This is not an uncommon problem. In some cases the psychiatric symptoms may indeed be precluding success in securing jobs (e.g. ADHD), working capacity (depression) or contributing to debts (mania). But in most cases, treating the psychiatric symptoms along is unlikely to eliminate the financial hardships.
It is important to know what local resources are available for social assistance, including the services of a Social Worker.
At PsychiatryQbank, we believe there are several “Social Interventions” that a physician can do.
We asked Dr. Priya Sabesan, a psychiatrist who works at a busy Urgent Consultation setting, to share some of her views on social interventions in office-based practice.
She says there are many things that we can do, that are likely to be directly helpful to our patients.
The 3 ‘high-yield’ social intervention measures, in her practice are:
- Focusing on 4 key domains of social disability – housing, work, education & finances
- Writing support letters to relevant organizations
- Providing strong and effective written information to support disability applications
She has put together 3 easy reference slides that cover practice points for these measures. You can find them in the flipbook link HERE.
What other social interventions do you think are relevant to your practice? Drop a comment below!