Canadian social work education in mental health and addictions: understanding perspectives of faculty members

Abstract

ABSTRACT Social workers play an important role in the field of mental health and addictions, but there are concerns about the level of training and education offered by social work programs. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of Canadian social work faculty members on social work education in mental health and addictions. We conducted focus groups and individual interviews with faculty (N = 14) from English and French social work programs in seven Canadian provinces and one territory. Using thematic analysis, we generated four themes linked to social work faculty members’ perspectives on mental health and addictions in Canadian social work education. These included curriculum priorities and pedagogical approaches, gaps in the curricula, challenges to teaching mental health and addictions in social work education, and facilitators to strengthen the teaching of mental health and addictions in social work education. This study has important policy, practice, and education implications. Our findings underline the importance of including mental health in standards and policies set by accrediting associations, teaching students to use critical-clinical approaches, providing faculty with increased support, and developing a community of practice forsocial work faculty.