BJSW Advance Access originally published online on October 10, 2005
British Journal of Social Work 2006 36(1):109-125; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bch243
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An Inclusive Approach to Knowledge for Mental Health Social Work Practice and Policy
Nick Gould is professor of social work at the University of Bath, UK. A qualified social worker, he has practised in local authority and forensic settings, and maintains an involvement in mental health practice. He has researched and published widely in the fields of professional learning, new technology and research methodology. Recent publications include Social Work, Critical Reflection and the Learning Organisation (2004), edited with Mark Baldwin. He currently holds a fellowship in social care awarded by the National Institute for Mental Health England and Social Care Institute for Excellence.
Correspondence to Nick Gould, Department of Social and Policy Sciences, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK. E-mail: n.gould{at}bath.ac.uk
As the integration of health and social care services progresses in the mental health sector, there is concern that mental health social workers are disadvantaged, relative to health professionals, because they cannot identify the knowledge base for their practice. This paper argues that this concern is partly the product of assuming that the knowledge base has to be premised upon randomized controlled trials. Instead, it proposes a non-hierarchical framework based on that developed in health research in Canada by Upshur and colleagues that generates a typology of knowledge which is congruent with the main forms of inquiry that are relevant to mental health social work practice. The framework recognizes the contribution of randomized controlled trials to the knowledge base but also validates knowledge drawn from qualitative, epidemiological, practitioner and user knowledge. It is argued that the framework profiles a wider knowledge base than that promoted by conventional evidence-based practice, and also could be a basis for future development of the research agenda in mental health social work.
Keywords: mental health, knowledge, evidence-based practice
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