I have always been a people person. I invited the whole of year 1 to my 6th birthday party and always talked to the cashier for too long at the Maccas drive-through. I have decided to dedicate my life to helping people, in my personal life as a friend, daughter, sister, and stranger, and in professional life as a disability support worker.

I never thought I would gain the wealth of experience that I have. My role with Sunnyfield involves supporting people living with disability. I work with a multitude of clients, each of whom has different needs. Some days this role means I am a personal shopper, a silent cleaner, or a chauffeur, but most days it means I am a confidant and impartial third party to talk to about the goings on of a person’s inner world.

Most of the clients I work with are complex mental health clients, whose conditions impede their daily functioning. I have received invaluable experience working with people who are living with bipolar disorder, autism, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, borderline personality disorder, depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and many others. As a 19-year-old getting the email saying that I got the job, the task of supporting these people effectively seemed insurmountable.

Admitting that I was in the deep end was the first step towards developing my confidence and personal style as a worker who would spend hours learning about these amazing people and the lives they live. As I progressed in my degree at UNE and learned more about various theories and psychological principles, I was keen to implement these approaches in my professional life. but reading about these mental health conditions and working with them in real life were two different things. There is no formula and no one-size-fits-all approach. I learned to roll with the punches and adjust to whatever was thrown at me, coming to understand that a condition is more than a list of symptoms. I needed to be like a chameleon, adapting to match whatever situation I might be put in.

Some days are rewarding and some days are incredibly challenging. I have been harsh on myself when a shift didn’t go well, or I had to file an incident report. But as I have learned in every class I have ever taken, one overarching truth became clear. We are all human. We all have our off days. We are all learning.

It’s easy to overthink and thus overcomplicate ways to ‘be’ or things to say when working with a particular client, especially when I am handed a file with a list of conditions and behaviours before I meet a client myself. I often caught myself challenging preconceptions on how I thought a person might be. But I learned quickly that the best way to gauge how a relationship may develop is to be as human as possible, actively listen with an empathic ear, have no expectations, be ready to sit in silence and touch on topics that are uncomfortable, and most importantly, abandon all shame.

I have made an absolute fool of myself countless times, mostly unintentionally, but sometimes on purpose, to see a smile on a person’s face when the person has been feeling down. The lives and inner workings of these people’s minds and spirits are complex; patience and humility are two virtues that I have learned to value. At some point, we are all bound to say the wrong thing and have to deal with the fallout.

My style as a support worker is reflective of who I am as a person, which I believe is important to anyone in the support field. I want my clients to see me as a human being with flaws and stories rather than a strange and soulless employee. Finding balance between confidant and confidentiality has proved to be crucially important; if my clients want to tell me all about the fight they had with their friend, I’m all ears, but if something comes up that concerns me, I have a duty of care, and a support plan to follow. Rapport is not built overnight, sometimes it’s not built for months, sometimes it’s never built.

One thing I was told from the minute I was hired was that there would be clients that I just wouldn’t ‘gel’ with, and that it was the fault of neither party. A little vulnerability goes a long way in developing a relationship with a client.

I have adopted a Rogerian person-centred approach to my support practices in an attempt to foster authenticity and consistency. I prioritize goals and personal experience rather than diagnostic labels. My clients often report feeling reduced to their disabilities, which is the last thing I want.

Other psychological principles that have been incredibly useful to my work are trauma-informed care and strengths-based practice where I work in collaboration with my clients, focusing on what they can do rather than what they struggle with. Some important skills I have acquired are based in neuro-diversity-affirming practices. I am grateful for the invaluable experience I have gained in this line of work and the things it has taught me about the ways in which mental health conditions affect each person in a way that is unique to that individual.

Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash