Psychiatric social work and socialism: problems and potential in China

At present social work is almost unheard of in China. Grassroots responses to the needs of mentally ill people and their families, based on the use of untrained officials and volunteers, are insufficient. In some cases, intervention may be unwelcome because of the stigma that surrounds mental illness in China and the families' desire to keep the matter private. The problems and difficulties--practical, emotional, and social--that families and patients face are not dissimilar to those of their counterparts in the West. Doctors and nurses adopt a biological explanatory model and show little interest in the wider environment of the patient, even when environmental factors can be clearly demonstrated to impinge on the illness. The authors conclude that there is a role and a need for social workers in psychiatric settings in China. Although this would undoubtedly be social work with Chinese characteristics, it would be recognizable as consistent with professional social work practice elsewhere.