Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1)

Multidisciplinary Team Youth Offending Teams These would usually comprise social workers, probation officers, employment and educational professionals. Child and adolescent mental health services These are multidisciplinary teams working in a community mental health session or child psychiatry outpatient service. These provide a specialised service for children and young people with mental health disorders. Team members are likely to include child psychiatrists, social workers, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, and art, music and drama therapists. Adult protection team Professional disciplines that are typically represented on elder abuse teams include adult protective services, the civil and criminal justice systems, health and social services, and mental health services. Some teams include domestic violence advocates, substance abuse specialists and policy-makers. What makes a Multidisciplinary Team work well? An MDT with a diverse range of skills and expertise seems obvious. Teams that discuss cases are likely to identify systemic problems that can be addressed through advocacy, training, or coordination. And yet past research on this arrangement has been inconsistent, with some studies suggesting that a team’s diversity can have a negative effect. One apparent drawback is that team members with shared backgrounds tend to organise themselves into opposing cliques. So what makes MDT beneficial is dependent on whether certain group processes are working well. 114

Publications from ODSW Social Insights: Letters by DSW (Vol 1) | Page 115