International Conference 2024 | Social Work in Psychosocial Disability and Intellectual Impairment

The 10th International Conference on Social Work in Health and Mental Health (ICSWHMH) was held in November 2024 in Melbourne. This significant event in successfully brought together social work professionals, researchers, educators, and students from around the world to discuss and share the latest developments in the field of social work in health and mental health.

Recording 1

An Innovative Approach for People With Psychosocial Disability to Improve Patient Flow

Presenter: Mrs Carissa Uzabeaga (Australia, QLD)

This session is an opportunity to learn about an innovative allied health approach to support people with complex psychosocial disability to be discharged from public mental health hospitals utilising NDIS supports. You will learn about why the team was initiated and how the team works to achieve successful outcomes supporting people with psychosocial disability to return to community settings and improving their quality of life. You will also learn about how we work together as an interprofessional team to benefit from each disciplines strengths and what they bring to the discharge process.

This session will benefit people who are interested in understanding the role of social work in navigating the mental health and NDIS systems to achieve positive outcomes. It will also benefit people who have an interest in discharge planning for complex psychosocial disability and supporting successful community transitions.

Recording 2

Exploring Recovery Journeys of NDIS Participants With Psychosocial Disability in Australia

Presenter: Mr Johnny Choi

This presentation highlights the author’s PhD study to explore NDIS participants’ recovery experiences and meanings throughout their life trajectories, including their interactions with the NDIS. While the NDIS has transformed disability support in Australia, particularly for those with psychosocial disability understanding how participants navigate the scheme, and its recovery support remains limited. The study, conducted through life story interviews with NDIS participants, employed ecological systems theory, a key social work theory, to explore the multidimensional elements of recovery, including personal, relational, social and temporal domains.

Findings emphasise several key areas for consideration. First, the NDIS’s focus on user choice and control should be evaluated through a person-in-environment perspective to ensure equitable outcomes for participants with psychosocial disabilities. The NDIS’s neoliberal approach, which stresses individual choice and responsibility for recovery, may neglect the broader meaning of recovery, such as meaningful relationships and social contribution. Second, participants’ narratives reveal a misalignment between the NDIS’s eligibility criteria for permanent disability and its goal of supporting recovery through capacity building. Finally, the findings suggest that the meaning of recovery is subjective, varying among individuals, over time, and across locations, highlighting the need for the NDIS to accommodate diverse recovery dimensions.

Recording 3

When We Assume... A Reflection on Limiting Assumptions Imposed on People With Intellectual Impairment

Presenter: Ms Sarah James

How many times as a child were you asked what you wanted to be when you grew up?And how many times did your answer change; ranging from fanciful to pragmatic? How many times does a child with an intellectual impairment get asked this same question?

Assumptions start impacting a person with a disability long before adulthood where the fabled concept of choice and control is introduced. Assumptions, whilst inherently human, have the ability to hinder the outcomes people can achieve where we do not have structured mechanisms for checking and challenging our own assumptions, and those held by others. People with intellectual impairments are often impeded by the assumptions of others that they can’t understand, can’t develop skills or can’t change. If not challenged, such assumptions can result in limiting opportunities for growth for the client, therapeutic relationship, and holistic practice of the practitioner.

The presentation will provide insight into the risks of imposing assumptions in the assessment and intervention phases of implementing positive behaviour support with people with intellectual impairment. It will offer a framework through which assumptions can be routinely challenged and reassessed.

Recording 4

The Psychosocial Impacts on Long Stay Inpatients and Their Families Who Are Ready for Discharge but Waiting for National Disability Insurance Scheme Funding and Support

Presenters: Miss Kate Sullivan (Australia, VIC), Ms Saskia Petris (Australia, VIC)

Kate Sullivan and Saskia Petris discuss their research project, that explores the psychosocial impacts faced by patients and their families who are ready for discharge but remain in hospital due to delays in National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS), which prevents them from accessing the required funding and supports to leave hospital. The study investigates how extended hospital stays impact emotional wellbeing, mental health, financial stability, independence, choice and control, and social connectedness.

The research aims to build on existing literature by examining real-world experiences of long-stay patients and their significant others. Key findings highlight challenges associated with prolonged hospitalisations and the need for improved coordination between hospital and external service providers. The session emphasizes the importance of understanding these impacts to enhance patient experiences and reduce unnecessary hospital stays. Kate and Saskia aim to offer insights into patient and family experience and highlight areas for further exploration to improve the NDIS pathway from hospital to home.

AASW Credentials: Disability