i have returned from nowhere, in fact i am a bit rubbish with passwords so have two blogs the other one is here:
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/carespace/blogs/ladybird/default.aspx
but i am going to be blogging on this one now.
i have decided to start again as i have been just accepted on the approved mental health professionals course and feel like i would like to share my experiences again.
the interview was interesting i was interviewed by a service user and a university lecturer and it lasted about half an hour, the questions were very much around anti oppressive practice and the AMHP role and my reasons for wanting to pursue the course. being asked why do you want to be an AMHP is actually a harder question that it at first seems, i struggled for weeks thinking about this........i think the reason why i want to do it is i see it as a natural progression in the career of a mental health social worker, and the fact you can really make a difference to someones life when they are at their most vulnerable, it's not as simple as admitting someone to hospital it's about ensuring that all options have been thought of, that peoples experiences are not pathologised and ensuring that the medical model which is by nature quite paternalistic is not the most important model.
working in mental heath over the last two years has been a real learning curve, at times i have not had time to reflect and consolidate my learning but when i have had the time it has shaken me up and turned my views on their head and then back again! mental health is not the same as physical health in that people go into hospital but dont always get better, the risk just gets contained and the crisis may ease but the mental health issue is usually a long process that takes time to reach a stage of recovery and it has been interesting to manage people's expectations. i work in an Early Intervention in Psychosis team which works with 14 - 35 yrs old and it is heartbreaking seeing parents desperately hoping and pushing for their youngster to go into hospital and come out sorted because that doesn't quite happen, they often come out medicated and just beginning on the journey of learning to mange and live with a psychotic illness. i know that if it happened to my son i would too want someone to sort it out treat him and get him back to how he was but i now have the knowledge that my work with families is often about coming to terms with the loss of their expectations for the child and helping them find different ways of managing.
someone once said that social work is often about loss and grief and i totally get that now.