eNews November 2022
A Path To Follow November Updates – We introduce all of the new friendly faces at APTF including our talented Art Therapist + we received our biggest donation yet!
A Path To Follow November Updates – We introduce all of the new friendly faces at APTF including our talented Art Therapist + we received our biggest donation yet!
Lived Experience Mental Health Peer Support A Mental Health Peer Worker is employed based on their personal lived/living experience of mental health challenges and recovery. They are commonly being employed in hospital and community settings, often alongside the employment of Carer Peers, who tend to support the families of those experiencing challenges. A Path To Follow’s Model Of Peer Support APTF uses a model of Lived Experience Peer Support, where APTF Peers use their living/lived and professional experiences to support the peer journey. Inherent to this model are the foundational principles of Intentional Peer Support’s Framework: From Helping to Learning Together – we don’t see peers as needing to be fixed or us as the experts, Individual to Relationship – we see our work together as a partnership where both peers have a responsibility and From Fear to Hope and Possibility we don’t subscribe to a traditional risk based model, rather we use one that sees the meaning behind risks as a source of opportunity to learn and grow, in a safe and supportive manner. We acknowledge this system is quite different from the medicalised model we have all grown up with; you as a patient/client seeing an expert. We are all experts within our own lives and APTF was founded, and is directed by Kirstie, with substantial knowledge and experience of the system as a consumer, carer and professional. APTF Peers use a mix of perspectives and experiences to advocate and walk beside young people and their families, enabling participation in supports while remaining connected to their communities. This model of service is not a crisis service but does offer a flexibility outside what many mainstream services are able to offer. Support is customised according to needs; including various session locations and contact times, who is included in the service, referrals to other services, shared care with other services and so on… Sometimes we just want to be heard. That is a great place to start with us. Reach out for your FREE consultation to see how we can assist.
APTF uses a model of Lived Experience Peer Support, where APTF Peers use their lived and professional experiences to support their peer’s journey. Inherent to this model are the foundational principles of Intentional Peer Support’s Framework: From Helping to Learning Together – we don’t see peers as needing to be fixed or us as the experts, Individual to Relationship – we see our work together as a partnership and From Fear to Hope and Possibility we don’t subscribe to a traditional risk based model, rather we use one that sees the meaning behind risks as a source of opportunity to learn and grow, in a safe and supportive manner. We acknowledge this system is quite different from the medicalised model we have all grown up with; you as a patient/client seeing an expert. APTF believes we are all experts within our own lives and APTF was founded and is directed by Kirstie, who has substantial knowledge and experience of the system as a consumer, carer and professional. We use all of those perspectives to advocate and walk beside you, enabling you to participate in the supports you require and remain connected to the community that is important to you.
The journey behind Mental Health Challenges: Brain takes a break, but the body always keeps score. I feel it would be highly hypocritical of me, given this is a Lived Experience Service, to only share my tools and strategies of past wounds from which I have healed. I feel it would also be highly hypocritical of me given my assertive community voice in decreasing mental health stigma and helping people to heal through sharing their very real and common experiences, to now hide behind mine. The real story behind mental health challenges is not always pretty, is often raw and yes, it can be frightening. What it is often not (despite media representation), is violent or threatening, contagious or life changing for a bystander. What it is, is a strikingly common, lonely existence often hidden behind the closed doors of those you know. Not for me, not for my family and not for my community; not anymore. Mental Health Challenges: Then I remember parts of my first experience of *dissociation; some memories, but mostly feelings. Ben, a toddler, and Kyle, a few months old. I remember my sister-in-law dropping me flowers. I remember looking at my feet as breast milk splashed on the flower. I remember smiling and saying goodbye. I remember being on the bed, phone to ear trying to answer Anthony’s questions. Where are the boys? I don’t know. Did you put them to sleep? I don’t know. Tiredness. So tired, too tired, too scared to check on the boys. I could not have done something, could I? I could not check. I needed to sleep. The quiet, warm fog weirdly comforting. Of course, they were ok and of course I did not hurt them. I had put them down for naps and there they remained, I think, until Anthony got home. That dissociation, like this time, only lasted a short time. The subsequent fog, the disconnection from life and fatigue lasted well over six months. This was my first introduction to serious mental health challenges. Mental Health Challenges: Now… In the blink of an eye, all sense of time, place and self, gone… I may have even gone to IGA in my dressing gown. Yep, my very own customised dissociation. Some part of me knew I needed help. But *Self and the spoken word had suddenly evaded me; they were simply buried so deep I had no immediate access. There were no words for my boys; that it was happening again. No, not again. I text my mate, he respected my request to not call. I texted my Psychologist. She called. “Right. Back against something hard. Feet planted. Got it?” Unusually assertive, she went on, “who am I talking to?” I didn’t know, I only knew for certain it wasn’t Self. I can’t clearly remember the rest of the conversation, common with a period of dissociation, but she reached Self enough to convince her/me that hospital was not the answer. Most parts of me, from my lived and professional experiences, actually already knew that. But there was a part of me that just wanted to sleep, didn’t want to talk, didn’t want to think and really didn’t care. An appointment was made for the next day and I went to bed. No one noticed Self wasn’t with me; I’ve gotten good at that. Holding onto Self I awoke the next morning like someone had siphoned every sniff of petrol from my tank. My mind was a fog, my body leaden and my voice unable to verbalise. Self was back, but she was totally and utterly exhausted. Son to school? Couldn’t drive. Shower? Couldn’t move. Eat? Desperately hungry but didn’t want food. Strangely I was not overly panicked by the experience, as I had previously envisaged I would be when I thought about it happening again. Apparently, my body had kept score. Like having a baby, my body had recorded that it had been here before. Like last time, my body had decided