It’s Friday (in case you hadn’t noticed) and I’m feeling a little burnt out. Being the excellent mental health worker that I am, I know this means I should try to do some “self-care”. So I figured in order to lighten things up, I’d find something funny to post to the ol’blog.
Unfortunately, my .02187345 second internet search revealed that good humour about mental health is hard to find. I decided anyway to go with this classic, borrowed from bouldertherapist.com:
Hello, and welcome to the mental health hotline:
If you are obsessive-compulsive, press 1 repeatedly.
If you are co-dependent, please ask someone to press 2 for you.
If you have multiple personalities, press 3, 4, 5 and 6.
If you are paranoid, we know who you are and what you want. Stay on the line so we can trace your call.
If you are delusional, press 7 and your call will be transferred to the mother ship.
If you are schizophrenic, listen carefully and a small voice will tell you which number to press.
If you are manic-depressive, it doesn’t matter which number you press – no one will answer.
If you are dyslexic, press 96969696969696.
If you have a nervous disorder, please fidget with the hash key until a representative come on line.
If you have amnesia press 8 and state your name, address, phone number, date of birth, social security number and your mother’s maiden name.
If you have post-traumatic stress disorder, slowly and carefully press 000.
If you have bi-polar disorder, please leave a message after the beep or before the beep. Or after the beep. Please wait for the beep.
If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9. If you have short-term memory loss, press 9.
If you have low self-esteem, please hang up. All our operators are too busy to talk to you.
Hopefully in the near future, I’ll be able to check out the new Toronto Stand Up for Mental Health and hear some better material!
Friday, September 10, 2010
15) Staying at a job for two years is a ‘long time’*
It’s hard to believe I’ve been at this job for almost two years now. I’ve worked that long (and longer) elsewhere before, but this is the first job I ever had providing long-term support to clients. Most of my caseload now has been with me for the entire time I’ve been here.
In the last two months especially, I’ve started to notice things in my working relationship with my clients which I think are the result of being able to have this on-going support. Clients sharing personal information because they finally feel comfortable. New insights being gained through reflecting together on the past two years of their life. For me, know what times of year are hard for a particular person, and anticipating triggering events. It’s kind of cool, and weird.
Not having done this before, I’m always learning as I go how to balance the intensity of my professional relationship with clients and my personal boundaries. “Relationship” doesn’t even seem like the right word. I’m more keenly aware as I work with individuals longer that the whole thing is so one sided. I’m uncomfortable with the unbalanced power dynamic, and yet it’s so necessary. I admit, I resent my clients sometimes for how much energy it takes to support them. But I know it takes a lot of their energy too to do the hard emotional work I put them up to.
In a few months the intake part of my job will end, and I’ll be back to full-time housing worker. I’m curious/anxious to start fresh with several new clients all at once. In that case, it’s a bit of a comfort knowing I’ll still have my old stand-bys to give me some (unconventional) predictability and a feeling of (sometimes) stable progress. Assuming I’m still here for them.
*See here
In the last two months especially, I’ve started to notice things in my working relationship with my clients which I think are the result of being able to have this on-going support. Clients sharing personal information because they finally feel comfortable. New insights being gained through reflecting together on the past two years of their life. For me, know what times of year are hard for a particular person, and anticipating triggering events. It’s kind of cool, and weird.
Not having done this before, I’m always learning as I go how to balance the intensity of my professional relationship with clients and my personal boundaries. “Relationship” doesn’t even seem like the right word. I’m more keenly aware as I work with individuals longer that the whole thing is so one sided. I’m uncomfortable with the unbalanced power dynamic, and yet it’s so necessary. I admit, I resent my clients sometimes for how much energy it takes to support them. But I know it takes a lot of their energy too to do the hard emotional work I put them up to.
In a few months the intake part of my job will end, and I’ll be back to full-time housing worker. I’m curious/anxious to start fresh with several new clients all at once. In that case, it’s a bit of a comfort knowing I’ll still have my old stand-bys to give me some (unconventional) predictability and a feeling of (sometimes) stable progress. Assuming I’m still here for them.
*See here
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
I take it back.
I’ve changed my mind.
Quote of the day for August 31 goes to the pharmacist I called yesterday:
Me: Um, hi, I’m calling to see if some medications could be made ready for me to pick up.Pharmacist: What’s your name?Me: They’re not for me, they’re for my client Mr. Lotsofmeds.Pharmacist (presumably looking up Mr. Lotsofmeds refills): He’s got some good ones here, are you sure you don’t want them?
