ERIC Number: ED044516
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1969-Nov
Pages: 73
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Non-Professional Personnel in Mental Health Programs.
Columbia Univ., New York, NY. School of Social Work.
Findings from 185 projects funded by the National Institute of Mental Health are summarized to describe the extent, nature, correlates and consequences of utilizing nonprofessionals in mental health service roles. Paid and volunteer workers were almost equally represented, with females in the majority (56 percent). The majority of projects (59 percent) employed more nonprofessionals than professionals, and the institutional care settings, rather than community settings, had higher ratios of nonprofessionals. Nonprofessional tasks included those formerly carried by professionals, those not performed previously by anyone, and, significantly, those previously thought of as requiring professional competence but redefined in accordance with the capacities of nonprofessional personnel. Implications for planning and practices include recruitment and education of nonprofessionals for a wide spectrum of mental health service functions and greater recruitment of special groups, such as youth, senior citizens, underprivileged, and all ethnic minority groups. A key implication for professional education is that greater clinical diagnostic and treatment skill is needed since the professional is being relieved of time-consuming tasks not requiring professional expertise. (SB)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: National Inst. of Mental Health (DHEW), Bethesda, MD.
Authoring Institution: Columbia Univ., New York, NY. School of Social Work.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A