Browsing by Author "Walton, Emily"

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    The Role of the Social Worker in Child and Adolescent In-patient Psychiatric Care: Perceptions of Professionals in a Johannesburg Specialised Hospital
    (2016) Walton, Emily
    The role of the social worker in in-patient child and adolescent psychiatric care has not been widely researched in South Africa. The contribution of the social worker in this context is not well understood, leading to role confusion and overlap or the underutilization of skills. To understand the social worker role, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of members of the multidisciplinary team who work in an in-patient child and adolescent unit in a psychiatric hospital in Johannesburg. The perceptions of social workers and members of other disciplines were compared to determine congruency, and examine whether there were any overlaps or gaps in services or confusion about professional roles. This qualitative study, with a single case study design, made use of semi-structured interviews to gather data. The findings indicate that the participants perceived the role of the social worker as that of assessing, supporting, educating and bridging. These roles were identified as occurring specifically with the individual, family, group and community. The bridging role showed that the social worker served as an intermediary between these levels of practice. The most congruency between perceptions was the description of the role of the social worker with the family of the in-patient. Potential roles of the social worker were identified, and the implications of role confusion noted. Participants also suggested ways for professional roles to be better understood by multidisciplinary teams. The implications of findings for psychiatric settings and universities are described with recommendations for future research. Key words: multidisciplinary team, in-patient, child and adolescent, role confusion, psychiatric illness
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    The Impact of Severe Mental Illness on Mothering: Perceptions of Clinical Psychologists
    (University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2023) Walton, Emily; Harvey, Clare
    A large portion of adult women who suffer from severe mental illness (SMI) are mothers. Unfortunately, mothers with SMI have historically been considered as incapable of caring for their children. The impact that SMI has on mothering, particularly in the South African context, remains underexplored in literature. In particular, the perceptions of individuals working therapeutically with these groups have been largely neglected and overlooked. This exploratory study had a dual focus which was both to draw attention to the impact that SMI can have on mothering and the mothering identity, and to explore the perceptions and experiences of clinical psychologists working with these individuals. This study followed a qualitative research approach underpinned by the interpretivist design in order to address the aims of the research and answer the research questions. Purposive and snowball sampling techniques were used to select a sample of seven clinical psychologists who have experience working with mothers with SMI. In order to generate the data, semi-structured interviews guided by an interview schedule were employed, and a thematic approach to data analysis was utilised. As a theoretical framework, the Grounded Theory of the Psychological Experience of Mothering (Barlow & Cairns, 1997) was drawn on, in conjunction with relevant psychoanalytic theories, to guide the research methods, data analysis and presentation and discussion of findings. The impact of SMI on mothering and the mothering identity is intricately interweaved with contextual factors, as well as the internal and intrapersonal processes that occur in the individual mother. The findings revealed the complex and nuanced nature of this phenomenon, and the duality that is present in the identity of the mother, as well as the psychologist, which has to be negotiated in treatment. The unique South African context introduces further complexities which have to be both managed by psychologists and mothers with SMI.