Seattle University Collaborative Projects - International Academy of ...

disability in different laws and revision of the Mental Health Act to make interface between theact and laws concerned is urgently needed in Korea. This study examines definitions of disabilityin laws concerning the mentally ill and suggests definitions of mental disability in the MentalHealth Act to provide seamless protection for the mentally ill.Exploring Roles of Social Workers to Prevent Suicide in KoreaMyungmin Choi, Baekseok University (mmchoi@hanmail.net)The suicide rate in Korea is currently the highest among OECD countries and is increasingrapidly. Suicide is one of the major causes of death in Korea and every sector of society isseeking solutions including the field of social work. Social workers provide services forvulnerable people in communities who are exposed to suicide risk relatively easily. But it isunknown how many social workers are facing suicide problems and how they deal with them intheir work. This study examines Korean social workers to find what kind of support is needed forthem to work more effectively.For this purpose, 615 social workers were surveyed and the datawere analyzed by SPSS 18. 108 respondents (17.6%) had lost a client to suicide in the last 3years. 180 respondents (29.3%) answered that their clients had attempted suicide and 330(53.7%) reported that clients had expressed suicidal thoughts in the last 3 years. During the sameperiod, 302 (49.1%) suspected clients of suicidal thoughts at least once, although clients did notsay so directly. However, among those cases, 108 social workers (17.6%) did not take any actionbecause they were too busy with other tasks, thought the probability of clients acting on suicidalthoughts was low, or didn’t know how to cope with it. respondents indicated that suicidal riskwas very relevant to their jobs, and that they needed the ability to cope with suicide problems(4.1 and 4.6 on a 5 point scale). They also very much wished (4.5 on a 5 point scale) to have theopportunity to train in suicide prevention (SP). The importance of SP training programs washighlighted by the fact that respondents trained in SP had significantly higher competency scoresin SP than those untrained. In conclusion, social workers are useful preventers of suicide asgatekeepers and professionals in Korean society. Appropriate training programs for SP should beprovided to social workers immediately in accordance with their needs.The Lived Experience of Koreans with Mental IllnessSun Kyung Kang, Sogang University (skshin2000@sogang.ac.kr)This qualitative phenomenological study explores the lived experience of individuals withmental illness in a clubhouse in Korea. Semi-structured interviews with nine participants wereconducted to examine the vicious circle of sorrow facing individuals with mental illness. Threemajor themes from the lived experience emerged: entering a haven, living in a haven, and havinga haven-like hometown. The results of the study indicated that participants had a broad range ofperspectives on mental rehabilitation, including recognition that rehabilitation was something266