to put a stop to what my heart and mind could not; emotional and physical over-commitment. It became clear pretty quickly that I needed to re-prioritise my commitments and that doing it now, while my body (not my heart and mind) was in control, was the only way to do it. Fortunately, any negotiations with my heart and mind would be rendered useless by my body’s utter lack of functioning: movement (slow and limited), voice (by written word only), mind (one thought at a time, on only one subject at a time). In a somewhat detached fashion I communicated my reduced capacities to my two volunteer organisations (knowing that once my heart and mind revived, I would grieve this and a part of me would take over and keep me doing what had brought me to this current state). My first experience of dissociation evoked a consistent experience of feeling present but not here. Of watching our two little (now big) boys and their dad living life. I was watching on, trapped within my silent and invisible bubble, disallowing me from entering their world. This time is eerily similar, but nowhere near as extreme. I am currently only becoming distressed when a part of me feels frustrated, sad or angry at my total lack of energy to engage. I am still in their world and I can still feel (but not yet reach) that passion and determination to continue toward their world. Moving Forward While my external voice and movement is slow, to the point where getting up and down is physically exhaustive, my internal voice and brain appear to be functioning as per normal. I think… Yep, there is the old doubt that creeps in and out still, as there is the sudden and crippling bouts of social anxiety when thinking about seeing anyone outside of my family, but those moments will pass. I know that now. My body has been keeping score and even though my tools are not yet working, I
Professional/Lived Experience. Who decides? Who sets the arbitrary line to determine if or when I share my lived experience with my clients? Who decides if I use my lived experience in a way that is safe, for the benefit of our community and in line with best practice? Great question. The answer? You. And you know what? A person’s rapport with a service greatly influences the effectiveness of it. Of course it should always be you. APTF provides a customised balance of professional and lived experience in mental health to support clients walking their mental well-being journeys. We recognise the need for consumers to feel supported by a team who can connect and journey beside you; personally and professionally. My Experiences. Don’t box me in. There is a growing body of evidence and overwhelming community and professional support for incorporating lived experience in our professional mental health services. That is how we already practice at APTF. I am more than one experience and one perspective. Don’t box me in. I am a Consumer. I am Carer and I am Professional. During physical isolation I participated in Tandem and Victorian Mental Illness Awareness Council (VMIAC)’s Royal Commission into Mental Health feedback sessions. Tandem represents carers of those living with mental health challenges. VMIAC represents consumers of mental health services. I was also invited to bring “my perspective” to an Insta Live this week with the Discovery College. As a result of my participation and my Discovery Convo gig I got thinking more about my lived and professional experiences. How they serve my life long passion of supporting others in their mental well-being journeys. Consumer. Carer. Professional. Three aspects of my life not looking to alter in the short term. Three aspects of my life I am proud to identify with. Three aspects of my life I know assists other people in their journeys as consumers, carers and professionals. Professional Limits A set of often arbitrary and ambiguous codes, discouraging the sharing of lived experience, were pervasive in my time working within the family and health services field. With time, I shared a limited version of my lived experience. The professional scene demanded a somewhat sanitised version, however. A stark difference to how these experiences played out in actuality. I felt disappointed and alarmed at not being able to share experiences that could help those who shared their vulnerabilities with me. Thanks to VMIAC, Tandem, Discovery College, other like organisations and passionate individuals, we are now looking at a new world. A new future where lived experience may take its rightful place in the mental health service system. A Path To Follow is already here; in the future. Our entire service is based on a customised balance of professional and lived experience in life’s challenges. We recognise there is a need and a place for all experiences to best support our community in their mental well-being journeys. The Right Balance But surely not everyone with lived experience is a good fit to provide such support I hear you ask? I agree and disagree. Fence sitter, I hear you say. Yep, I agree with that. With appropriate desire, training, guidance and ongoing support, those with lived experience can support others in their journeys. Without those criteria fulfilled however, there are risks abound, for all parties. That is why at APTF, we provide the right balance of experience and customise a service that best suits the needs of our clients. Our Youth Mentors are not professionals, but they sure as heck have lived experience. They certainly tick off on the passion and desire. They are trained, guided and supported at all times, from both my professional and lived experiences. I understand risk. I am fully trained and experienced in assessing, working with and intervening in it. We practise with the best interests of clients at front of mind. We use a “do no harm” approach and constantly assess and monitor risk. Where our lived experience can be shared within the do no harm approach and in the best interests of our clients, then we will share. The Future I hope we are about to enter a new world where ALL professionals in the field are able share their multi faceted experiences. Where our clinicians can take the lead of Georgie Harman, Beyond Blue CEO, who speaks with honesty of her lived experience with alcohol and depression. Hearing the perspectives of fellow consumers and carers in recent times has only consolidated our approach at APTF as the right one for us. The feedback paints a service system where consumers and carers often feel disconnected from the clinicians caring for them. Very much a scene of “them” and “us”. We need to develop a “we” team. All members on the same page, managing the same challenges, for a common purpose. A person’s recovery needs to take place with their chosen professionals, inclusive of that person’s family and community supports. A service that pays respect to and mindfully utilises lived and professional experience can attain all of that and more. I am very excited about that! I am also very excited we are already working within a model, providing services that our community is very loudly saying is needed. Professional and Lived experience; walking beside you. If you want more information about our services or are in a position to financially support our service, please contact Kirstie.