Book review
Title: The Approved Mental Health Professional’s Guide to Mental Health Law
Author(s): Robert Brown
Year: 2009
Edition: 2
Number of pages: 240
Publisher: Learning Matters
ISBN: 9781844451159
Price: £20.00
Reviewer: Caroline Morris, Chief Verifier for OCR for the Health and Social Care Suite of NVQs, and an associate lecturer for Open University
Review date: 17/02/2010
The move from Mental Health Social Worker to the role of Approved Social Worker (ASW) requires a detailed grasp of the law in practice. This book brings key aspects of the legislation, Code of Practice, Memorandum, Government Circulars and relevant case law and policy, together into one text. The resource will be invaluable to anyone wishing to become an ASW and their assessors who have previously had to refer to a variety of sources in order to achieve a thorough understanding of relevant points of law and practice. The book is written in an accessible style and further supported by exercises, case studies and checklists, providing a clear guide to the law relevant to the practice of an Approved Social Worker, as well as anticipating any changes which would come with the proposed new mental health legislation.
Until recently where an adult lacks capacity to make some particular decisions it has often been the responsibility of professional staff to make a reasoned and informed decision for them, little statute law has governed this aspect of service delivery and care. This book, however, is unusual in that it goes one stage further than being a useful resource in that it includes very relevant key points and checks and activities throughout to ensure the application of knowledge. In relation to utilising this resource for teaching and training it would be incredibly useful. The approach is discursive, with basic black-letter law being set in its historical, social and theoretical context. This makes the book a concise, readable primer for those interested in how mental health law came to be the way it is. The resource manages to address the complexities of the Mental Health Act in less than 150 pages of text, weaves in the code of practice and other equally apposite material, and adds one or two useful appendices.
Relevant aspects can be easily accessed and used for specific training or teaching needs, each chapter linking to others but independent in its own right, through the very specific content included. The activities encourage the application of knowledge to practice, ensuring that this is tightly linked to the requirements of the relevant legislation. What could be a daunting and time consuming read is helped greatly by this publication, as the book does not assume too much pre existing knowledge and sets out the key issues clearly and in an accessible style.
