Addressing psychosocial factors is essential in promoting health and supporting patients’ salutogenic development. Internationally, the theoretical and methodological foundations of social work in healthcare remain ambiguous. As Swedish Health Social Workers (HSWs) now receive specialist education, it is increasingly important to clarify the expectations placed on licensed HSWs. Focus group discussions explored how HSWs apply theories and methods in everyday practice. Participants highlighted the value of trust-building, active listening, and involving patients in defining goals. Greater consensus on working methods could strengthen professional identity, clarify roles, and ensure adequate, high-quality care while maintaining individualised approaches.
Abstract: As the British population ages, along with those of other advanced economic societies, there will be a greater need for health and social care for this group. Successive British governments have to some extent failed to tackle this demographic issue. All health and social care professions will have to devote more of their staffing resources to working with older adults and social work is no exception. A recent research study (Carson et al., 2020), looked at how British people in the North and the South of England (n = 1608), were functioning in the week of the first COVID-19 lockdown in England. While originally planned as a study of happiness, it was obvious that participants were very worried about the growing threat of the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper we compare the findings from a group of Older participants (aged 60 to 87, n = 104), with a Younger cohort (aged 17 to 30, n = 673), on a range of measures. Older participants were seen to have significantly higher levels of Flourishing on three subscales from the PERMA Profiler. They had higher levels of Meaning and Personal Accomplishments, and lower levels of Negative Emotions. They were also found to have lower levels of Loneliness and less psychological distress. Age may have been an advantage going into the COVID-19 lockdown. We report on these findings and outline a new study of Older adults which aims to compare a large British and a Taiwanese sample. Do people in Britain have higher levels of Flourishing and less psychological distress than their Taiwanese counterparts? We also intend to look at the concept of anti-mattering. Do Older people in the UK feel they are listened to more and that their views matter to others more than their Taiwanese equivalents?
Young men have only recently been recognised as pivotal to promoting gender equality and strengthening family wellbeing in South Africa. This study documents the experiences of fifteen young men from low-income, urban communities who became fathers through unprotected sex. All were aware of the negative consequences of such behaviour but felt that it was not their responsibility to practice safe sex. They were over-burdened with the responsibility of being fathers, especially in the absence of family support. They highlighted a lack of social support services for men and fathers. Although there have been efforts to expand family planning efforts and promote safer sexual practices in resource poor settings, it remains a challenge. This study emphasises the importance of targeted, gender-inclusive, social services aimed at men to promote safer sexual practices and a greater commitment to their fathering role.
Background: The global prevalence of diabetes mellitus is rising, with a significant comorbidity of depression, a condition called “diapression”. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a transdiagnostic approach that may benefit this population, and online delivery can improve accessibility. However, qualitative insights into the experiences of patients with diapression undergoing online ACT are lacking. Objective: This exploratory qualitative study aimed to investigate the perspectives of Chinese patients with type 2 diabetes and comorbid depression on an online, self-help ACT intervention, focusing on its acceptability and potential improvements. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight participants one month after they completed an 8-week online ACT program delivered via WhatsApp/WeChat. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis. Results: Five key themes were identified: (1) the perceived usefulness of ACT techniques for improving self-management and reducing distress; (2) difficulties in understanding certain abstract ACT concepts; (3) a preference for brief, succinct intervention components; (4) the benefits of online delivery for flexibility and accessibility; and (5) need for more personalized interaction and prompt feedback Conclusion: Online ACT was generally acceptable to patients with diapression. The intervention was valued for its practical skills and flexible format but could be enhanced by incorporating more real-life examples, culturally adapting concepts, and integrating methods for increased interaction, such as AI chatbots. These findings provide crucial insights for refining online self-help psychotherapies for this population before conducting larger-scale trials.
The CHIME Model has become the dominant model of mental health recovery. The model has been grounded in the lived experience literature of people recovering from mental health problems. Four of the components were first articulated by Australian researchers. These were Hope, Identity, Meaning and Empowerment. English researchers added Connection, thus forming the acronym CHIME. In this paper we show how we have added to this basic model. Robert and Jerome were the first to describe C-CHIME, with the C reflecting Creativity. This was also Jerome’s experience in mental health services, that often those people who recovered most, had creative talents, such as photography, artistic skills, filmmaking, or poetry. Lisa and Jerome discovered that a critical element in recovering from addiction was the concept of Growth. For someone to give up an all-consuming addiction, something needs to replace this in their lives. This could be education or developing a new career. Ije found that there were additional critical elements in her recovery from lupus. She felt that Pain, Acceptance, Adaptation and again Growth, were key in addition to the core elements of CHIME. Andrew Voyce briefly describes his own long journey of recovery that took place over a 20-year period. He illustrates how CHIME can be harnessed to explain his own recovery. Finally, we look at how practitioners might apply the CHIME model and its variants in their clinical practice. We note the lack of an assessment that might just guide this process, but which could also serve as an outcome measure.
