Maryann Roebuck’s linkedin.com/in/maryannroebuck research A Qualitative Study of the Working Alliance in the Strengths Model of Case Management with People with Severe Mental Illness written with Tim Aubry and Stephanie Manoni-Millar examines client perceptions of the working alliance to advance client recovery in the unique context of community based care settings.
This paper is a useful resource to reflect, have a relook on practice, and think about how we are doing with the push and pull, the dance of sorts with individuals we serve in our helpers role in community based “case management.”
(image of components of Strengths based approach is from https://www.scie.org.uk/streng...-approaches/guidance)
Working Alliance that supports change in community setting
….Some proposed underlying mechanisms of change within the working alliance include having clear goals, having small caseloads, affirming a person, mutual respect, adopting structured interventions, and being a responsive case manager …
… Research also shows that the working alliance in mental health case management may be different than the therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy. The community-based setting of mental health case management makes the practice more task-focused, and involves providing access to services and helping people to remain in the community (McCabe & Priebe, 2004)
Components of implementing the Strengths Model
….Strengths model case managers base their practice around six principles:
(1) There is an overall focus on individual strengths rather than pathology or deficits;
(2) The community is viewed as an oasis of resources;
(3) Interventions are based on client self-determination;
(4) The case manager-client relationship is primary and essential;
(5) The primary setting for the work is in the community, not in an office;
(6) People can recover, reclaim and transform their lives (Rapp & Goscha, 2012).
(image: conceptual diagram of study findings – key elements of study concepts, including base foundation of: Community Mental Health Field and Organizational Context and headings of: Strengths model influence, influencing factors, Key elements of working alliance and reported life changes. All of this described in article text body)
See the article (free access) article here: https://link.springer.com/arti...7/s10597-021-00903-9
While post here is about encouraging use of this article to reflect on our individual practice, below are links to background webinars about how this article fits into a broader research initiative on the strengths model and more details on implementation within organizations and broader care systems.
Webinar: Implementing strength-based case management: The value of fidelity monitoring https://vimeo.com/654657660
Eric Latimer, Tim Aubry, Janet Durbin, Maryann Roebuck “Evaluating the strengths model of case management for people with severe mental illness: Results of a multi-province study“