The International Network of Social Work in
Health and Mental Health is the support organization of
the International Conference. Its mission is to promote
the development of social work in health and mental health,
to encourage international sharing of information and resources
regarding education, research and practice of social work
in health and mental health and, finally, to organize an
international conference every three years.
The series of conferences was initiated by a group of practitioners
working in the field as well as academics from Paul Baerwald
School of Social Work of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
as an outgrowth of their international exchange of experiences
with the Mount Sinai Medical Centre Group and the Australia
Enhancement Leadership Program.
Over 800 delegates from 30 countries participated
in the First International Conference in Jerusalem (1995).
Eight hundred and fifty delegates attended the Second International
Conference in Melbourne (1998), and 863 were present at
the Third International Conference in Tampere (2001). In
the Fourth Conference in Quebec (2004), more than 700 participants
from 49 countries participated and shared their knowledge
and experiences on social work in health and mental health.
A Virtual Secretariat was created during the Melbourne Conference.
A virtual organizing network was thus formed for the purpose
of continuing the series of conferences whose success has
genuinely demonstrated the need for the sharing of knowledge
and experiences among members of the international community
of social work in health and mental health.
