Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

The Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Clinical Social Work: A Review of Standards of Care

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Clinical Social Work Journal Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Licensed to diagnose and treat mental disorders, clinical social workers have begun to develop and practice professional standards commensurate with their status as the nation’s largest provider of mental health care. Against the backdrop of malpractice claims and awards, this paper reviews the extant standards promulgated by our professional organizations, regulatory bodies, health-insurance and managed-care entities, and the courts to synthesize standards of care for the diagnosis of mental disorders. The limited available evidence suggests that clinical social workers merit congratulations and concern as we rise to the challenge of addressing those standards in education and practice.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. (2002). Professional development and practice competencies in clinical social work. Retrieved May 20, 2008 from http://www.abecsw.org/images/Competen.PDF.

  • American Board of Examiners in Clinical Social Work. (2008). A model practice act for clinical social work. Retrieved June 3, 2008 from http://www.abecsw.org/images/Center%20Model%20Practice%20Act%20Final%205.22.08.pdf.

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders IV-TR. Washington, DC: Author.

    Google Scholar 

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2009). Retrieved September 19, 2009 from http://www.psych.org/.

  • Association of Social Work Boards. (1998). Model Social Work Practice Act. Retrieved May 19, 2008 from www.aswb.org/Model_law.pdf).

  • Association of Social Work Boards. (2008). Social Work Laws & Regulations Comparison Database. Retrieved June 3, 2008 from http://www.datapathdesign.com/ASWB/Laws/Prod/cgi-bin/LawWebRpts2DLL.dll/EXEC/0/02extj71udkuiz13q4r210lqfco2.

  • Bennet, M. (2000). Retraining the practicing psychiatrist. Psychiatric Services, 51(7), 932–934.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Betts, T. (2002). Epilepsy–doctor’s dilemma, lawyer’s delight? Seizure: The Journal of the British Epilepsy Association, 11(Suppl A), 75–84.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bisman, C. (1999). Social work assessment: Case theory construction. Families in Society, 80(3), 240–246.

    Google Scholar 

  • Black, H. (1968). Black’s law dictionary (4th ed.). St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boland-Prom, K. (2009). Results from a national study of social workers sanctioned by state licensing boards. Social Work, 54(4), 351–360.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Center for Workforce Studies. (2006). Licensed social workers in the U.S., 2004, Vol II. Washington, DC: National Association of Social Workers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Charles, L. (2001). Strategies to reduce misdiagnosis of bipolar depression. Psychiatric Services, 52(1), 51–55.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corcoran, K. (1998). Clients without a cause: Is there a legal right to effective treatment? Research on Social Work Practice, 8(5), 589–596.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Corcoran, J., & Walsh, J. (2006). Clinical assessment and diagnosis in social work practice. New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danzon, P., & Lillard, L. (1983). Settlement out of court: The disposition of medical malpractice claims. Journal of Legal Studies, 12(2), 345–377.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dziegielewski, S., Johnson, A., & Webb, E. (2002). DSM-IV and social work professionals: A continuing education evaluation. Social Work in Mental Health, 1(1), 27–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flanagan, E., & Ahn, W. K. (2006). Clinicans’ familiarity with and beliefs about the causal bases of mental disorders. (Unpublished paper, Yale University School of Medicine).

  • Flexner, A. (1915). Is social work a profession? In National Conference of Charities and Corrections, Proceedings of the National Conference of Charities and Corrections at the Forty-second annual session held in Baltimore, Maryland, May 12–19, 1915. Chicago: Hildmann.

  • Frazer, P., Westhuis, D., Daley, J., & Phillips, I. (2009). How clinical social workers are using the DSM-IV: A National Study. Social Work in Mental Health, 7(4), 325–329.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furrow, B. R. (1980). Malpractice in psychotherapy. Lexington, Mass: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gabbard, G., & Kay, J. (2001). The fate of integrated treatment: Whatever happened to the biopsychosocial psychiatrist? American Journal of Psychiatry, 158(12), 1956–1963.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gambrill, E. (1990). Critical thinking in clinical practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ginsberg, M. (2009). Description of private practitioners reaction to managed care. Doctoral dissertation, Adelphi University.

