Screening to Identify Parents in Need of Mental Health Support: a Feasibility Study in Child Welfare Services

The SSH aims to identify parents in need of mental health support and to strengthen social workers' competence in addressing mental illness. The SSH includes three components: 1) Collaborating - establishing collaboration with local services offering support to adults with mental illness, 2) Screening - using screening instruments for depression (the Patient Health Questionnaire - PHQ-9) and anxiety (GAD-7) to identify symptoms of mental illness among parents, and 3) Referral - Discussing the results of the screening with parents and referring to appropriate services. Techniques from motivational interviewing are included. Social workers receive training and material to administer the screening and refer parents in need of support.