EBP has helped social work to develop as scientific profession engaging itself in the progressive and rational project of modernity.
Basically EBP means intervention of solutions or ideas which are proven and tested by empirical research (Gary & McDonald, 2015, p. 10). argue there are three stages which social worker must complete, social worker start with theological stage, and go through the metaphysical stage and have enter into the scientific stage. The last stage will be only reached after the social work passes under the domination of science (Thyer & Myer, 2014, p. 12). We can test the validity of those ideas or theories which are generated by EBP because it can be tested on the on those clients who were subjects of the
research.
Similarly, mental health social worker practitioners need to understand their clients’ socio-cultural context while counseling them or dealing with their mental illness, without understanding the clients’ socio-cultural context mental health social work practitioners cannot be successful in their job. Human being are suffering from the different kind of mental illness like depression, anxiety, personality disorder etc, and there are lots of psychological strategies like cognitive behavior therapy, behavioral therapy can be used to help the mental disorder person (AASW). Mental health social workers must use the EBP to solve the problem because it uses those steps of interventions which are based on evidence. EBP helps mental health social work practitioner to find out the problem and select the appropriate treatment (AASW).
However, though EBP has widely accepted in social work, it has some limitations and criticisms. It is claimed that because of EBP social work has ignore the theoretical aspects and those evidence which are used to support the clients mental problems may not be applicable for every person who have the same mental illness. It is criticized as its interventions are not reviewed as like in medicine and psychology (Edmond et al., 2006, p. 378).
To sum up, though evidence based practice also has some limitations and criticism, it is useful to the mental social work practitioner to find out the clients specific mental health problem and provide the appropriate steps to help them. EBP makes the social works as scientific profession and research based field which provide the skills and knowledge to mental health social worker practitioner to understand the problem of clients as well as to provide some solutions.