success for students with mental illness joy sharpe outreach coordinator shoalhaven
TRANSCRIPT
Success for students with mental illness
Joy SharpeOutreach
Coordinator Shoalhaven
Access to Horticulture 9071 Certificate I in Access to Work and
Training Jim Da Silva Farm West Nowra 2 days / week for 18 weeks Horticulture electives and employability
skills units Units are chosen to suit the work to be
done and the students’ interests and needs
Helping hands mosaic made by students
A partnership between St Vincent De Paul Society Helping Hands – a project of the
Schizophrenia Foundation TAFE Horticulture and Outreach TAFE Teacher Consultants Equity With input and assistance from
Illawarra brain Injury Service, Flagstaff ( Disability Employment Provider)
Key People – the driving force Kelly Upton – TAFE Teacher Katy Smith -Helping Hands
Coordinator Steve Sweeney - Jim Da Silva Farm
Manager Ninu Sethi – teacher Consultant
Psychiatric Disabilities The students
Kelly , Katy and Steve
History TAFE have been running a Cert II in
Horticulture for a couple of years at the farm in partnership with Helping Hands
Funding has been sourced from a variety of local, state and federal Govt departments for infrastructure
Kelly has developed the plan for the garden and students and volunteers have created the garden
Outreach has been involved from semester 2 , 2008 using the Cert I to provide a pathway into Cert II in Horticulture
The students 12 enrolled All have disabilities – some more
than one Mental illness, brain injury, physical
disability, learning disability 9 men and 3 women Late teens to 50’s
Positives A peaceful, beautiful learning
environment Learning by doing Assessment on the job Support from teacher consultants Team work from coordinator,
teachers , teacher consultants , support teachers
Practical support All students have interview with teacher
consultants Plans in place including strategies for
dealing with health issues Teleconference with all TC after first week Teacher also studying Cert IV in Mental
Health Support workers from Helping Hands and
other agencies involved Additional teacher funded by TC , LLN learner
support for one student
People in all our classes are struggling with mental health
WOW class held at Family support
6 regulars – all have experienced depression, anxiety and drug and alcohol
A supportive environment has broken down the stigma and allowed for discussion and sharing
Students’ suggestions to make the learning environment positive for learners with mental
illness Don’t be judgemental Make people feel equal and
comfortable Recognise what people know Treat everyone the same Don’t make a big thing about the
mental illness Don’t ask people to share- wait till
they feel comfortable Everyone be aware of
confidentiality Be careful of the language we use
Helpful strategies Bringing the Counsellor and
Teacher Consultant in to run relaxation and stress
management sessions Talk about learning and memory
strategies Talk about counselling services
Dealing with anxiety Allow people to go for a walk or get
out of the class room if they feel anxious or stressed
Provide plenty of toilet paper Teach stress management
strategies – breathing ,rubber band on wrist
Change our self talk “I find it difficult” not “I can’t”
Sensitivity Understand the side effects of drugs
and how they impact on learning , concentration ,memory
Be aware that remarks or discussions can trigger past trauma
Follow up incidents where someone gets upset
Let people know that they can come back to the course when things get better – they haven’t failed
Understand that some people don’t want to disclose because of stigma
My personal view Balance an understanding
of the devastation and loss of mental illness with a sense of hope and expectation of recovery
Focus on the person not the problem
Normalisation Mental health is a
continuum
Resources Mental Health First Aid (Professional
Development) Video: Angels and Demons
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/interactive/angelsanddemons/
Beyond Blue the National Depression initiative http://www.beyondblue.org.au
SANE Australia http://www.sane.org/
discussion Share your positive experiences
with students with mental illness What are the success factors? What are the helpful support
strategies? What is your action plan?