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Aiming to work in the Mental Health Field ... with Mental Health Difficulties?...


sarey

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I have many Mental Health Difficulties/Illnesses/Disorders, whatever you want to call them, and my aim is to work in the Mental Health Field (ie: psychiatrist, psychologist, therapist, etc).

 

I realize I do have to improve on my health both mentally and medically before I can even do the courses to get to a field in the Mental Health, so I am asking for those of you who are working to get to or are in the field of the Mental Health Care system, and also have struggled or struggle with Mental Health difficulties/illnesses/disorders, how can I get there, too? Any advice or tips?

 

Thank you.

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Um this may or may not help as I am not there but I am aiming for the same thing you are... and i plan on getting there by -

 

Doing a counselling course in college, and then a psychology course in university.

The counselling course should only take a year, unless I have to do level 2.

 

Hope it helps some .

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I don't want anyone to yell at me about this, but I'm going to be totally honest here. As someone who is about to finish up my degree in psychology, I can say that a good number of people in this field have mental problems of some kind themselves. I don't know a single person in my degree program who doesn't at least have depression. It makes sense if you think about it. People who have problems are drawn to it so that they can try to understand themselves. Of course I'm sure this is not everyone, but it's everyone I've happened to meet.

 

I think that if it's something you're interested in, then go for it. As long as you're getting the help you need, there's no reason why you can't do what you want to do. You should know that many therapists see therapists themselves. This is nothing out of the ordinary. It is a very high stress career and it can take a toll on you. Just be aware of that.

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I've never worked in the mental health field, but it seems like the fact that you have struggled with mental health problems yourself could make you better able to help others with their own mental health issues. If I went to see a therapist, I'd rather see someone who can relate to what I'm going through and give me advice from first-hand experience than someone whose biggest problem in life was deciding whether to wear boxers or briefs.

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That's what I thought, too!

No offense at all taken, why would it be offensive?

 

And I am posting this as I have recently been to a college interview and was told they may not take me on for level 2 as they are concerned due to my mental health as well as medical health difficulties, it may not be safe for me / appropriate for me to even work in the mental health care field...

 

They have said some quite upsetting things to me, so I don't know what to do...

 

So, I am asking if there is anything I can do to get into this field and work towards it taking into consideration my health difficulties... like, any advice/tips? Do you understand what I mean? I'm not sure it's coming accross clearly...

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I've never worked in the mental health field, but it seems like the fact that you have struggled with mental health problems yourself could make you better able to help others with their own mental health issues. If I went to see a therapist, I'd rather see someone who can relate to what I'm going through and give me advice from first-hand experience than someone whose biggest problem in life was deciding whether to wear boxers or briefs.

 

lol, thank you for the smile, (at the end).

 

I agree completely! I'd rather see someone who can relate, too.

 

Thank you for your input...

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I just meant that I didn't want to upset anyone who might be working in that field. I didn't want to be hit with the "you're making generalizations" accusations.

 

I'm not aware of the extent of your problems, so I don't know whether it would be appropriate for you. Did you tell them about these problems or did they somehow already know? I also don't know the rules regarding this issue in the UK. I know in the US it would likely be considered discrimination based on disability (if anyone thinks otherwise, please correct me).

 

I guess the best thing you can do is to continue getting treatment and keep taking any medications that you might be taking.

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I just meant that I didn't want to upset anyone who might be working in that field. I didn't want to be hit with the "you're making generalizations" accusations.

 

I'm not aware of the extent of your problems, so I don't know whether it would be appropriate for you. Did you tell them about these problems or did they somehow already know? I also don't know the rules regarding this issue in the UK. I know in the US it would likely be considered discrimination based on disability (if anyone thinks otherwise, please correct me).

 

I guess the best thing you can do is to continue getting treatment and keep taking any medications that you might be taking.

 

I had to tick the boxes

"Emotional/Behavioral Difficulties"

and "Mental Ill Health"

on my application for this course.

 

They had asked about these, and they had noticed I had quite severe scar tissue damage on my body, asked if this were a problem, I had said no as I no longer cut myself, they then asked about my other difficulties, I mentioned ADHD, we got talking about that, and we went no further.

