Social workers' beliefs about the interventions for schizophrenia and depression : a comparison with the public and other health professionals - an Australian analysis

The objective of the research was to investigate social workers' beliefs about the value of interventions for schizophrenia and depression; to determine their capacity to detect the mental health problem described in the vignette; and to compare the results of social workers with the general public and other health professionals. A total of 1,277 questionnaires were distributed to social workers which were previously used to examine the beliefs of psychiatrists, general practitioners, mental health nurses, clinical psychologists and the general public. There was a 30.3 per cent (n = 387) response rate. Participants responded to a vignette describing a person with either depression or schizophrenia and rated a range of interventions as helpful, harmful or neither. The majority of respondents identified depression (90 per cent, n = 166) but only 59 per cent (n = 120) recognised schizophrenia. The research demonstrates that social workers support a broad range of interventions and endorsed the lifestyle interventions more than any of the other professionals. However, the research also suggests that social workers may have difficulties in both accurate awareness of mental health problems and in knowledge of current treatment practices. It is important that social workers receive adequate mental health education in their undergraduate degrees, to aid in the recognition and treatment of mental illness, so that people suffering from mental illness receive optimum care.