Conflict Theory Of Mental Health

Mental health agencies in Memphis deal with many clients from low socioeconomic backgrounds, as Memphis is one of the largest named cities in the US for low-income individuals and families. The conflict theory is helpful in gaining a sense of understanding the clients who are being served by my agency, Alliance Healthcare Services. This perspective asserts that the working poor are victims of a power structure, which creates inequalities (Zastrow & Kirst-Ashman, 2013). Having a basic knowledge and understanding of the community in which the agency serves helps the social worker open their minds and change their perspective to create a sense of connectedness with their clients. While many of our LMSW’S and our Crisis Services Counselors have …show more content…
We strive to teach others in the community to do the same as mental illness has had a stigma attached to it in the past. The biggest community connection has come through our local police department. Memphis has incorporated social justice and social planning and put them into a new social policy. Usually, the police officers are the first on the scene and they have worked hard at helping rather than hurting individuals with mental illness. They have their own trained police unit called CIT (Crisis Intervention Tactical) that are specially trained to help individuals, their families, and the community if someone is going through a mental health crisis. They will also help transport individuals to our mobile crisis unit for help. This has helped change the way for people in the Memphis area feel and treat community members with a mental health illness and has allowed Alliance to have strong ties within the community that is everlasting. Due to the large success of the Memphis community and the police officers other states in the US are getting trained and trying to follow …show more content…
After my assessment I determined she had been adopted when she was 8 years old, and did not feel at home with her adoptive family o she was using the hospitals as a home away from home. Even though I am usually supposed to just complete her assessment and make either a referral or place her in higher level care, I staffed with my supervisor and we decided to get her a case manager and a behavioral analyst. These services are provided at no cost to her family and they are billed through her insurance. These services will take a huge burden off of her (micro), her family (mezzo), and the school community (mezzo). “Social work has been defined as the professional activity of helping individuals, groups, or communities enhance or restore their capacity for social functioning and creating societal conditions favorable to this goal” (Barker, 1995, p.