcomes.

No More Silos: Animating Integrated Health and Behavioral Health Care Practices in the Classroom

ABSTRACT Over the last decade, there has been increased momentum to bring the worlds of physical and behavioral health care together. Instead of social work education simply reacting to this change, it is imperative that we be proactive and prepare students to be “multilingual,” that is, be able to speak and function in both the worlds of health and mental health so they can move seamlessly into the new world of integrated care. The purpose of this article is to explore curricular and pedagogical strategies needed to prepare graduate social work students for the coming shift in practice toward integrated health and mental health care.

There's No Time like the Present: Improving the Current System of Care for Low-Income Substance Abusers with Comorbid Health Conditions:

Due to social determinants of health, people living in poverty are at high risk for having comorbid substance use and medical disorders, yet are also the least able to afford and access the care needed to adequately address their health. There has been a recent call for providing integrated care for behavioral and physical health problems, yet there are challenges to fully integrating the two systems. In this article, several suggestions for improving the current system of care for low-income individuals are presented. Suggestions are derived from components of the chronic care model, the model underlying most conceptions of integrated care, and include increasing the use of technology and interdisciplinary teams to supplement assessment and intervention.