What's It Like to Work in a Psychiatric Hospital? - Day in the Life of a Mental Health Technician
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ส.ค. 2024
- In this video I give a comprehensive overview of what it's like to be a Mental Health Technician at an inpatient psychiatric hospital. Here are the topics I cover along with the timestamps for each:
3:40 - The Training Process
6:26 - Daily Routine
23:54 - Hospital Units
35:32 - Positives of the Job
39:07 - Downsides of the Job
49:55 - Uplifting Stories
55:36 - Horror Stories
1:09:00 - Funny Stories
Here's a link to my video that discusses how to talk to a delusional person: • How to Talk to a Delus...
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Video Notes
Working as a Mental Health Technician (or patient caregiver) at an inpatient psychiatric hospital is a very rewarding yet demanding job. The main responsibilities of the job are observing patients to ensure their safety, helping to carry out each patient's treatment plan, and being a source of emotional support for the patients.
Psychiatric hospitals are usually divided into units that house patients with similar diagnoses. There's often a crisis unit for patients experiencing psychosis and hallucinations, an adult unit for patients experiencing anxiety and depression, an addiction/detox unit, and a teen/children's unit. Depending on the hospital, you can request to work in the unit you most prefer.
On a daily basis you'll be working with patients who are (or recently have been) suicidal and/or are incapable of making rational decisions due to psychosis, hallucinations, and delusions. Psychiatric hospital employees face a significant risk of being physically attacked by patients. In addition, as a mental health technician, you can expect to be in stressful situations on a regular basis. The upside of this is you also get the opportunity to make a major impact on the lives of the patients you work with. You will routinely have the chance to help others turn their lives around.
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So you can click to jump to a subject:
3:40 - The training process
6:26 - Daily routine
23:54 - Hospital units
35:32 - Positives of the job
39:07 - Downsides of the job
49:55 - Uplifting stories
55:36 - Horror stories
1:09:00 - Funny stories
Really helpful
Thanks much!
Thank you
Wish every video had tbis
I've been a patient before and you seem like a very kind caregiver. Thank you. We need more like you.
I appreciate your praise. What it really comes down to is I enjoyed being in a position to help people, and being happy to do a job makes the quality of the outcome improve dramatically. I encourage everyone to keep searching until they find a field of work that inspires them.
@@ZachGood hello, my name is Abbi. I am interested in the psychiatric feild but do not know what specific place i want to be. I love to help people and i am a social butterfly, but i have been in a household with an abusive father, so i was taught at a young age to look out for myself. I am interested in the feild because i have heard so many people talk about their horrible stories about their experiance of the hospitals. I want to change that, i am only fourteen. How can i help with these issues until i am old enough for a job?
@@abbigailhightower4272 The fact that you're only 14 and recognize the need to help others shows that you're a kind person with a big heart. Lots of people go through their whole lives only thinking about themselves, and others (like me) only start thinking about other people after they've lived for a few decades. So you're way ahead of your time, and that's a good thing.
My first bit of advice might sound lame but it's true: In order to help others, the first thing someone must do is make sure they're taking care of themselves. That doesn't mean someone must be _perfect_ before they can help others; it just means that someone needs to make sure that they're treating themselves well and regularly caring for their own mental health. So the first thing you can do (and something you can do while helping others) is love yourself, take time each day to maintain your mental and emotional health, and generally make yourself a priority. The best part is this can (and should) be done at any age, and the earlier someone has a self-care plan, the better.
Next, your age makes it a little difficult to be in the kinds of situations where you could serve as a mental health guide for others. As you very well know, those kinds of jobs require at least a high school degree, so you're a few years from that. At the same time, however, you can make a positive impact on the people you come into contact with on a regular basis. Just being friendly and reliable to your family and peers makes the world a happier, more healthy place. If your high school has peer counseling, you could volunteer for that. You can also study psychology and mental health in your free time to learn more about the field. Another thing you can do is volunteer! Lots of places need volunteers - hospitals, nursing homes, food pantries, animal shelters...the list goes on and on. I volunteered a few hours a week at a nursing home when I was a freshman in high school. Any kind of experience where you get to interact with others and brighten their day is a good thing. I know volunteering at some of these places isn't feasible now due to the coronavirus, but the pandemic will be over before long and we'll be able to get back to regular life.
My last bit of advice to you is to keep an open mind and allow yourself to evolve. One of the biggest mistakes I made while growing up (and even into my twenties) was that I refused to allow myself to change. Once I found a subject area or career field that interested me, I told myself that I _had_ to continue with it even if I stopped liking it after awhile. So over the next few years if you start to realize that you might like something else more than working in mental health, that's great! Change isn't a bad thing.
If you had a podcast, I’d listen to it.
Thanks for the compliment. If you go to my channel page, I have a playlist of about 30 podcasts I've created, most of them about mental health and self-improvement.
I was hospitalized couple of times due to my depression & eating disorder. Nobody in the unit helped me more than MHTs! They are so helpful!! Its not fair paying them that low! They helped me more than nurses or doctors
The down side being a mental health technition:
* the wages are low
* it's dangerous
* it's emotionally draining
* it causes chronic stress
* PTSD
* it causes adrenaline addiction
* you tend to dissociate from your work
Solution...
* Take regular breaks
* learn self defence
* stay grounded
* get emotional help (therapy)
And pray you don't end up a patient yourself. 🤭
Try getting a state job doing that. State pays more.
This is hella fascinating
Thanks for watching, and thanks for the feedback!
