ABSTRACT
The provision and delivery of mental health services and the role of social workers within these services is constantly evolving. Developments in mental health service provision have not only been influenced by devolution but also by broader trends that have emerged as a result of a growing service user movement that has been influential in campaigning for social change. This chapter highlights key developments in the field of mental health before considering some of the main tensions and dilemmas that this might reveal for social work practice. The Mental Health Foundation, in their 2016 summary of mental health data in Scotland, explain that it is difficult to estimate prevalence rates for mental illness in Scotland for a number of reasons. A new legal and policy framework was therefore required, in order to provide care and support for those who experienced mental disorder, both in their local communities and in a hospital setting.
