Friday, August 23, 2019
Final
When I first began HCE 619, I was not sure if the content would be to hard or not for me to comprehend. Going from bachelor level classes to master-level classes can be intimidating. I am also a social work major, so I was not sure if the content would be beneficial to my career. I am so happy I choose to take HCE 619 as an elective I have learned so much from the seven weeks of participating in a discussion board or reading through content. The biggest take away from these seven weeks is that people who have a mental illness can recover. Before taking HCE 619, I had never heard a mental health professional utter the words recovery. Recovery for a person who has a mental illness may not be in the same context as a person who has got into an accident. Recovery in the mental health profession means to be in control of your mental illness and being an active member of the community. Having a life is possible for someone who has a mental illness. It does not limit their ability to have the life they dreamed they would have. I plan to help my patients understand that recovery is possible, and they can have a life even with a mental illness. When working with children in the past, I have told them their mental illness is their superpower, and I plan to do the same with adults. People with mental illness have been hidden away and oppressed for so long it is their time to rise to the occasion and live.
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This course was absolutely fascinating to me! Although a lot of the information was review, I was still struck by how far we have come as a society and as doctors and counselors, in the field of caring for those with mental illness. As I’ve said multiple times in my post, we are still not where we should be in terms of truly believing and acting upon the belief that people with mental illness can recover. That being said, I am that much more determined to “love” our clients and our fellow man and woman, just as much as we do those without a mental illness. My biggest take away from the course was that I realized I have more compassion, more empathy and more love for people with mental illness. This is a bit narcissistic as I am a person with multiple mental illnesses, but hey, isn’t narcissism an illness too? I’m sort of kidding…anyways, I’ve been treated with incredible compassion, care and dignity when faced with helping resources towards my mental illnesses. I’ve also experienced the opposite energy – of being stigmatized and disrespected for something I cannot control. Even though I believe I’m uniquely qualified to help people with mental illness, I also know that I too am a human being. Therefore, I could potentially get caught up in the power, money, ego of it all, and forget what my main purpose is: to help others recover and live full and happy lives. I will look back at this course along with all my personal experiences and remember where I have come from, who I am now, and who I want to grow to be.
ReplyDeleteThat was a journey in its self over the past seven weeks. For me, it came full circle and the main concepts that stuck were the importance of instilling hope in the client, letting them drive the service and that they are a powerful tool in recovery. We use scenarios as examples all the time, and the media uses people, why not start letting the people going through the recovery choose their models and people to support them.
ReplyDeleteI believe I can continue advocating for people rights as well as sharing my knowledge of this course and through my gained experiences to better the recovery journey for others. I hope that those of us that have enjoyed these materials and gleaned some sense of recovery from it can keep it, that we do not enter into a system that will challenge our boundaries or our treatment ideas with clients. I hope we all get to work for a program as forward-thinking as we are and that will only strengthen our access to the system and the helping professions.
-Sean K
I wasn’t sure what to expect from this class, not only as someone studying a different program but also as someone new to working with individuals experiencing mental illness. What I discovered was the real overlap between the ethical goals of social work and the tenets of the recovery movement. In a way, this class reinforced a lot of values I try to embody in my work with clients: listen to your client, foster hope, and practice unconditional positive regard by supporting them in a manner of their choosing regardless of their symptoms or circumstances. My biggest takeaway from this class is that there is a real difference between rehabilitation and recovery, and the history of psychiatric rehab treatment is long and dark. In my future practice, I need to be a part of the movement that treats all individuals as intrinsically valuable, that honors uniqueness and self-determination, and that bolsters the voices of people who have been silenced by friends, family or other medical providers in the past.
ReplyDeleteAs I finish up HCE619, I realize how this is the perfect conclusion to my classes at USM. The core principles of recovery are woven throughout the class. I have added more heros and heroines to my bank of stories. Who could forget Howard Dully, Howie the Harp, Bertram Karon, Jane Addams, Daniel Fisher, Judi Chamberline and so many more? I am fortunate to work in a profession that practices ethical procedures, but I wonder what is next for me in the field of mental illness. How can I impact the world. I think back to a word we learned in MultiCulturalism Class- UMBUNTU meaning “how can one of us be happy if all the other ones are sad” or the “belief that we are defined by our compassion and kindness towards others”. I am thankful for the lessons I have learned and feel more prepare for my journey ahead. I realize the importance of consumer choice, self-directed, and peer support. I feel that the many idea that is left with me is the idea of a holistic approach to recovery that uses hope, humanity, and connections to live well.
ReplyDeletehttps://images.app.goo.gl/DPrgWphbpn5TjxhU6