Maybe I was in poor humour, but it seems to me that pharmacist making jokes about giving away serious meds to random people should kinda be like making a joke about a bomb when you’re in an airport. Don’t even go there!
And all this as it’s all over the news that Ontario has the highest rates of Oxycontin addiction in Canada, one of the highest rates of abuse in the world!
A place to live, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o!(sorry, anyone who wasn’t in an Ontario public school in the latter half of the 20th century might not get that song reference. Consider yourselves lucky!)
Quote of the day for August 31 goes to the pharmacist I called yesterday:
Me: Um, hi, I’m calling to see if some medications could be made ready for me to pick up.Pharmacist: What’s your name?Me: They’re not for me, they’re for my client Mr. Lotsofmeds.Pharmacist (presumably looking up Mr. Lotsofmeds refills): He’s got some good ones here, are you sure you don’t want them?
Maybe I was in poor humour, but it seems to me that pharmacist making jokes about giving away serious meds to random people should kinda be like making a joke about a bomb when you’re in an airport. Don’t even go there!
And all this as it’s all over the news that Ontario has the highest rates of Oxycontin addiction in Canada, one of the highest rates of abuse in the world!
A place to live, a place to grow, Ontari-ari-ari-o!(sorry, anyone who wasn’t in an Ontario public school in the latter half of the 20th century might not get that song reference. Consider yourselves lucky!)
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Monday, August 23, 2010
Whoa, Stop the Presses!
Or maybe "hold the phone!" would be a better choice of phrase, as the presses do seem to be working which is precisely the point of this post.
Ah, maybe I should just get to said point.
I faxed some consent to release information forms out today in hopes of getting some hospital records for a file before I present it on Wednesday, knowing full well I'll be extremely lucky to see them before the end of the week.
But lo and behold, one hospital faxed the records to us within the hour! Within the hour!
I have never seen this before. I was so excited I wanted to tell somebody, and since my partner-in-crime is on vacation I went to make my supervisor my witness (I'm sure she didn't have more important things to do).
Of course they weren't the psychiatric records, they were some medical records we wanted as supporting documentation. It would have to be a medical hospital that we almost never NEED records from who would be timely about it. But hey, I'll take what thrills I can get! (sad, isn't it?)
Ah, maybe I should just get to said point.
I faxed some consent to release information forms out today in hopes of getting some hospital records for a file before I present it on Wednesday, knowing full well I'll be extremely lucky to see them before the end of the week.
But lo and behold, one hospital faxed the records to us within the hour! Within the hour!
I have never seen this before. I was so excited I wanted to tell somebody, and since my partner-in-crime is on vacation I went to make my supervisor my witness (I'm sure she didn't have more important things to do).
Of course they weren't the psychiatric records, they were some medical records we wanted as supporting documentation. It would have to be a medical hospital that we almost never NEED records from who would be timely about it. But hey, I'll take what thrills I can get! (sad, isn't it?)
Friday, August 20, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
I'm Back!
Let me rephrase that: I’m back.
While I’m not totally loathe to return to work after a delightful two weeks off (thanks for asking) I don’t totally dread it.
It turns out I missed some serious office place drama, which I’m kinda glad of. I’m not comfortable going into details at this point.
Coming back, I’m doing a lot of thinking about going forward. In the next few months, my current contract will end and I go back to my old position. I can’t say the thought really pleases me.
I’ve had a vague goal in mind of landing a new gig before that happens. However, that’s easier said than done, a reality that’s rearing its ugly head the closer I come to that deadline.
So I’m trying to handle this in the most social worky-way I know how: reframing! How can I make this job likeable? How can I make it work for me???
Only time will tell whether I’m helping myself, or prolonging the pain.
And of course, my fingers are still crossed that fate will smile on me and the perfect job will just fall into my lap from somewhere.
A girl can dream, can’t she?
While I’m not totally loathe to return to work after a delightful two weeks off (thanks for asking) I don’t totally dread it.
It turns out I missed some serious office place drama, which I’m kinda glad of. I’m not comfortable going into details at this point.
Coming back, I’m doing a lot of thinking about going forward. In the next few months, my current contract will end and I go back to my old position. I can’t say the thought really pleases me.
I’ve had a vague goal in mind of landing a new gig before that happens. However, that’s easier said than done, a reality that’s rearing its ugly head the closer I come to that deadline.
So I’m trying to handle this in the most social worky-way I know how: reframing! How can I make this job likeable? How can I make it work for me???
Only time will tell whether I’m helping myself, or prolonging the pain.
And of course, my fingers are still crossed that fate will smile on me and the perfect job will just fall into my lap from somewhere.
A girl can dream, can’t she?
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