Searching for a Social Work Language of Human Rights: Perspectives of Social Workers in an Integrated Mental Health Service

Human rights are described as central to the social work profession. However, whilst principles of human rights are generally accepted as fundamental to social work, their application in specific practice settings is far more complex and the perspectives of social workers themselves are largely absent in the literature. This research explored the perspectives of nine social workers in integrated mental health teams in a National Health Service (NHS) Trust in the north of England. Participants took part in semi-structured face-to-face interviews investigating the role of social workers in enacting rights-based social work in integrated mental health services, the issues they face and aspects of good practice. Participants identified rights-based approaches as inherent in their practice but lacked an adequate language to describe this work and confidence in using specific legislation. All described a lack of available training (post-qualification) and support, and the impact of a lack of both time and resources, in enacting rights-based work. The research suggests a need for further training in human rights, increased support for social workers in enacting rights-based work and for a language of human rights to be more effectively embedded in organisations. Human rights work is an important part of the work that social workers do. The service-users they work with are often some of the most disempowered individuals in their communities, and social workers are uniquely placed to make sure their rights are upheld and fulfilled. However, social workers often work in very complex, uncertain, situations with limited resources, and having a primary focus on human rights is not always straightforward. This study explored the perspectives of nine mental health social workers in England, who were interviewed about their experience of making human rights a focus in their work. Social workers in the study agreed that human rights are an important aspect of their practice, but felt that they did not have the confidence to talk about human rights effectively. They described a lack of training on human rights after they qualified, and a lack of time, resources and support within their workplaces to build human rights into their practice. The findings suggest a need for further training for social workers in human rights, increased support for social workers to build human rights into their practice and for a language of human rights to be used more widely within their orga