The lost social perspective: relocating the social perspective in approved mental health practice and the Mental Health Act 1983

Abstract

ABSTRACT The ‘social perspective’ was inserted into the Mental Health Act 1983 Code of Practice (2008a) to ensure that skills and perspectives associated with the Approved Social Worker (ASW) were adequately transferred to the broadened role of Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP). Nonetheless, there is a lack of clear guidance on how the ‘social perspective’ should be enacted in AMHP practice which causes several misalignments with how AMHPs balance other obligations in their decision making. Aspects of the Least Restrictive Option and Human Rights Legislations (such as the European Convention on Human Rights) are inconsistent with the objectives of the ‘social perspective’ and have replaced the ‘social perspective’ as a dominant feature of AMHP practice. Consequently, the ‘social perspective’ has avoided a clear definition, and meaningful guidance on how it should translate into practice. The ‘social perspective’ is often neglected in law reforms and policy decisions limiting both commissioning advancing the ‘social perspective’ and reducing its safeguarding function to the service user.