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Experience into practice: working in mental health
Posted Wednesday 9 November 2011
Ally is training to be a clinical psychologist. Here she writes about bringing her own unique experience of mental health problems to her work and of other mental health professionals who have done the same.
I've wanted to work in mental health since my early teens. I've always wondered what other people are thinking, why they do what they do.
I wanted to understand what it is that makes people ill and how we can help them to recover. However, not too long after this point, I became ill myself.
Luckily, following years of support from both professionals and my family and friends, I feel a lot better and well enough to pursue my chosen career. I've recently been accepted onto a clinical psychology training program, which I'm excited to start.
I've often felt scared about revealing my history, in case it might be used as grounds to deny me a job. However, I've tried to be open and honest with employers, and so far this has never been an issue.
If statistics are to be believed, one in four people experience mental health problems at some point in their lives. People who work in health are by no means immune to this.
Indeed, doctors and nurses have some of the highest suicide rates of any occupation. Yet it isn't something people talk about.
I have heard that people with a history of mental health problems 'shouldn't' work in mental health, that they would somehow not be able to be as objective, impartial, unattached as their 'normal' co-workers.
No one would ever suggest that a nurse who has had cancer should not work on an oncology ward, yet for mental health this sort of attitude seems to linger.
The notion of 'normal' employees is a bit of a myth. Everyone has times in their life when they struggle and this has an impact on their ability to work. The work can bring up personal feelings in anyone.
I remember a manager once telling me, "On the day you don't feel capable of doing your job, that's the day you don't come in," and this has stayed with me.
It is important that you recognise your limitations, and sometimes this can mean waiting until you are feeling a lot better before entering work. But if you feel confident and well enough to work, the fact that you have a history of mental health problems shouldn't be a barrier.
Good supervision and understanding from colleagues helps me to keep my personal and professional life separate.
Dr Marsha Lineham, credited with developing DBT (dialectal behavioural therapy), one of the most effective treatments for people with borderline personality disorder, has spoken about her own experiences with the disorder and how they motivated her to bring a new perspective to treatment:
“I made a vow: when I get out, I’m going to come back and get others out of here.” And she isn't the only one.
Empathy is vital to my work. I see my experiences as giving me a unique perspective that helps me to generate ideas about how I can better meet individuals' needs.
Rufus May, a clinical psychologist who was hospitalised for psychosis as a teenager, was motivated to enter the field by his own experiences. He writes:
"Motivated by the poor care I received and witnessed, I decided to train as a psychologist so that I might influence change in therapeutic approaches in the mental health system."
I see my experiences of being on the 'other side of the desk', of handling diagnoses, medication, long waiting lists, being misunderstood and misrepresented, as the kind of work experience you can't be taught.
I've been very inspired by seeing other mental health professionals speak out about their own experiences of mental health problems.
These professionals have made amazing contributions to the field of mental health, not just in spite of their problems, but they have used their experiences to go above and beyond the already existing material.
I hope that they are helping to create a culture in which we value the amazing contributions and skills individuals with mental health problems can bring to the field of mental health. It's something I hope to be a part of, going into the future.
Ally
Follow Ally on Twitter @allyablaze
15 Comments
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Great stuff. Of a similar position and background and it's reassuring that others are doing the same too. Best of luck with the course. If your article is anything to go by, you'll be a great psychologist.
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I think people who have suffered from any disease or illness are the perfect people to help others going through the same! After all, when you've been there and done it, who better is there to guide someone else! Good luck.
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@Mark - I think there are a lot of people in a similar position to us, it's just something they don't talk about! Thanks a lot for your lovely comment :)
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Fantastic article Ally, we all wish all the best luck in the world - you know who we are - Michelle and co. x
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Any job asks for qualifications in the subject or a similar field and experience in/knowledge of that area of work. It means that greater understanding is available to help a persons Individual difficulties. In this world where there is such a lack of understanding of Mental Health Issues, I am so glad that there are many Services available with understanding Staff. The very best of luck to you.
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Amazing and very touching article Ally. Much like yourself I have suffered from mental health problems over the last few years and now through support from family, friends and mental health charities I have turned a negative in my life into a positive and now work within the mental health sector,I'm not ashamed to talk about my personnal experiences and am blessed with very understanding and supportive colleagues many of whom have also experienced difficulties with their mental health. I beleive this makes us a very stong team and the best possible people to understand how if feels to suffer mental health problems. Good luck with you future Ally and go for it!!!!!!!
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Thank you Ally for writing such a brilliant article. I too am hoping to persue a career in mental health and have been using mental health services as a sufferer for many years. I am already facing some of the barriers you describe, but I hope that with people like you writing words like this, the barriers will gradually come down.
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When is anyone going to challenge the big lie of one in four? NO one in four DO NOT suffer severe mental problems its a MYTH perpetuated by charites celebrities and the state to trivialise the sufferings of us who are denied jobs, benefits, medical help and a life. NOONE trivialises cancer in this way or any other illness. ONE IN FOUR actually increases isolation and stigma because the moral of the story is 'Well I've had mental health problems and I've managed to get a job and a life so why can't you?'
