Abstract
Case managers are among the direct service providers responsible for engaging people with severe mental illnesses. Understanding
how they interpret and respond to clinically difficult situations can inform ways to intervene and reduce service disengagement.
This qualitative study explored clinically difficult situations when case managers invoked the term “sabotage”. Interviews
were conducted with 21 case managers and analyzed by co-coders focusing on how case managers used the term sabotage to describe
service user behavior. Themes that emerged were attributing sabotage to; fear of success, fear of attaining what you desire,
avoidance of responsibility and change, and a lack of structured support. Drawing on the concepts of clinical case management
and mental health recovery, we consider implications for the training and supervision of case managers and how services are
structured.
how they interpret and respond to clinically difficult situations can inform ways to intervene and reduce service disengagement.
This qualitative study explored clinically difficult situations when case managers invoked the term “sabotage”. Interviews
were conducted with 21 case managers and analyzed by co-coders focusing on how case managers used the term sabotage to describe
service user behavior. Themes that emerged were attributing sabotage to; fear of success, fear of attaining what you desire,
avoidance of responsibility and change, and a lack of structured support. Drawing on the concepts of clinical case management
and mental health recovery, we consider implications for the training and supervision of case managers and how services are
structured.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-7
- DOI 10.1007/s10615-012-0385-2
- Authors
- Victoria Stanhope, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square N, New York, NY 10003-6654, USA
- Emmy Tiderington, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square N, New York, NY 10003-6654, USA
- Benjamin Henwood, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square N, New York, NY 10003-6654, USA
- Deborah K. Padgett, Silver School of Social Work, New York University, 1 Washington Square N, New York, NY 10003-6654, USA
- Journal Clinical Social Work Journal
- Online ISSN 1573-3343
- Print ISSN 0091-1674