Social Work Roles and Activities Regarding Psychiatric Medication: Results of a National Survey

This article reports the findings of a 2001 national survey of social workers regarding their everyday practice roles and activities regarding psychiatric medication. The results of this quantitative study indicate variability in the types of roles carried out by social workers with regard to psychiatric medication, but that perceptions of competence and appropriateness in these roles tended to be positively associated with frequency of roles performed. Using content analysis of two open-ended questions, the authors present themes for respondents' keys to success and desired changes in working with clients and colleagues around psychiatric medication. The results suggest that achieving greater role breadth and competence with regard to psychiatric medications may be best achieved by increasing social workers' knowledge about psychiatric medication, increasing their use of specific intervention skills, and increasing the frequency of professional contact between clinicians and prescribing physicians.