Hi,
I'm on placement within a residential home for adults with mental illness. At present there is very low level engagement with the various groups that are run (leisure, catering, gardening etc).
I am soon to start running the "opportunities" group which as yet is fairly undefined but seems to be about opportunities to engage with the broader community. In the past this has included anthing from trips to Ikea, to a visit to the library or getting speakers in, discussions around training courses etc.
I was just wondering if anyone had any success with anything in particular in the past that they would recommend trying?
I know there are leaflets in the town hall about things going on in the area etc which i will be looking into, but if there are any specific recommendations, i;m all ears. Although i believe that it's the way we look to engage the clients and prepare them that will be more key, than the visits themselves (based on the present low engagement levels. But that's an entirely different thread!)
Thanks
Have you tried to ascertain their interests / hobbies etc?
tasha,
Have you looked into local voluntary sector projects that may be going on? When I completed a mental health placement I got many clients in to a local walking group, and even some in volunteering doing gardening, fixing cars etc. I had to spend a long time searching for things that would really suit the individual, but it paid off!
In my experince, lots of clients needed intense individual work using a strengths approach, to help them develop confidence to become more involved in the community. They will have been treated poorly by many people and they often have severe trust issues. How long might the group run for? Is someone likely to take over after you have gone? People often need stability in long-term projects to encourage involvment in them.
The Sainsbury centre has published a lot of articles regarding engaging those with mental health difficulties. Worth a read, was really helpful to me,
good luck!
Thanks for advice. In terms of asking hobbies and suiting the individual, I will be doing this with the client I become a key worker for but this is one group for everyone so makes it much harder to tailor and poss part of reason for low engagement. Def agree strength based will be critical for key work.Will def search around for local projects and had discussed walking groups although apparently the timing didn't fit with our timetable.Thanks for advice!
Thanks for advice. In terms of asking hobbies and suiting the individual, I will be doing this with the client I become a key worker
for but this is one group for everyone so makes it much harder to tailor and poss part of reason for low engagement. Def agree strength
based will be critical for key work.Will def search around for local projects and had discussed walking groups although apparently the timing didn't fit with our timetable.Thanks for advice!
Pick the brains of your local mental health service user group. Perhaps get some of them to come in and talk about their own recovery. You don't say what area you are in. If you can't find a local group try NSUN (National Survivor User Network); they have provided speakers for me in the past. You need to be looking at the Recovery Model to teach some skills that will be useful on discharge into the community. One group locally which has been successful is run with the Richmond Fellowship who run day opportunities and the local Wildlife Trust. As an ex-service user myself, one of the major factors in my own recovery was helping others; I got involved with the Service User Forum and a bird of prey rescue. Helping others helps the individual tenfold.
Do you have MIND or Rethink doing stuff in your area? They may be able to help or suggest something. Also the local Council for Voluntary Services who may be able to find you some people to facilitate. Good luck.