Social Service

Head of Service:

Ms. Tamar Levy - 04-8559237
E-mail: [email protected]

Service objectives:

• Improving the psycho - social functioning of the patient.
• Promoting the welfare of the patient and his family. 

Characteristics of the staff
The social service staff includes about 20 Social workers who take part in the various tasks in all the treatment operations of the center (hospitalization and clinics for adults and youth).

 
The center's social workers are professionally trained in many different fields: Clinical, rehabilitation social work, treating crisis, emergency and trauma situations, psychotherapy, group work, family therapy and bibliotherapy, familiar with the professional literature, and speaking the major languages.

 
The social worker bases his work on the ethical code of the Social Workers Association, rules and regulations, guidelines and procedures of the Ministry of Health and in accordance with the directives of the management of the center.

 
Responding to service consumers.
 
The services consumers are: People suffering from mental illness, their families and the community.

1. Solutions for mental patients:
   • Improving the psycho-social functioning, both personal and interpersonal, while easing the symptoms and personal distress.
   • Achieving well-being and quality of life.
   • Assisting the patient to achieve his goals.
      
2. Solutions for the family:
   • Assisting family members to cope with their family member's condition, and with the burden it entails.
     
3. Solutions for the community:
   • Developing community resources.
   • Effective use of community resources.

Activities carried out by the service in favor of those suffering from a mental disorder:

1. for mental patients
   • Providing an available, accessible, and inclusive response by the social service.
   • Assisting the multidisciplinary team that deals with diagnosing psychosocial variables in the development of the disease and with assessing their impact on the rehabilitation and release processes.
   • Achieving responsiveness to the comprehensive treatment program.
   • Forming a link, coordinating and providing guidance between the patient and his family and the services within the community and other treatment entities (Social Security, the Housing Ministry, Health Ministry, Welfare Ministry, organizations and associations) in order to realize rights and raising funds.
   • Help in realizing and promoting the rights of the patient and his family and their representation before those responsible for providing services to the patient.
   • Ensuring treatment and social intervention continuity.
   • Implementing prevention and treatment programs in the community.
   • Constructing and implementing rehabilitation programs for mental patients, both in hospitals and within the community in areas such as; Housing, employment and leisure.
      
2. For family members
   • Emotional support.
   • Assigning coping skills.
   • Providing information on the services available in the community.
      
3. For the community
   • a. Organization and establishment of a unique environment for patients, by developing services in the community.
   • b. Promotion and treatment at psycho-social aspects beyond the individual level.
   • c. Developing unique solutions for populations with complex problems.
   • d. Acting to weaken the stigma phenomenon.

The main treatment measures used by social workers:

1. Psychosocial diagnosis conducted by the social worker concerning the patient's marital, economic and social situation, and its effect on his medical condition. This diagnosis allows to identify problematic aspects and to assess the potential for rehabilitation.
    
2. Individual, group and family treatment - which involves initial interview and intervention skills, crisis intervention, supportive care, through various approaches: Dynamic, cognitive and behavioral.

Research
As part of their MSW studies social workers conduct researches regarding the connection between social work and mental patients.
 

Examples of past researches:

• The relation between emotional distress, post-traumatic symptoms and coping and social support strategies: A comparison between people hospitalized in a psychiatric hospital for the first-time and those hospitalized for the second-time.
   
• The relation between the perception of schizophrenia of a son/daughter and expressed emotions, coping and life satisfaction among mothers.
   
  A social worker with a doctorate in social work is a member of a research group related with the university.

Instruction for students
The social service at Maale Hacarmel Mental Health Center, attaches great importance to the training of future generations of social workers, by presenting them with the existing professional knowledge available through its employees.

 
The on-site training provides the student opportunities to encounter a variety of professionally challenging experiences, which provide highly important tools for future practitioners in the field of mental health in particular, and any other field of social work in general. Such as with:

• Various mental conditions that affect the behavior and function of the coping party.
• Families under crisis experiencing the need to cope.
• The work of a multidisciplinary team.
• The social service being a secondary, yet highly significant, service within a medical setting.
• The role of the mediator between the coping party and the factors within the hospital.
• The role of the mediator between the coping party and the factors within the community. Family and various services.
• Systemic changes in the national and local level (reforms, accreditation, quality measures) with significant effect on the quality and safety of the coping party.
• Policy setting.

The social service of the Maale Hacarmel Mental Health raises Venter, maintains a many-year close relations with the Haifa University, joined by other institutions of higher education. Including: Tel Hai College, Ashkelon College and "Magid" institution, in various disciplines: Social work, movement therapy, art therapy, animal therapy. Every year, the social workers trained to instruct, guide about 5 students from a variety of disciplines and a variety of higher education institutions, usually third-year social work BA students, and complementary studies students from Haifa University.
 
The purpose of the training taking place at our center, is:

• Enabling the student to encounter and get familiar with the various duties of the social workers in: Treating those who are suffering from psychiatric disability, families, the mental health system, services in the community.
   
• Training him towards future independent work in a variety of services, while being aided by the knowledge and skills acquired at our center.
   
• Exposing the student to the unique role of the social worker at the center: As part of the multidisciplinary team that treats the patient and his family and a designer of a therapy program and policy.
   
• Enabling the student to experience a variety of treatments and experiences, with the patient and supportive entities that are significant to the patient. Such as: Family members, community entities, at the different stages the patient goes through.
   
• Enabling the student to study with a critical view.

Before the start of the school year personal meetings are held between the students with their guides. The students are gradually integrated within the center.
 

Every student get to treat patients of different characteristics, to enable hi, to encounter a variety of experiences.
 

Every student will be required to engage in a group/community project at the center.
 

The student is evaluated while gaining guidance and support from the guide and the social worker at the ward to which he was assigned to, who form an example for the student, and who make sure that the student's treatment methods satisfy the standards, criteria and ethical requirements of his profession, and with the aim that the student will integrate within the staff become a part of it.