Dear IASW Members,

Social workers practising in the field of mental health care provision to older persons in Ireland are invited to contact Damien Nolan - committee member of Social Workers in Adult Mental Health (SWAMH) and representative on that committee of a subgroup composed of social workers who practise in the field of mental health care provision to older persons - towards joining this subgroup. 

The subgroup of SWAMH that is composed of social workers practising in the field of mental health care provision to older persons, meets 3 or 4 times per year for the following purposes: 

• peer support
• learning from case study, journal review and receipt of presentations by invited speakers;
• professional development through consideration of policy and practice changes within this field that are of interest and are applicable to us as practitioners and to the client category group we serve;

• identification of ideas and issues within this field that we as a subgroup may seek to progress through engagement with the headquarters of the Irish Association of Social Workers, via SWAMH.

In addition to deriving advantage from meetings of the subgroup, members can and do benefit professionally from liaison with other members during times between meetings. 

Damien Nolan, who would welcome contact from interested social workers in this regard, can be reached by telephone (01-2493304) or by e-mail ( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ). 

In connection with this invitation to join the SWAMH subgroup that is composed of social workers who practise in the field of mental health care provision to older persons, please note that the next meeting of this subgroup is planned to take place in St Patrick’s University Hospital, Dublin 8, on Friday, October 7^th 2011 (further details are available from Damien Nolan, Head of Social Work at St Patrick’s University Hospital, who may be contacted through the telephone number or e-mail address provided above).           

Yours sincerely,

Damien Nolan

SWAMH