[Episode 41] Today’s podcast is the second of three interviews with Kia J. Bentley on psychopharmacotherapy. Kia J. Bentley is Professor of social work at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond Virginia and has published extensively in the area of psychopharmacotherapy (see references below). Psychopharmacotherapy refers to the treatment of psychiatric disorders with the use of medication. But, as Kia pointed out in our interview, psychopharmacotherapy is not just about giving people medication and calling it a day. It is an approach to treatment that acknowledges the strengths and limitations of medications.In today’s podcast, Kia talks about best practices for referring clients for psychiatric medications, resources for social workers interested in learning more about psychopharmacotherapy and how social workers can think critically about psychopharmacotherapy for both adults and children. In the first interview, Kia and I talked about key concepts and the role that social workers can play in psychopharmacotherapy. In the third interview, Kia talks about a recent qualitative research study she did to explore the meaning that medication had for residents in a psychiatric facility.
Download MP3 [21:08]Six Best Practices for Referring Clients for Psychiatric Medication (Bentley, Walsh, & Farmer, 2005):
- Establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with prescribers;
- Sharing up-to-date information about psychiatric medications with clientsand families;
- Helping clients and families understand and manage the meaning of medication;
- Preparing clients and families for the actual medication evaluation and anticipating issues that might emerge;
- Following up on the results of the referral;
- Managing legal and ethical concerns.
About Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D.
Dr. Bentley is a tenured Professor and Director of the Ph.D. Program at the Social Work at Virginia Commonwealth University where she has taught since 1989. She publishes, presents and teaches social work practice in mental health, especially serving people with severe mental illness and is involved in several community-based research projects. One research project concerns the meaning of and impact of taking psychiatric medication, in partnership with Gateway Homes, a residential treatment facility for adults with serious mental illness. You can hear more about that project in our third interview. Another in collaboration with colleague Sarah Kye Price, is a study of decision-making about psychiatric medication among pregnant and postpartum women.
She is the former chair of Central State Hospital’s Human Rights Committee, a state psychiatric facility in Petersburg, Virginia, the former Chair of the Virginia Mental Health Planning Council, and served six years on the Board of Virginia’s chapter of the advocacy organization the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). She has been active with the Council on Social Work Education for many years, currently serving as consulting editor of the Journal of Social Work Education and was one of last year’s winners of the “Reviewer of the Year Award.” She is an active and enthusiastic site visit chair and accreditation consultant. In the past she has served on their Commission on the Role & Status of Women for 6 years and their Commission on Accreditation for three.
References and Resources
- Bentley, K.J. & Collins, K.S. (2006). Psychopharmacological treatment for child and adolescent mental disorders. In C. Franklin, M. B. Harris, & P.A. Meares (Eds.) The school services sourcebook: A guide for school-based professionals (pp. 15-30). NY: Oxford University Press.
- Bentley, K. J. & Walsh, J. (2006). The social worker & psychotropic medication: Toward Effective collaboration with mental health clients, families and providers (3rd Ed.). Belmont: CA: Wadsworth.
- Bentley, K.J., Walsh, J. & Farmer, R. (2005a). Roles and activities of clinical social workers in psychopharmacotherapy: Results of a national survey. Social Work, 50(4), 295-303.
- Bentley, K.J., Walsh, J. & Farmer, R. (2005b). Referring clients for psychiatric medication: Best practices for social workers. Best Practices in Mental Health, 1(1), 59-71.
- Bradley, S. (2003). The psychology of the psychopharmacology triangle: The client, the clinicians and the medication. Social Work in Mental Health, 1(4), 29-50.
- Buelow, G., Hebert, S. & Buelow, S. (1999). Psychotherapist's resource on psychiatric medications: Issues of treatment and referral. Belmont, CA: Brooks/Cole.
- Floersch, J., Townsend, L., Munson, M., Winbush, V., Kranke, D., Faber, R., Thomas, J., Findling, R. & Jenkins, J. (2007, January 13) Adolescent experience of psychotropic treatment. Paper presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research, San Francisco, CA.
- Ingersoll, R.E. & Rak, C. F. (2006). Psychopharmacology for the helping professions: An integral exploration. Belmont, CA: Thomson.
- Jenkins, J., Strauss, M.E., Carpenter, E.A., Miller, D., Floersch, J. & Sajatovic, M. (2005). Subjective experience of recovery from schizophrenia-related disorders and atypical antipsychotics. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 51(3), 211-227.
- Karp, D. A. (2006). Is it me or my meds?: Living with antidepressants. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press.
- Stahl, S.M. (2000). Essential psychopharmacology: Neuroscientific basis and practical applications. (2nd Ed). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (advanced knowledge)
- Walsh, J., Farmer, R., Taylor, M.F., & Bentley, K.J. (2003). Ethical dilemmas of practicing social workers around psychiatric medication: Results of a national study. Social Work in Mental Health, 1(4), 91-105.
- Psychiatric Medications (n.d.). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 22, 208 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychiatric_medication
- Wilens, T.E. (2004). Straight talk about psychiatric medications for kids, Revised edition. NY: The Guilford Press.
APA (5th ed) citation for this podcast:
Singer, J. B. (Host). (2008, June 17). Best practices and resources for psychopharmacotherapy: Interview with Kia J. Bentley, Ph.D. [Episode 41]. Social Work Podcast. Podcast retrieved Month Day, Year, from http://socialworkpodcast.com/2008/06/best-practices-and-resources-for.html
