Exploring the Competing Dual Roles of Mad, Mentally Ill, and neurodivergent (MMIND) Social Workers

Abstract

Clinical social workers who identify as Mad, Mentally Ill, or Neurodivergent (MMIND) occupy dual roles of both peer and professional. MMIND social workers uphold the professional role as members of a regulated profession which demands educational and employment credentials in order to be successful in attaining their position. MMIND social workers are also peers in that their experiences of psychiatrization, sanism, and neuroableism may be parallel to those of their ‘clients’ or ‘service users.’ These dual roles create tension as the MMIND social worker upholds a system that simultaneously oppresses them. The study implemented interpretive phenomenological analysis to illuminate the experiences of MMIND social workers employed in mental health practice contexts. The author’s insider knowledge as a Mad social worker employed in mental health practice aided in the analysis of the data. The study demonstrated that participants engaged in invisible labour not required of non-MMIND colleagues.