Developing clinical competence by applying a generic model in mental health social work supervision: A case study from Hong Kong, China

Clinical consultation is regarded as a crucial element in the professional development of human service personnel as well as ensuring the quality of service to clients. Mental health professionals who are new to the work, such as social workers, usually want more supervision which could help their work as well as provide emotional support. Using an actual case, this article delineates the idea of clinical consultation and explains a four-stage model of mental health consultation, namely entry, diagnosis, implementation and disengagement for mental health social workers. It is hoped that this model can provide a good base for consultants to integrate theory and practice in clinical consultation.