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Dear Linda, the one in four statistic comes from people who visit a GP for a mental health problem - you can read more about the research behind the statistic here: http://www.mind.org.uk/help/research_and_policy/statistics_1_how_common_is_mental_distress Mind is here to make sure that anyone with a mental health problem has somewhere to turn for help and support. We're working hard against stigma and discrimination through Time to Change (http://www.time-to-change.org.uk) and our Daily Stigma work (http://www.mind.org.uk/dailystigma). I'm really sorry if you feel this trivialises your experience, as that wasn't our intention.
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@Michelle - Thank you! You guys have really helped me to feel more confident about speaking about my experiences and trying to use them in a productive way.
@Andy - Thank you so much! It sounds like you have a fantastic team, well done for being so open about your experiences. Since I've started being a bit more open about my experiences I've started to meet others with similar and it's made me feel much stronger.
@landslidegirl - If I can do it, I think you (and many other people too) can as well! Like you say, starting to speak out is hopefully part of the process of breaking down those barriers. Your lived experiences will hopefully be really valuable to you in becoming a sensitive and effective professional. Best of luck with everything!
@Linda - I'm sorry if what I wrote made it seem like I was trivialising the issue, I didn't intend to. I mentioned the 'one in 4' to give a sense that there are people with mental health problems in all walks of life, including in health and 'caring' professions. Everyone's experience is unique to them and although many people may have mental health problems at a time in their life, we're not all the same and we can't all 'get on' and get better in the same way. Services need to be sensitive to this and consider the person beyond the statistics.
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I think there's some truth in what Linda has written.
There's a tendency to rush in and congratulate those who work in mental health who've been through the system - it's an achievement and some of them are good staff. But sometimes those who've been through it are the last people who should be working in mental health - some project onto others and some have the attitude Linda has outlined in her last sentence.
One of my concerns is the reasons behind the sheer number of people who've been through the system who later work in it or volunteer in mental health. Sometimes the motivation is because they simply cannot get into any other work due to the prejudice out there and not because they want to do the job. If someone who'd been out of work for ages due to mental health problems was coming out in the open and saying they work as an estate agent, hairdresser or secretary and their colleagues all know about their past and accept them - well, that would be real progress.
Of course it's easy to come out as a sufferer when you're in a job in mental health where people are understanding and where it's easy to talk about it and not have to cover it up.
Respect to those who train as psychologists etc but spare a thought for those of us ducking behind the computer screen cringing as we have to listen to our colleagues talking about loonies and who live in fear of being discovered having been 'creative' with our CVs.
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'having been 'creative' with our CVs'
Heck, I should call a spade a shovel - what I meant was, telling outright lies in order to get a job.
By the way, did most of you know that telling lies to get a job, and that includes ticking the NO box to the 'have you ever self harmed, had treatment for depression?' questions is actually a criminal offence? It's a common misconception that getting caught out just means dismissal - the reality is it can actually mean being taken to court and getting a criminal record.
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Ally: 'there are people with mental health problems in all walks of life, including in health and 'caring' professions.'
True, but even in these circumstances doctors and some others in the caring professions, already privileged, don't get treated like the rest of us despite the claims of the NHS to treat everyone equally.
Doctors who have breakdowns will often not be hospitalised in their local area to protect them from being seen there by members of the public who recognise them.
I worked in a PCT where the managers were having regular meetings about a local GP who was quite evidently having some sort of breakdown and the complaints were flooding in. He even claimed to be in possession of a gun and stood up throughout consultations with patients refusing to sit down. If this was your average Joe Soap, he would have been subject to assessment immediately and possibly even detained in a secure unit. Because it was a GP he was allowed to carry on practising whilst PCT Managers spent ages discussing how best to deal with the situation and keep it quiet.
So when we talk about doctors or mh professionals who have had emotional problems having more empathy this may not be strictly true as they are not always treated like the rest of us and might think that everyone else gets the kind of sensitivity they get.
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Thanks for doing this Ally, we need to have more open discussion like this. Again I'm in a similar position - it can be so helpful to have been (and still to be) a service user while pursuing a career in MH, but it really brings issues around the impact of stigma home when realising how hard it is to discuss even in a psychologically minded workplace. Good luck with your job and future wellbeing X
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I have worked in mental health for the past 11 years and did so as I have risen from the abyss of a long illness that kicked me down. As a past service user I do honestly feel I have the skills to now work in this field and to truely understand how debilitating mental ill health can be. I never thought I would get through it but it can be done. I still live with the condition and have 'blips', and am on long-term medication.
The biggest problem I still have is employers misguidance around mental ill health. Mental health difficulties are still dealt with differently and should be dealt with the same way as physically difficulties. The stigma remains where it shouldn't. Some of the barriers are hidden and not explored - there are loopholes that the disability discrimination act fails to cover.
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