Practice Domains

Social work in health and mental health is varied and multi-faceted. This Conference will explore many domains of practice and research which are currently prominent in this field:

1.    Acquired brain injury
2.    Cancer care
3.    Renal care
4.    Emergency care
5.    Mental health social work
6.    Disaster social work
7.    Dementia care
8.    Palliative care
9.    Hospital social work
10.  Veteran health
11.  Sensory social work
12.  Community social work
13.  Forensic social work (including in criminal justice settings)
14.  Public health
15.  Social work with older people
16.  Alcohol and other drugs (AOD)
17.  Child Protection
18.  Eating Disorders
19.  Private practice
20.  Disability
21.  School social work
22.  First nations peoples/indigenous health& emerging services for Aboriginal/Indigenous communities
23.  Justice (forensic social work/corrections)
24.  Health – primary & community
25.  Health tertiary

Global Challenges

This international Conference will have contributions from all corners of the globe and will address some key themes affecting social workers working in health and mental health settings across the globe:

26.  Migration
27.  Welfare and work
28.  Trauma
29.  Changing climate and environments
30.  Sexual violence and human trafficking
31.  Stigma, discrimination and shame
32.  Ageing populations
33.  Isolation and loneliness
34.  Family, domestic and gendered violence
35.  Housing & homelessness

Social Determinants

Underpinning social work in health and mental health is a good understanding of the social determinants which impact on our daily work. Among these, the following themes will be explored in more depth during the Conference:

36.  Health inequalities
37.  Income inequality
38.  LGBTIQA+ folk
39.  Gender identity issues
40.  Race, racialisation and ethnic disparities in health
41.  Gender and health
42.  Rural and Remote

Social Work Intervention

This Conference will explore new developments, good practice and new research in all forms of social work intervention in health and mental health, with a particular focus on the following themes:

43.  Social intervention/prescribing
44.  Suicide prevention
45.  Iatrogenic risks of social work intervention
46.  Spirituality and mental health
47.  Artificial intelligence and digital interventions in social work practice

Working with Children in Health & Mental Health Care

Whole family approaches are a challenge in fragmented welfare systems. Social work with children is an important aspect of health and mental health care and this Conference will focus in particular on the following themes in relation to health and mental health:

48.  Child welfare and poverty
49.  Child and adolescent sexual abuse and exploitation
50.  Adolescence
51.  Adverse childhood experiences
52.  Child and adolescent mental health

Knowledge Production & Utilisation

Social workers in health and mental health draw upon a variety of sources of knowledge in their work. This Conference will explore knowledge production, and the use of that knowledge, in:

53.  Service user and survivor research
54.  Indigenous and community knowledge
55.  Social work education in the 21st century
56.  Supervision
57.  Research
58.  Academia

Law & Policy

Social workers often take a leading role in utilising law and policy in health and mental health settings. New research in law and policy relevant to social work in health and mental health will be discussed at this Conference:

59.  Mental health and mental capacity law
60.  Welfare systems, social policy and law
61.  Social Policy
62.  Human rights advocacy

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