Columbia University Press
2010
See Book Website: www.relationalcasemanager.com
This book is written for anyone who wonders about case management and the role of human relationships in mental health recovery. We argue for the importance of relationship by closely examining its process, that is, the back-and-forth exchange of attention and information that occurs between people. We explain how case managers can use the process of sharing attention and information intentionally to help clients develop or enhance abilities to achieve their greatest potential for living independently in the community with hope, satisfaction, and success. This book describes a practical method for engaging in supportive recovery relationships. Because the method uses ordinary everyday language, everybody involved in mental health care, including service providers, clients, and family members and close friends, can share it. It is important to emphasize that we are not proposing here a new service model for mental health treatment. This is not meant to be a substitute for the many, varied, and important case management models: recovery, assertive community treatment, or strengths. The method functions like a common user interface for and a complement to existing models.