I have quite a lot of mental health difficulties, they do mean I am quite unstable, some in more ways than others, but I am still able to help people, I mean, I manage to on here, as well as in person... but I guess they thought otherwise about my capacity to work in the mental health care field due to my difficulties... and I had felt quite angry and upset due to some things they said.

 

I no longer see any professionals or on any medication, so I don't really know what to do about them... or how to become more "stable".

 

I have been going to a special needs school for about 2 and a half years now, so they are going to call my tutor(who knows me extremely well and we are very close) to ask for a more broad perspective...

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I think that if it's something you're interested in, then go for it. As long as you're getting the help you need, there's no reason why you can't do what you want to do. You should know that many therapists see therapists themselves. This is nothing out of the ordinary. It is a very high stress career and it can take a toll on you. Just be aware of that.

 

In the UK at least, it's actually a requirement for a therapist to see a therapist at regular intervals, but this isn't because it's assumed that all therapists will have issues as a result of the stresses of work, it's actually a safety mechanism to verify that therapists don't have issues that will interfere with their ability to do the job. Of course, therapists are people too, and many do have issues, but if these become too severe or too difficult to control, the therapist will be forced to stop practising until the issue has been handled.

 

I had to tick the boxes

"Emotional/Behavioral Difficulties"

and "Mental Ill Health"

on my application for this course.

 

They had asked about these, and they had noticed I had quite severe scar tissue damage on my body, asked if this were a problem, I had said no as I no longer cut myself, they then asked about my other difficulties, I mentioned ADHD, we got talking about that, and we went no further.

I have quite a lot of mental health difficulties, they do mean I am quite unstable, some in more ways than others, but I am still able to help people, I mean, I manage to on here, as well as in person... but I guess they thought otherwise about my capacity to work in the mental health care field due to my difficulties... and I had felt quite angry and upset due to some things they said.

 

I no longer see any professionals or on any medication, so I don't really know what to do about them... or how to become more "stable".

 

I have been going to a special needs school for about 2 and a half years now, so they are going to call my tutor(who knows me extremely well and we are very close) to ask for a more broad perspective...

 

 

 

I'm sorry you've experienced this, and I can imagine it must be disappointing. You know, though, how important it is that you are in a position to do the job without hindrance, when the job is so important, and in some cases people's lives will literally depend on it. The ability to help people here, or help friend's in their lives, is great, but there is one critical difference: here, and with people in your life, you choose when and what to help with. When you're a therapist, you have to help with whatever problem your client has on that day, at that time. You don't get to choose the topic, out of a thousand posted, which is most interesting to you, or which you think you can contribute to. You don't get to avoid topics which are uncomfortable or difficult for you. And you don't get to logoff when you're not interested or in a good frame of mind.

 

I'm not saying that to be unkind, and I'm certainly not saying that you shouldn't enter the mental health field with your issues, but you must be aware of the limitations that your existing conditions place on your ability to do the job. You have ADHD for example. Does that mean you will lose concentration halfway through a long rambling story from one of your clients, and miss the crucial piece of information? Or look bored, or start getting hyper, in a session with someone who has serious self-esteem issues, and who as a result now thinks "even my therapist can't stand listening to me; I really must be bad!". These are the sorts of things that the interviewers will be concerned about, as well as more serious ones about your relapsing into self-harm, or other issues that you may have.

 

The best way through is to continue treatment, and live your life as issue-free as possible, for as long as possible. If you've not self-harmed for a couple of years, for example, it looks more convincing that you won't start up again, and then that experience can even be valuable. If your ADHD has not interefered with your work, and can be verified as under control, then they won't worry so much. Stability is important. I know you're a fighter and I'm sure you can do it. I hope it works out this time, but if not, keep getting better, and keep trying, and you'll get there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I understand and was not offended/upset by your post at all.

I do have other conditions such as personality disorders, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, list full of it all. Medically, I may have a condition called CFS, whatever it is, it DOES make my life difficult more so ontop of the ill mental health, so I'm not sure how to...where to...go from here...

 

I might just take the year off and get everything as stable as possible and get answers/solutions/treatments etc, and see how it is next year...

 

any other ideas?

 

I've been offered a "6 week contract".

So, if in those 6 weeks, I do okay, then I'll be offered a place in the course, if not, well, I won't.

 

I'm not even sure anymore if I should go this year.

Also, yes, My ADHD does affect me in many ways, and you make good points... thank you.

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