MENTAL HEALTH &
MENTAL
DISORDERS
California Common
Core Curricula for
Child Welfare
Workers
Outcome Objectives
COMPETENCIES
AND LEARNING
OBJECTIVES
Page 2
Adult Learning Needs
 My
brain is full!
 Tell me how and why
 Keep it real!
 Variety is the spice of life!
Agenda
Introduction
 Facts and Stats
 Labeling and Stigma
 Culture & Mental Health
 Definitions
 Strength Based Perspective
 Overview of Common Diagnoses
and Implications for Child Welfare
 Resources, Interventions, &
Referrals

Meet and Greet
 Write
down 3 symptoms of a mental
illness
 Meet at least 7 other people in the
room at other tables
 Share with them your 3 symptoms
and hear their 3 symptoms
Facts and Stats
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23% of adults suffer from a
diagnosable disorder
Only 50% of those report daily
impairment
3% have both mental and
addictive disorders
5-7% have a serious mental
illness (schizophrenia, major
depression, bipolar)
Homeless stats
Facts and Stats Continued
Adults with serious mental
illness die 25 years younger
 Leading cause of disabilities
for ages 15-44
 Less than 1/3 receive MH
services in a year
 Delay of 10 years from the
onset of symptoms until the
first contact with treatment
 CA: 300,000 with serious
mental illness do no have
access to services

Labeling and Stigmas p.6
 What
are some of the labels we put
on mental illness?
 What are the stigmas to be aware of
with mental illness/disorders?
 How does this impact CW?
Small Group Discussion
Answer the following questions:
1. How did your family define
“crazy”?
2. Was this how your larger
culture defined it?
3. How did your culture handle
parents who were mentally ill?
4. Did you know someone who fit
this description growing up?
Explain
Bias at Work
 Early
messages become our
templates for biases in the
future
 What happens if you add other
layers of potential bias?
 What should your role be in
helping with systemic bias?
Bias
 On
page 7, write down some biases
of which you are aware concerning
mentally ill people/parents
 For your eyes only
Cultural Overlay of Mental Illness
 Individually
consider a cultural
practice within your family’s culture
that could be mistaken as a sign of
mental illness (pgs. 8-9)
 Share with small group
 Compare answers around group
Implications for Practice
 Biases
can shape our decision
making
 Community and systemic bias can
impact our client families negatively
 Cultural practices can be
misdiagnosed and misinterpreted
 CW has a role in preventing and
advocating
 Ethical obligation to understand
Advocacy
 Advocacy
is….
Advocacy
 In
your small groups
 Brainstorm a list of ways CW can act
as advocate for the mentally ill client
 Write down list
 Prepare to share with rest of class
Definition Card Sort
 In
small groups
 Sort the cards in the envelope to
match the word/concept to the
correct definition
Link
 Acute
 What
vs. Chronic
are the implications for
parenting when referring to a
symptom, sign, or prognosis?
Strengths and Protective Influences
 Symptoms
manifest differently for
different individuals
 Same diagnoses are more
debilitating for some individuals than
others
Mitigating Factors
 Factors
that decrease severity
 Factors that can help risk be less
severe
 Factors that can help symptoms be
more bearable and increase
functionality
Strengths of the Mentally Ill
 Consider
factors that can help
mitigate symptoms
 Consider coping factors as strengths
 Make a list of mitigating factors and
strengths commonly seen with
mentally ill clients
Anxiety Disorders
 Panic
Disorders with/without
Agoraphobia
 Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
 Generalized Anxiety Disorder
 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Anxiety Symptoms
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Pounding heart
Sweating
Trembling
Shortness of
breath
Feeling of choking
Chest pain or
discomfort
Nausea
Dizziness
Excessive anxiety
and worry
 Keyed up or on
edge
 Easily fatigued
 Difficulty
concentrating
 Irritability
 Muscle tension
 Sleep disturbance
 Paresthesias

Vignette One
 In
small groups
 Read vignette one
 Use the chart to consider what is
diagnosis, signs of escalation, risk
factors
 Answer the questions following the
vignette
Process Points
 Strengths
of family
 Implications for parenting
 Chronic vs. acute
 Your role?
Mood Disorders
 Major
Depression: Recurrent, Single
Episode
 Dysthymia
 Bipolar: Mixed, Manic, Depressed
Mood Disorder Symptoms

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Sad or irritable mood
Loss of interest in
activities
Significant change in
appetite
Sleep disturbance
Psychomotor agitation
or retardation
Loss of energy
Feelings of
worthlessness or
inappropriate guilt

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Difficulty
concentrating
Thoughts of death or
suicide
Elevated, expansive or
irritable mood,
Inflated self-esteem or
grandiosity
Excessive talking
Flight of ideas
Risk taking behavior
Vignette Two
 In
small groups
 Read vignette two
 Use the chart to consider what is
diagnosis, signs of escalation, and
risk factors
 Answer the questions following the
vignette
Process Points
 Strengths
of family
 Implications for parenting
 Chronic vs. acute
 What might be going on?
 What are other considerations?
Psychotic Disorders
 Schizophrenia
 Mood
Disorders with Psychotic
Features
Signs/Symptoms
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Hallucinations and
delusions
Disorganized speech
Loss of ego
boundaries
Grossly disorganized
or catatonic behavior
Negative symptoms:
– Flat affect
– Poverty of speech
– Poverty of content
of speech
– Lack of energy or
drive/apathy


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Disorganization:
– in personal care
– in social and
professional
performance
Profound disruption in
cognition and
emotions
Perceptions of reality
strikingly different
from the reality seen
and shared by others
around them
Beautiful Mind
 View
the video
 Pick out signs/symptoms of
psychosis
 Small Group Discussion
– List signs/symptoms
– Relate to identified parental risks
– How does MSLC impact a case with a
schizophrenic parent?
Personality Disorders
 Borderline
 Narcissistic
 Dependent
 Antisocial
Unique U’s
 As
a small group
 Review the information in the chart
for each of the personality disorders
 Come up with 2 words that start with
U to describe each personality
disorder
 It can be a word to sum up, highlight
risk, point out case plan implications
Fictitious Disorder
 Attention
seeking
 Heroic or martyr
 Exaggeration or exacerbation
 Fabrication
Consider:
 Safety
 Risk
 Protective
 MSLC
capacity
Case Plan Interventions
 In
small groups
 Using case plan implications Column
for each diagnosis
 And Pages 27 and 28
 Identify 3 interventions for each of
the vignettes read earlier
 Identify which aspects of the MH
system of care will be utilized
Questions?
 Any
questions about anything we
discussed today?
 Any questions about anything that
did not come up?
Thank You!
Mary Garrison, LCSW
marydgarrison@msn.com