Taking a critical and radical approach, this book calls for a return to mental health social work that has personal relationships and an emotional connection between workers and those experiencing distress at its core. The optimism that underpinned the development of community care policies has dissipated to be replaced by a form of bleak managerialism. Neoliberalism has added stress to services already under great pressure and created a danger that we could revert to institutional forms of care. This much-needed book argues that the original progressive values of community care policies need to be rediscovered, updated and reinvigorated to provide a basis for a mental health social work that returns to fundamental notions of dignity and citizenship.

About the Author
Ian Cummins is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at Salford University. He qualified as a probation officer and subsequently worked as a mental health social worker. His research interests including the history of community care and mental health issues in the CJS. His most recent work has focused on poverty, inequality and advanced marginality.

Reviews
"This timely book locates mental health social work within the wider political landscape, calling for a rejection of bureaucratic and risk-averse practices and a return to core values, focusing on the strengths of individuals and communities." Dr Kate Karban, University of Bradford
"Tracing the origins of contemporary mental health services through to future opportunities for the profession, Cummins explores how a constructive way forward for social work in mental health services can be forged from a problematic past." Martin Webber, University of York
"A rallying cry to reinvigorate mental health social work for contemporary times. Very useful reading for students and social workers alike." Helen Spandler, University of Central Lancashire



Book Information
ISBN 9781447335610
Author Ian Cummins
Format Paperback
Page Count 200
Imprint Policy Press
Publisher Bristol University Press