ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the relationship between the mental health social worker and the law with a particular focus on the responsibilities of the Approved Social Worker (ASW). It explores the origins and development of the role of the ASW using literature which has emerged in Britain and Northern Ireland. The creation of the ASW within the new mental health legislation can best be explained by the coincidence of a number of social and policy factors which converged in the late 1970s. Government agencies who have the responsibility for the administration and monitoring of the legislation continue to shape the way ASWs practice in Northern Ireland. The chapter presents the key issues in contemporary mental policy - deinstitutionalisation, community care and managing risk in the community - which influence mental health social work practice in the 1990s. In Northern Ireland, ASWs benefit from organisational arrangements which allow for smoother working relationships between health and social work professionals.
