Working in multidisciplinary community mental health teams: The impact on social workers and health professionals of integrated mental health care

This study investigated the relationships between the organization of community mental health services and professional and team identification, team functioning and the psychological well-being and job satisfaction of staff working in multidisciplinary community mental health teams (CMHTs). Staff in four districts in the North of England completed anonymous questionnaires on two occasions, twelve months apart. There were systematic differences in team functioning, favouring teams in districts where mental health and social care services were integrated. However, service organization had no evident impact on professional or team identification or on outcomes for staff in terms of stress or job satisfaction. There were differences between social workers (n = 31) and health service professionals (n = 82) indicating that social workers had poorer perceptions of team functioning and experienced higher levels of role conflict. Controlling for other factors including the study districts, role conflict was a significant predictor of stress and of job dissatisfaction, while role clarity promoted job satisfaction. We conclude that support and supervision aimed at ensuring a social work contribution to multidisciplinary working should be provided in the course of establishing CMHTs and integrated health and social care services.