Mental health placement workbook

Abstract

This workbook has been introduced to make your life easier during your mental health placement. Your friends – the ones who have had their mental health placement before you – have let us know that sometimes, they felt a bit lost during the placement. Meaning that they did not really know what to do or what kind of activities to organise or participate in. This is because the setting was so different to other placements that they had had in the past. In the mental health setting, we do not have much equipment or medical/surgical procedures – the things that we most commonly need to help a person with a mental illness are: medications, talking therapies, the skills to build/maintain a therapeutic relationship and a good dose of common sense. Oh and yes…a big heart. We are very touchy about respecting the people that we try to help – that is why you will find that we are quite strict with asking you to respect our regulations during the placement – because we try to disrupt the wards/units as little as possible. Remember: the people who are receiving care inside the hospital need a peaceful environment and issues such as overcrowding may not be so pleasant for them. This book consists of a step-by-step approach to guide your placement. It is a demanding little book and asks you to carry out many activities but more important it guides you to THINK and REFLECT. We are hoping that in order to complete the activities in the book, you will truly immerse yourself in your placement. After all it is just 7-weeks long and you may never get another opportunity to work in a mental health setting again. Even if you never return to us, you can use the skills that you learn here in other areas because believe me, mental health/ illness is EVERYWHERE and affects anyone (including you).