Mental status examination and biopsychosocial history are among the most critical aspects of learning during conversations between a social worker and a client. It is recommended to start the interview with generally accepted questions about well-being, which will help establish a trusting relationship with the client. In a conversation, the employee must be polite, be ready to show empathy, avoid irony and ridicule, even in the case of the apparent absurdity of the client’s statements (Kotera et al., 2019). Against the background of the dialogue, the social worker must identify the mental status of the client in order to find the most comfortable approach to the conversation, offers of help, and more.
With the help of questions about the subject and the need for social assistance, the current client’s mood and problems can be found out, from which it is necessary to build on the conversation. Some topics may be inconvenient for the client; for some, it is necessary to give an impetus for the client to share. The client’s complex emotional state can betray detachment, disorientation, and incoherent thinking, which should be alerted by questions about the environment or how the client’s day went (O’Hare, 2019). Also, to establish the psychological status, the worker needs to assess the appearance, postures, and movements, as well as the motor skills of the client for mood and disorders.
The biopsychosocial model is a systematization of a similar approach to determining the psychological status with differentiation of human health in three aspects. A social worker is often not a highly qualified doctor, making it almost impossible to determine biological aspects or abnormalities without special equipment and experience. In this regard, the assessment of mental status described above in this model is complemented by social aspects that affect the client’s health (Kotera et al., 2019). In addition, perhaps an implicit assessment of family relationships, possible traumas that lie in the plane of the intersection of social and mental aspects are essential. However, questions on the topic of family, work, and the client’s relationship with other people should be asked after establishing a trusting contact between the employee and the client.
Finally, the last critical factor in understanding a person by a social worker is the spiritual views of the client. A person experiences a spiritual need to have a holistic view of the world; in this regard, many people pay great attention to the spiritual views of the client since they often determine the values of a person (Vetvik et al., 2018). Undoubtedly, the spiritual component of social work plays a significant role, but to reduce social work only to spirituality means to deprive it of an essential part of its content and almost identify it with psychology. The mental status of a person, social activity is often determined not only by specific biological prerequisites but also by the values that shape behavior. Spiritual views can be formed from the moment of upbringing and, in essence, are the focus and intersection of social, mental, and biological factors. They reflect social behavior, mental perception, and biological aspects influenced by these factors.
Questions about the spiritual views of the client should also be asked only after establishing a confidential contact since, for many, this is a rather personal topic. Discussion questions can be imprecise without a single correct answer, as are many questions in the spiritual realm. From the point of view of Christianity, a person can get answers to questions about the meaning of life, the correctness of life, the source of the formation of spiritual values (Vetvik et al., 2018). The social worker’s task is to understand in these discussions: how much a person adheres to a particular religion as a guide, and what other aspects form the spiritual views of the client (Vetvik et al., 2018). Determining these factors can provide clues to understanding social behaviors or problems, mental status, and many other aspects of a client’s mental and physical health.
References
Kotera, Y., Green, P., & Sheffield, D. (2019). Mental health attitudes, self-criticism, compassion and role identity among UK social work students. The British Journal of Social Work, 49(2), 351-370. Web.
O’Hare, T. (2019). Essential skills of social work practice: Assessment, intervention, and evaluation. Oxford University Press.
Vetvik, E., Danbolt, T., Furman, L. D., Benson, P. W., & Canda, E. R. (2018). A comparative analysis of Norwegian and American social workers’ views about inclusion of religion and spirituality in social work. Journal of Religion & Spirituality in Social Work: Social Thought, 37(2), 105-127. Web.