June: An Assessment Under the Mental Health Act 1959

As the British Association of Social Workers has been celebrating its 50 years of existence, there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not social work was better back then. (By the way, I joined BASW as a student member in 1978.)

Over the years I’ve been writing this blog, I’ve written several posts about my experience of social work in the early years of my career (which started as an “Assistant House Parent” in a children’s home in 1975).

This post is a description of an assessment under the Mental Health Act 1959 Act that I witnessed in 1976, when I got my first job as an actual social worker.

A comparison with the way in which assessments by AMHPs under the MHA 1983 are conducted today shows the huge changes in philosophy and practice that have taken place over the intervening years.