Competency reflection against Mental Health Standards

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I have used the Victorian Government’s (2013) Standards for Mental Health Workers to guide my professional practice and to build my portfolio as these 13 Standards align with the work I am doing in mental health. Even though my work is in corporate training, coaching and consulting for large organisations, the core deliverables are mental health-related and involve helping to create mentally healthy workplaces. There are three Standards I have selected of the 13 that I would like to improve in professionally.

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Reflection 1: Standard 6: Individual planning 

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Standard: To meet the needs, goals and aspirations of people, their families and carers, mental health practitioners facilitate access to and plan quality, evidence-based, values-based health and social care interventions. 

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The parts of this Standard that I do not have adequate evidence for and would therefore like to improve in are:

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• Identifying the client’s readiness to participate in the service and determine barriers.

• Establishing an agreed care plan with identified problems, actions and timeframes.

• Identifying assessment tools that are age-specific, culturally-specific and discipline-specific.

• Conducting and documenting a mental health assessment that includes a mental state assessment.

• Identifying triggers, risks and protective factors.

 

Although I have many years of experience in training, consulting and coaching, I have often felt in the past that I lacked enough depth in the skills of mental health assessment and implementing mental health care plans. As my work has evolved and client relationships have deepened, I have often been asked to assist and support quite complex and sensitive workplace situations (for example, terminations or disciplinary action) that involve a distressed person or someone with mental health issues and I have not been comfortable doing this after the coaching and/or counselling components of the conversation. My psychology and counselling background assist me in these complex situations but where more detailed, specific knowledge is required I feel I am unable to provide the support that the client is wanting. My current studies in my Master of Mental Health program have increased my confidence and my knowledge in dealing with more complex workplace situations and I have already found I am able to respond in appropriate and helpful ways. The idiographic model, which studies what makes each of us unique, aligns with my coaching practice where I focus on the individual and identify what holds the person back from reaching their potential. Allport (2019) refers to this when he suggests that only by knowing the person as a person can anyone predict what someone is capable of doing in any given situation. In the mental health recovery model I have been shown, recovery has been described as a self-directed process of transformation and healing (Deegan, 2001) and I found I was using this approach in training and coaching already. Increased awareness and knowledge in mental health issues and recovery will allow me to be able to step out of my own comfort zone professionally and be able to support a client in their journey for a longer period of time, rather than refer them to someone else earlier than I would have wanted to. Participating in clinical supervision and keeping a reflective journal allow me to grow personally and professionally, integrating the skills and knowledge I have learned. Edwards et al (2005) describe clinical supervision as a process of professional support and learning, enabling knowledge and competence to be developed, and this is also a life-long process. Keeping a reflective journal and participating in mental health clinical supervision give me the opportunity to learn from an experienced practitioner who is able to confront and challenge me in my practice. Sometimes my work can be isolated and solitary so this creates a tremendous opportunity to reflect on what works well, what has not worked well and what I can do differently for a more positive outcome.

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Reflection 2: Standard 12: Health promotion and prevention

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Standard: Mental health promotion is an integral part of all mental health work. Mental health practitioners use mental health promotion and primary prevention principles, and seek to build resilience in communities, groups and individuals, and prevent or reduce the impact of mental illness. 

 

The parts of this Standard that I can use in my development are:

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• Promoting and building mental health and resilience in clients.

• Implementing assessment and intervention strategies for positive healthy behaviours, especially relating to mental health outcomes.

• Supporting improvement in physical health, exercise, recreation, nutrition, expression of spirituality and stress management.

 

Following on from my first reflection, I would like to develop professionally in being able to support clients in developing positive, healthy behaviours and habits to facilitate change in their lives. I understand that the trust built in the therapeutic relationship is an important process and greater awareness and knowledge would assist me in building trusting relationships as well as promoting positive outcomes. Norcross (2011) found that the therapeutic relationship contributed 30% to the outcome in psychotherapy/coaching, while Wampold (2001) attributed 54% of outcome variance to the nature of the therapeutic relationship. These statistics surprised me and showed me how important the relationship with the client is and what a difference it can make to the outcomes the client is wanting to achieve. As well as technical knowledge in mental health and recovery referred to in the first reflection, being able to build strong, supportive, trusting client relationships to promote positive health outcomes is a priority for me and something I want to further develop in. Completing my Master in Mental Health program at Southern Cross University successfully is my first priority in obtaining this knowledge, to give me confidence and skills in responding appropriately to mental health needs and concerns arising in my work. The Masters program has been invaluable for me and the most important learning in terms of knowledge, to the degree that before even completing it I am finding I am using parts of it every day in my work. The Masters program has also helped me to identify other gaps in my training so that I can attend other training programs to increase knowledge and skills. I have already completed training and accreditation in Mental Health First Aid and advanced counselling skills as a result of the reflective exercises I have participated in. Feedback obtained and received from clients and individuals allows me to reflect on what I do well and what I can improve in. This regular feedback I can include in my reflective journal and also take to clinical supervision to be included in my professional development planning. Minutes of client meetings, notes from client strategy planning and feedback received give me plenty of information that I can reflect on. Focusing on improving client relationships and trust in clinical supervision allow me to frame sessions in terms of client outcomes and client trust, making this central to both reflection and supervision.

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Reflection 3: Standard 11: Communication and information management 

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Standard: A connection and rapport with people with lived experience and colleagues is established by mental health practitioners to build and support effective therapeutic and professional relationships. Practitioners maintain a high standard of documentation and use information systems and evaluation to ensure data collection meets clinical, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation needs. 

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The components of this Standard I do not have adequate evidence for and would like to improve in are:

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• Demonstrating effective, active listening and interpersonal skills.

• Building relationships and emotional intelligence.

 

A key part of the training and consulting that i deliver and an interest area for me is emotional intelligence and self-awareness. I am aware that I have come a long way in terms of my own self-awareness, from my troubled childhood to now working in the area. Mayer and Salovey (1997) define emotional intelligence as the awareness of and management of our own feelings as well as the feelings of others, and learning how to use this in our relationships. Ramsay (1987) describes self-awareness as being aware of our limitations, accepting change and showing emotional honesty to those around us. I learn more about self-awareness and emotional intelligence every day, with every life experience, every relationship and every interaction having something to teach me. From being defensive and lacking in awareness in my younger years, my work and my clients have given me the benefit of growth in every interaction that I have every day. The pathway and journey I have chosen can be confronting and challenging as I strive to be a catalyst for change and there are times people react negatively and even blame me for their triggers, but not a day goes by that I am not grateful for the work i do and for what I believe in. I hope to be able to work on my own triggers and emotional responses all my life as I believe this is a life-long journey that never ends. The idea of “shadow work” is interesting for me and important in my life and in my work as it aligns with my journey towards self-awareness.

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Wilber et al (2008) describe exploring parts of us that have been “rejected, denied, hidden from ourselves or projected onto others” (Wilber et al 2008, pp 41). My reflective journal is important in doing this as is clinical supervision and having a network of peers/friends to discuss this with. Engaging in self-reflection allows for the critical self-assessment that increases self-awareness, how we can use experiences and learning, how we can apply that to our work and how we can improve ourselves (Gwozdek et al, 2013). Journaling my emotional responses and my triggers and then being able to reflect on why I reacted in the way that I did, how I would have wanted to react and what I could do differently next time, give me time to know myself and increase my self-awareness and the management of my responses that Mayer and Salovey (1987) refer to.

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Table 1: Align professional standards or competencies against role, professional activities

and audit of evidence - Click on table for full view