I currently work as a per diem employee at one of the largest mental health hospitals in San Diego, California. I was surprised at how much I like it. I wanted to have experience in the field and I get more than what I had imagined. Most importantly I have patient contact, which puts the things of mental health that I have learned into context. I also enjoy the fact that I am able to connect with professionals: nurses, doctors, other technicians that are in the field.
My day to day varies depending on the unit I am assigned. Some times I’m around kids aged four to seventeen. Or adults aged eighteen to eighty-nine. On the geriatric unit, most patients are forty-five or older. Patients usually display the big three mental health disorders: schizophrenia, bi-polar disorder, and major depressive disorder.
I enjoy being able to use what I have learned in psychology to be a very understanding mental health associate. Mental health is a taboo subject for most cultures and looked down upon. I get to promote treatment at a very basic level.
I get to be my best self. I get to be a good friend, a brother, a nephew, a son, a mentor to individuals lost on what they are going through or simply marginalized by society. I let them know they matter and certainly they matter to me. Then I get to figure out ways to put a smile on their face or facilitate their care. It’s fun most of the time.