  • Holloway, S., Black, P., Hoffman, K., & Pierce, D. (2009). Some considerations of the import of the 2008 EPAS for curriculum design. Retrieved October 29, 2009 from http://www.cswe.org/NR/rdonlyres/42372F53-28A5-4939-A673-A0C9902A402C/0/2008EPASCurriculumDesign.pdf.

  • Howard, M., & Jensen, J. (1999). Clinical practice guidelines: Should social work develop them? Research on Social Work Practice, 9(3), 283–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • In re Adoption/Guardianship No. CCJ147146. (2000). 360 Md. 634, 759 A.2d 755.

  • Jordan, C., & Franklin, C. (2003). Clinical assessment for social workers (2nd ed.). Chicago: Lyceum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jordan, G., & Stein, D. (2000). Mental disorders due to a general medical condition. Psychosomatics, 41(4), 370.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keeton, W. P., Dobbs, D., Keeton, R., & Owen, D. (1984). Prosser and Keeton on Torts (5th ed.). St. Paul, MN: West Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, S., & Hsieh, D. (2009). Do perceptions of dysfunction and normality mediate clinician’s judgments of adolescent antisocial behavior? Social Service Review, 83(2), 245–266.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, S., & Kutchins, H. (1988). Deliberate misdiagnosis in mental health practice. Social Service Review, 62(2), 225–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kirk, S., Wakefield, J., Hsieh, D., & Pottick, K. (1999). Social context and social workers’ judgment of mental disorder. Social Service Review, 73(1), 82–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kutchins, H. (1991). The fiduciary relationship: The legal basis for social workers’ responsibilities to clients. Social Work, 36(2), 106–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutchins, H., & Kirk, S. (1986). The reliability of DSM-III: A critical review. Journal of Social Work Education, 22, 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kutchins, H., & Kirk, S. (1987). DSM-III and social work malpractice. Social Work, 32(3), 205–211.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kutchins, H., & Kirk, S. (1988). The business of diagnosis: DSM-III and clinical social work. Social Work, 33(3), 215–220.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lillard, M. (2008). The standard of care for medical malpractice claims in Idaho: Time for reassessment. The Advocate, 51(5), 19–20.

    Google Scholar 

  • McQuaide, S. (1999). A social worker’s use of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual. Families in Society, 80(4), 410–416.

    Google Scholar 

  • Meyer, D., & Simon, R. (2004). Psychiatric malpractice and the standard of care. In R. Simon (Ed.), The APA textbook of forensic psychiatry (pp. 185–203). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, J. (1997). When psychological problems mask medical disorders: A guide for psychotherapists. New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muniz, A. (1999). Factors associated with misdiagnosis among social workers in mental health. Doctoral dissertation, Barry University.

  • Munson, C. (1997). The future of clinical social work and managed cost organizations. Psychiatric Services, 48(4), 479–482.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Munson, C. (2004). The evolution of protocol-based supervisory practice. In M. Austin & K. Hopkins (Eds.), Supervision as collaboration in the human services (pp. 85–96). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Association of Social Workers. (2005a). NASW standards for clinical social work in social work practice. Retrieved May 20, 2008 from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWClinicalSWStandards.pdf.

  • National Association of Social Workers. (2005b). NASW standards for social work practice in health care settings. Retrieved May 20, 2008 from http://www.socialworkers.org/practice/standards/NASWHealthCareStandards.pdf.

  • National Practitioner Data Bank Public Use Data File. (2009). Retrieved September 27, 2009 from http://www.npdb-hipdb.hrsa.gov/.

  • Newman, B., Clemmons, V., & Dannenfeiser, P. (2007). The diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders in graduate social work education: Then and now. Journal of Social Work Education, 43(2), 297–307.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Olfson, M., Marcus, S., & Pincus, H. (1999). Trends in office-based psychiatric practice. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(3), 451–457.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Othmer, E., & Othmer, S. (2002). The clinical interview using DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parloff, M. (1982). Psychotherapy research evidence and reimbursement decisions: Bambi meets Godzilla. American Journal of Psychiatry, 139(6), 718–727.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • People, v. R. R., & People, v. G. A. (2005). 12 Misc.3d 161, 807 N.Y.S.2d 516 (N.Y. Sup. Dec. 22) (combined cases).

