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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume VIII, Number 2 |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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Volume VIII, Number 2 |
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A Psychopharmacology Video for Social Workers Christina Newhill and Helen Cahalane from the School of Social Work
will be creating an instructional video with their grant, Client Perceptions
of Medication Treatment, Benefits, Side Effects and Compliance: A Psychopharmacology
Video for Social Workers. The purpose of the video is twofold: (1) to
provide a less stressful forum for having clients discuss their experiences
with psychotropic drugs (in lieu of their appearing in person as guest
speakers), and (2) to model interviewing and active listening skills
used in therapy. Because psychotropic medication is a therapeutic intervention for a broad spectrum of mental disorders, today’s practice environment requires social work graduates to be proficient in a wide range of therapeutic modalities. Although social workers cannot directly prescribe psychotropic drugs for clients, they often play key roles in monitoring the client. In today’s managed care environment, the client’s physician may only see the client occasionally, whereas the social worker sees the client much more frequently. Therefore, social workers are in the ideal position to encourage medication adherence, monitor side effects, and educate the clients and their families about the medication. Christina Newhill notes, “To students, clients have creditability. They bring a powerful real-world perspective of what it’s like to live with a mental illness and take medication in the context of their daily lives. For example, this can help students to understand from the client’s perspective the reasons why they stop taking their medication. This, in turn, enhances the empathy that students feel toward the client.” This proposed video will consist of a series of short, edited interviews
with clients, eliciting information about their personal experiences
with prescribed psychotropic medication. A variety of mental illnesses
and different classes of medication will be represented so that students
can increase their understanding of a range of diagnostic presentations
and medication types. Helen Cahalane adds, “Hearing the voices of clients
challenges some of the biases students may hold regarding medication.
It helps to sensitize them in preparation for clinical practice and
provides an opportunity to understand more about the client’s experience.
Furthermore, medication knowledge is a licensing requirement.” | |||||
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Center for Instructional
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