Abstract
The importance of mental health care cannot be underestimated. There are many who suffer from mental illness with statistics reaching alarming proportions. Many of those with mental illness do not get the help that they need. Persons who are mentally impaired or mentally ill are often stigmatised and experience many limitations.
This research explored the role of social workers working in mental health care facilities. Social workers play a vital role in mental health care settings, often responsible for assessment and intervention services and subsequently may refer service users and their families to other mental health specialists for ongoing services. The aim of this study was to explore whether the training received by social workers would prepare or assist them for practice in mental health care facilities as there appears to be a lack of research regarding this topic. This study used a qualitative exploratory research approach. Purposive non-probability sampling was used to select participants. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with eight social workers from diverse mental health care facilities. Thematic content analysis was used to analyse the data and identify the most central themes, sub-themes and categories. All the interviews were audio recorded, with the consent of participants, and transcribed verbatim. Human Capital theory was used as the theoretical framework for the study.
The findings revealed that undergraduate training does not sufficiently equip social workers to work in mental health care settings, suggesting that substantive training in mental health is required. The findings suggest that mental health is a specialised field of practice for which specialised knowledge, training and experience are a requirement.