The Mental Capacity Act (2005), Acquired Brain Injury and Decision-Making – What Does This All Mean for Social Workers?

Acquired brain injury (ABI) is the leading cause of adult injury-related death and disability worldwide. Despite ABI’s prevalence, there is a consensus that social workers are poorly prepared for brain injury working due to a dearth of pre-qualifying brain injury teaching or training in standard curricula. Self-report methods, such as assessment by interview alone, may underestimate support needs, especially in those with low levels of insight into their difficulties following ABI. This article, which offers a practice perspective, highlights ABI social work as being in urgent need of attention both in terms of knowledge and resources, training and supervision, specifically in terms of understanding how brain injury can affect decision-making within the context of the Mental Capacity Act (Citation2005). This is particularly significant within the context of mental capacity assessments around different areas of using information to inform decision-making and of understanding of support needs. Reference is made to published frameworks for competencies, continuous professional development (CPD) and the Brain Injury Social Work Group network (BISWG). Practice tips are offered to colleagues to ensure comprehensive and defensible assessments of how adults with acquired brain injury make important decisions.