  • Peters, P. (2000). The quiet demise of deference to custom: Malpractice law at the millennium. Washington and Lee Law Review, 57(1), 163–205.

    Google Scholar 

  • Priest, R. (1997). A patient who changed my practice. International Journal of Psychiatry in Clinical Practice, 1(3), 221–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramin, M., & Olfson, M. (2008). National trends in psychotherapy by office-based psychiatrists. Archives of General Psychiatry, 65(8), 962–970.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reamer, F. (1995). Malpractice claims against social workers: First facts. Social Work, 40(5), 595–601.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reamer, F. (1998). Clients’ right to competent and ethical treatment. Research on Social Work Practice, 8(5), 597–603.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reamer, F. (2003). Social work malpractice and liability. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jaffee v. Redmond (1966) 116 S. Ct. 1923.

  • Rosen, A., & Proctor, E. (2003). Developing practice guidelines for social work intervention: Issues, methods, and research agenda. New York: Columbia University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum, S., Kamoie, B., Mauery, D. R., & Walitt, B. (2003). Medical necessity in private health plans: Implications for behavioral health care. DHHS Pub No. (SMA) 03–3790. Rockville, MD: Center for Mental Health Services, Substance abuse and Mental Health Services Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rubin, A., & Parrish, D. (2007). Views of evidence-based practice among faculty in master of social work programs: A national survey. Research on Social Work Practice, 17(1), 110–122.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rubinson, E. (1999). DSM-IV: A comparison of social workers and psychiatrists on knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Doctoral dissertation, New York University.

  • Saltzman, A., & Proch, K. (1990). Law in social work practice. Chicago: Nelson-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shimabukuro, J. (2008). Role of thyroid in diagnostic assessment practices of Hawaii mental health providers. Doctoral dissertation, Argosy University/Hawai’i.

  • Siegel, D. (2008). The growing admissibility of expert testimony by clinical social workers on competence to stand trial. Social Work, 53(2), 153–163.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tarasoff v. Regents of the University of California (17 Cal.3d 425 [1976]).

  • Taylor, M., & Vaidya, N. (2005). Psychopathology in neuropsychiatry: DSM and beyond. Journal of Neuropsychiatry and Clinical Neuorsciences, 17(2), 246–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Turner, F. (2002). Diagnosis in social work: New imperatives. New York: Haworth.

    Google Scholar 

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (1999). Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General. Rockville, MD: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Mental Health.

  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2006). National Practitioner Data Bank 2006 Annual Report. Retrieved September 27, 2009, from http://www.npdh-hipdb.hrsa.gov/annualrpt.html.

  • Wallen, M., & Lorman, W. J. (2008). Special issues in patients with comorbid psychiatric and chemical dependency disorders. In J. Brick (Ed.), Handbook of the medical consequences of alcohol and drug abuse (2nd ed., pp. 579–621). NY: Haworth Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilk, J., West, J., Narrow, W., Rae, D., & Regier, D. (2005). Economic grand rounds: Access to psychiatrists in the public sector and in managed health plans. Psychiatric Services, 56(4), 408–410.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, C. (2004). Evidence-based medicine in the law beyond clinical practice guidelines: What effect will E. M. have on the standard of care? Washington and Lee Law Review, 61(1), 479–534.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2007). International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (10th Revision). Retrieved June 3, 2008 from http://www.who.int/classifications/apps/icd/icd10online/.

  • Zimmerman, M. (2003). What should the standard of care for psychiatric evaluations be? The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 191(5), 281–286.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to acknowledge helpful contributions from three anonymous reviewers and Lucinda Branaman, whose generous assistance made it possible to obtain malpractice statistics from NASW Assurance Services.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID, 83712, USA

    Daniel Harkness

Authors
  1. Daniel Harkness
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel Harkness.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Harkness, D. The Diagnosis of Mental Disorders in Clinical Social Work: A Review of Standards of Care. Clin Soc Work J 39, 223–231 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0263-8

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10615-010-0263-8

Keywords

Search

Navigation