Ready to Roll

Learning about diagnoses and working with mental health are two completely different things.
Anyone who has studied and/or works in the mental health field (regardless of whether they are a counselor, social worker, school counselor, etc.) that the writing on the page is not similar to the actual experience of working with people who have mental and/or physical illnesses.

I recall a particular experience from my undergraduate career; I was finishing my minor in counseling and human services by taking an online class based on how to work with people who have disabilities (i.e. quadriplegic, developmental, blind, etc.) and worked as staff in a group home organization for people who specifically have developmental disabilities (which sometimes accompanied very physical disabilities--we had a number of full-care clients in the home). I was finishing up this course and thought, "Great! Now I can bring my counseling/listening skills into the group home with my clients!" No. How incorrect I was. I think many people do not recognize the power of a good rapport in a relationship with a client and-no- I do not mean an illegal relationship. One of my coworkers really did not belong in this field and, on a daily basis, they would argue with the client to the point that the client had to be de-escalated before she could interact with the other clients again- up to an hour of de-escalation skills. I remember thinking that "This is not anything like what I read in the book." It's a reminder that, regardless of how much one thinks they might know, they are not all powerful and all-aware of what it is like to have either a mental health and/or physical disability.

There are so many factors in working with this population. As a case manager, I daily interact with clients who have been disrespected by society because they are homeless and "dirty." Maybe, they've had a drinking problem because of their depression or their schizophrenia (on this note, i'd suggest watching a movie called "The Soloist"). But because our society carries such a negative and denied connotation and stigma to mental health, we immediately rely on our first suggestion, which is that they are homeless because they drink and are lazy.

I think one of the strongest memories I've held so far in working with this field- and I don't have many (1 year of group home staff, 3 months of working with foster children who have mental health issues, and 6 of working with mental health illnesses in a mostly homeless population)- I recall most the look on my clients' face when I tell them that I cannot believe what they have been through, but that they have made it this far. When I remind them that they are human and I will treat them with respect, but I demand the same respect back. Because these clients- and so many with mental illnesses- have experienced such oppression by a society that touts support and dreams, they have never been treated as human by others. Maybe when they were children and, then again, maybe not.

The book does not match the person themselves. People can't be boiled down to a few sentences. And regardless of how much you read that, you never really get it until you start working with them.