Generic versus specialist clinical work roles of occupational therapists and social workers in mental health

Objective: There has been limited research in Australia examining the extent of generic and specialist work activities carried out by occupational therapists and social workers since the introduction of mental health reform. The aim of the project was to: (i) identify specific clinical work activities of occupational therapists and social workers; and (ii) identify whether they are performing a greater proportion of generic than specialist clinical or discipline specific core skills. Method: A cross-sectional survey of 304 (response rate 76.6%) occupational therapists and social workers working in mental health was conducted. For the purposes of the study a new instrument was developed to cover broad categories of clinical work activities. Results: The majority of the respondents were female, under the age of 30 years, who had worked in their current position less than 5 years. Generic work activities were the primary activities of the two professional groups, with nine of the 10 activities undertaken most frequently being generic in nature. Social work respondents performed more work activities while occupational therapists undertook more specialist clinical activities. Conclusions: Occupational therapists and social workers are required to have common competencies in addition to discipline-specific competencies in order to undertake broad-spectrum mental health service activities. This has implications for the skill mix, education and training and recruitment of staff.