Mental Health
Jackie was a promising young woman who excelled in her studies and had an eye for fashion. However, just before she started graduate school, she displayed bizarre behaviors, became unkempt, and obsessed with colors and Princess Diana. She has now been diagnosed with schizophrenia and mental disabilities and is on management. In this essay, I discuss the interventions that a social worker can provide to Jackie and her family, activities that Jackie can engage in, organizations where Jackie and her family can obtain information on her condition, and interventions available to Jackie’s family and her social worker if her condition deteriorates.
Social workers are called upon to empower mental health patients and their families to regain normalcy in their lives. For Jackie (service user), the social worker extends help to enable the individual to build resilience and meet daily needs such as housing and food by linking to social services or employment. To achieve this, the social worker assesses the needs of the service user, family, and community and works with all to achieve change and improve opportunities. In our case, Jackie’s parents and siblings need to be educated on her condition to provide the service user with appropriate community support, provide low-stress accommodation, and monitor and encourage her to comply with prescribed therapy. For the service user, the social worker provides psychosocial rehabilitation to enable her to develop skills for independence or live a productive life with minimal professional assistance (Gühne et al.,2020).
Jackie can engage in activities that draw on her computer science and fashion strengths besides volunteering at NAMI. For instance, Individual Placement and Support programs can help her locate job opportunities and, when hired, support her to perform well (Coombes et al., 2016). In addition, her state vocational rehabilitation center can help her search for jobs and provide counseling (Evensen et al., 2019). Lastly, Jackie can join a local chapter of a self-help group where she can find peers to talk with, share frustrations and successes, and link to support services such as clubhouses (NAMI, n.d.).
Besides NAMI, other organizations provide support to people with mental health problems. These organizations are either state-based (for those funded by states) or national. The US Department of Health and Human Services lists several of these organizations on its website (MentalHealth.gov, n.d.). Some of the popular ones are (a) ActiveMinds, a non-profit organization that raises mental health awareness in college students (b) The Jed Foundation, which promotes emotional and mental health and prevents suicide in young adults (c) The National Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health which provides information to youth with mental health problems and their families and (d) Mental Health America which enables people to live mentally healthier lives.
A mental health crisis occurs when a service user’s behaviors put them at risk of injuring themselves or others ( NAMI, n.d.). If Jackie’s condition worsens to a crisis, her family should at first de-escalate the situation. If this is not possible, professional help should be sought from emergency health services and the case manager. Jackie’s family and her social worker should cooperate with the ED team if she ends up in the hospital by providing all required history, including medication history. In addition, they should stay with her to provide emotional support and reassurance. Finally, the social worker would counsel the family to accept the new condition, reduce any stigma that may develop, and advocate for non-institutional interventions from the clinical care team to enable her to recuperate in familiar surroundings.
Mental health disorders in young adults respond well to early mixed management approaches. The social worker ensures that care users are linked to needed support services and that environmental contributors to morbidity are removed. Social workers also advocate for the care users and their families to ensure that support needed in the public arena is provided. It is also essential that the care user’s family is involved in all steps of the care plan and engages in the treatment.
References
Coombes, K., Haracz, K., Robson, E., & James, C. (2016). Pushing through: Mental health consumers’ experiences of an individual placement and support employment program. British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(11), 651–659. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308022616658297
Evensen, S., Wisløff, T., Lystad, J. U., Bull, H., Martinsen, E. W., Ueland, T., & Falkum, E. (2019). Exploring the potential cost-effectiveness of a vocational rehabilitation program for individuals with schizophrenia in a high-income welfare society. BMC Psychiatry, 19(1), 140. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2130-7
Gühne, U., Weinmann, S., Riedel-Heller, S. G., & Becker, T. (2020). Psychosocial therapies in severe mental illness: Update on evidence and recommendations. Current Opinion in Psychiatry, 33(4), 414–421. https://doi.org/10.1097/YCO.0000000000000618
MentalHealth.gov. (n.d.). Local organizations with mental health expertise. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://www.mentalhealth.gov/talk/community-conversation/services
NAMI. (n.d.). Learn more about mental health. Retrieved October 12, 2021, from https://nami.org/About-Mental-Illness
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Question 
Mental Health
Jackie was a very bright young woman. During high school and college, she excelled at computer science and exhibited a love and flair for fashion. The summer that she contemplated returning to graduate school, Jackie’s parents noticed she was exhibiting some bizarre behaviors. She claimed to hear voices and see things that were not there. In addition, Jackie’s hygiene became less important to her, and she became obsessed with colors and Princess Diana.
After a complete biopsychosocial assessment with the family’s doctor and a recommended local mental health specialist, Jackie was deemed to have a mental challenge that was labeled as both a disability and schizophrenia. Soon after that, to occupy her days, Jackie became active in NAMI and was on NAMI’s Speaker’s Bureau. Jackie also enjoyed making crafts for her nieces and nephews. She also capably managed the Cheer Fund at her family’s local church.
1. What type of support might social workers need to provide to Jackie, her parents, and her siblings?
2. Besides volunteering for NAMI, what else might Jackie do with her time?
3. Where can Jackie and her family find more information about mental health disorders and their treatment?
4. If Jackie’s condition worsens, what might be an appropriate response from her family? From her clinical social worker?