This workshop teaches supervisors how to support staff in planning to meet the needs of clients with mental illnesses and substance use across the life course. Included are supervisory considerations for supporting social service workers in the ongoing assessment of mental disorder symptoms and their potential impacts on clients and their families, building understanding of effective practice models as supported by research evidence, appreciating the complex nature of self-determination, and the intersections of these issues with cultural diversity.
Learning Objectives (Supervisory Best Practices):
- Encourage and partner with supervisees in reviewing symptoms of relevant mental
disorders and their potential impacts on clients and their families - Support supervisees in the ongoing assessment of signs and symptoms of mental illness, substance use, and trauma among clients and their families
- Guide and partner with supervisees to evaluate how our beliefs on mental illness and substance use influence our ethical practice
- Assist supervisees in planning for how they can help to meet the needs of clients with mental illnesses or substance use (who often require more effort, time, advanced planning, and skill from their social service providers)
- Work with colleagues and social service teams to identify effective models of service delivery for clients with mental illness or substance use that are supported by contemporary research literature and which fit with agency goals and structures
- Support supervisees in addressing the complex nature of self-determination, accounting for legal status, age, and neurodiversity