{"id":9080,"date":"2014-05-14T08:00:56","date_gmt":"2014-05-14T15:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=9080"},"modified":"2014-05-12T13:00:41","modified_gmt":"2014-05-12T20:00:41","slug":"abilitys-muse-listen-dont-solve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2014\/05\/14\/abilitys-muse-listen-dont-solve\/","title":{"rendered":"Ability\u2019s Muse<\/em>: Listen, don’t solve"},"content":{"rendered":"

I completed a mental health and addictions practicum in six weeks, just prior to graduation. My mentor was a mental health worker and mobile medication monitor. We travelled from site to site, observing clients as they ingested medications prescribed for treatment.<\/p>\n

We ran a coffee house that encouraged residents to leave the privacy of their rooms and check in with us daily. In the end, how much did I learn? Did it have a positive influence?<\/p>\n

The first week was hard. A client with schizophrenia blew up in response to my presence. She believed I was a doctor sporting my nametag and clipboard in tow, evaluating her. It was a novice mistake that I learned never to repeat.<\/p>\n

Still rattled by the other encounter, another client taunted me with more difficult question.<\/p>\n

She bluntly asked me, \u201cHow are you supposed to help me if you can\u2019t tell me what your mental illness is?\u201d<\/p>\n

Instead of reflecting the question back to her, I divulged personal points about myself. \u201cWe don\u2019t talk about [mental illness] in my culture, but if you must know, I have struggled with depression,\u201d I told her. To my surprise, she gleaned only one important bit of information and ignored the rest. Acknowledgement of my own heritage was a sincere gesture of acceptance of her aboriginal ancestry.<\/p>\n

What did I really learn? Listen, don\u2019t solve. When you think you are done listening, then listen some more.<\/p>\n

As your recently elected Students with (dis)Abilities Director at Camosun, please contact me at swd@camosunstudent.org if you have any questions or an idea for an event.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I completed a mental health and addictions practicum in six weeks, just prior to graduation. My mentor was a mental health worker and mobile medication monitor. We travelled from site to site, observing clients as they ingested medications prescribed for treatment. We ran a coffee house that encouraged residents to leave the privacy of their […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,126],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9080","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-columns","category-may-14-2014"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t