Pre-Conference Workshop 2: Mental health is everybody’s business
Tracks
Concurrent Stream 2
| Wednesday, October 16, 2024 |
| 8:15 AM - 10:00 AM |
| Tuscan Room |
Speaker
Tim Wand
University of Wollongong and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District
Workshop 2 - Mental health is everybody’s business
8:15 AM - 10:00 AMAbstract
Physical and mental health are inextricably entwined. For example, rates of depression are higher for people with medical conditions such as asthma, heart disease, hypertension, cancer and diabetes. Anxiety and panic effects 15% of the Australian population!
ED work is intense and demanding involving a significant amount of emotional labour. This has implications for the mental health of the ED workforce.
This workshop details a range of therapeutic response strategies and techniques based on solution focused therapy than can be applied broadly to people in distress including patients and our colleagues. Current research on what are the main determinants of mental health and wellbeing will be presented.
Principles of solution focused therapy will be introduced with examples for how this can be used during brief interactions in clinical practice. Suggestions and scripts for responding to people in distress ‘on the run’ (regardless of the underlying cause) will be presented. A take home cheat sheet or two will be included. Self-care strategies and health information for addressing the mental health needs of our patients and ourselves will be discussed.
Participants will brainstorm responses to a range of clinical situations they may encounter at the bedside, in the waiting room, or on their tea break in the staff room.
ED work is intense and demanding involving a significant amount of emotional labour. This has implications for the mental health of the ED workforce.
This workshop details a range of therapeutic response strategies and techniques based on solution focused therapy than can be applied broadly to people in distress including patients and our colleagues. Current research on what are the main determinants of mental health and wellbeing will be presented.
Principles of solution focused therapy will be introduced with examples for how this can be used during brief interactions in clinical practice. Suggestions and scripts for responding to people in distress ‘on the run’ (regardless of the underlying cause) will be presented. A take home cheat sheet or two will be included. Self-care strategies and health information for addressing the mental health needs of our patients and ourselves will be discussed.
Participants will brainstorm responses to a range of clinical situations they may encounter at the bedside, in the waiting room, or on their tea break in the staff room.
Biography
Tim Wand is a registered nurse and has worked predominantly in the field of emergency mental health since 2000. He was endorsed as a nurse practitioner in 2003 and maintained a clinical role to complement his research and teaching activities. This included running an ED-based mental health nurse practitioner outpatient service for 15 years. In December 2023, Tim accepted a conjoint position with the University of Wollongong and Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District as Professor of Nursing (Mental Health). He is a member of CENA and the Australian College of Mental Health Nurses. Tim is trained in solution focused brief therapy and has published, researched and taught in this area. He has found the solution focused approach is well suited to brief intervention in the ED setting for people with a range of health challenges.
