Troubled Minds

INTRODUCTION

One in four people experience at least one diagnosable mental health problem in any one year, and one in six experiences this at any given time (The Office for National Statistics Psychiatric Morbidity report, 2001). As such it is likely that staff will work with service users troubled by mental health issues, whether or not mental health practitioners. Without adequate information, awareness and skill this can leave staff feeling under prepared and lacking confidence.

This workshop aims to prepare participants so that they will feel not only more confident and effective in working with both service users and other professionals. Service users, however, are not just a list of symptoms and rarely present in the way outlined in text books. Instead this dramatic course uses a "Fringe Theatre" style to bring to life a series life key encounters with different service users - each exploring diifferent aspects of mental health. Each of these unfolding stories is then used as a springboard for detailed exploration and clarification of good practice.

This workshop is a stark contrast to the usual "Mental Health" courses providing a unique and fascinating firsthand journey into the experiences of people troubled by mental health issues.

PROGRAMME OVERVIEW

The workshop can be run over one, two, three or more days. As a rough guide:

  • The one-day workshop is suitable for staff who may not be mental health practitioners but have dealings with mental health service users in their work

  • The two-day course is for staff who work with mental health service users but have little formal training in mental health

  • The longer courses are for staff who need to develop specialist skills in working with mental health service users

LEARNING OUTCOMES

ONE DAY COURSE

On this course participants will:

  • Learn about the range of mental health issues and how the boundary between mental health and illness is seen by different professionals

  • Become familiar with the sometimes confusing terminology used by mental health health professionals

  • Learn about the range of mental health services, professionals and mental health legislation

  • Explore the issues in relation to working with service users troubled by Depression, Anxiety and Stress

TWO DAY COURSE

This covers everything on the One Day Course, and in addition course participants will:

  • Explore the issues in relation to working with service users troubled by Trauma and Psychosis

  • Learn about working with people with Personality Disorders

  • Identify skills and strategies for working with service users over the longer term

LONGER COURSES

The longer courses (3-5 days) cover everything in the one and two day course and then go on to look in more detail at the specialist skills involved in working with specific client groups.