Negotiating the Care Act 2014: Experiences of Mental Health Social Workers in English Social Care Services

This paper will present the findings of a research project that explored mental health social worker experiences of the Care Act 2014, the primary social care legislation in England. The ways in which social workers experience their role and professional identity in this mental health social care context will be considered in relation to interprofessional and organisational factors, as well as the statutory and policy influences on mental health social work in England. The ways in which mental health social workers understand and negotiate the demands of the Care Act 2014 on their practice will be placed within a wider context of national and international conceptions of the social work profession.