I am a licensed California Psychiatric Technician (retired) I miss "the good ol' days at Metropolitan State Hospital. Your presentation was so like being back on the job. I really enjoyed it. I have a funny story too.....I was working night shift. There was this one skinny old male patient who was really "out there" so much so that he was entertaining to watch and to listen to. I really wanted him to go to bed so he would quit wandering around muttering to himself and possibly wake up some of the other patients. I thought he might be hungry and that was why he couldn't sleep. He was always delusional and he lived permanently at the hospital. My sandwich was cut in half so I decided to share it with him and also perhaps use it as a bribe to get him to go to bed. I opened the nursing station door and the next time he approached (he was endlessly pacing and talking to himself), I called him over. "Hey John ." I held out the ha;lf sandwich, turkey on white bread. "I've got something for you." He looked at it and cocked his head to one side. "F-f-f-f-for me?" I yes, do you know what it is?" He looked up at me all proud of himself and replied, "Yes, it's it's it's a KOTEX" I almost fell over laughing. John was not kidding he was serious. He didn't see a sandwich he saw a kotex. I said 'no, it's not a kotex, its a sandwich. Do you want it?" After a little reassjurance that it was really just a sandwich, he took it from me went to a shadowy corner of the room and ate the sandwich. He then got up and went to bed and I didn't see hmagain until morning whjen I handed him his medication. I have so many stories, but Im sure (like yourself) the public would be aghast and just might not be able to handle the shock of it. Just another day in the life of a career psych tech. Keep in tough buddy., take care, Jan.
Haha! Great story. As hard as the job is, I've also had some of my hardest laughs while there.
I worked as a Psych Tech as well. That is a funny story! I got one for you! I was also working the night shift and an older psychotic female patient kept wondering into other patients rooms during the night. I kept running after her and taking her back to her room. Well after a dozen attempts at patiently showing her where her room was, she finally said, "Your father must be so proud of you!" I said, "Well I sure hope so, I'm trying my best". Then she said, "Well if youd like I'll write you a letter of recommendation!" I about fell over from laughter and she laughed too!
I love how well-spoken you are!
I really appreciate your feedback. Any public speaking skills I have I probably learned through several years of giving presentations as a technical consultant. Nothing teaches you better than being forced to learn on the spot!
Love your overview
Not only do you teach this well better than many college professors, you also model how to explain a certain topic well.
Wish your channel was around when I went to college.
currently watching this while at my grave shift at a mental health treatment center haha! i work at a residential treatment center for teens with mental health and i can relate to so much you’re talking about
Wow this video is amazing... My cousin committed suicide when I was 19 years old. She had been diagnosed with schizophrenia and she was bipolar. After she passed, I fell into depression. I felt a sense of regret because I felt as if I had not done enough for her when she was alive. Four years later, I find myself extremely interested in pursuing a career that allows me to feel closer to my cousin and being able to help people like her. Thank you for sharing your experience because now I know that this is something I want to do.
$12.50 an hour is upsurd. Cashiers at Aldi's make $14.75 an hour to start.
_Note to self: Apply at Aldi's_
This rats is in accurate for RI
Rate
Disgusting! A college grad with a degree in psychology means nothing if they will just hire a HS graduate! That’s less than minimum wage in some states
I think it depends on where you are too. I work as a MHT in Boston and I'm getting paid $16.32 an hour.
Thank you so much! This is the best video about being a mental health tech that I have come across here on youtube after searching for a while. You covered everything! and answered all the questions I had and even covered things I didn't think about. I was really able to get a good idea of what ill be getting into and your thoughts were very organized! I watched from start to finish. Thanks again! Subscribed. Liked. Favorited.
Thanks for watching, thanks for the feedback, and I'm happy to hear my video is fitting a need.
I know from experience that it can be hard to find unbiased educational videos about a job. Often times companies and educational institutions are the ones that create spotlight videos about jobs, and as a result those jobs are presented in a watered-down manner that makes it seem like the jobs are nonstop fun. An intense job like a mental health tech needs to be portrayed as honestly as possible so prospective employees get a clear picture of what it'll be like.
I´m planning to go to school so I can work in a mental hospital. I´m only 16 but my dream is to help people dealing with these problems
Heading to school for psyc tech. This is way more up my alley than I ever thought, genuine hospitality not corporate it’s truly bettering the community
I'm a mental health worker and I love my job so much! It's awesome to hear how other units run at other hospitals.
not all units run smoothy. often times, the corp that run and organize these facilties just want toget paid and don't want to see clients really improve or get well. i've had 30 psych hospitalizations throughout the years. Unfortunately, these facilties have become holding tanks to fulfill the insurance needs of the head corporati0on. they dont help ppl get well. Underpaid staff. Underappreciated nurses and a volatile clientele all contribute 2 a chaellenging work environtment. I'm a Peer Specialist. I have a lived mental health recovery experience. I'm still very much in recvery. I'm stil in bad shape. Im 43 now. but i have a great support system around me. Many of these patients don't have solid supports. Or, therir individual situation is so dire upon admission they feel like they have no recourse or options. Too often, uncaring or docile or apathetic staff feign their desire to discuss their issues. Placating them with phrases like " things will get better. it will all get better. " ive heard these things many times. IT doesn't. To a person devastated by trauma, hope for the future is a pipe dream. I do't think a lot of psych techs understand the core dynamics. They just there to get a paycheck and play on their phones.
You should be a psychologist as you are very articulate & really understand people. What job are you doing now?
Thanks for the compliment!
Right now I'm working a technical consultant, but I also just started online grad school with the goal of becoming a licensed counselor. I'd be open to getting a doctorate given the right circumstances.
Zach Good That sounds brilliant. You'll be a walk-in. New Zealand (Auckland) where I live has big problems with the mental health system being under-funded. Just this morning there was an article on "Stuff" about several mental health workers being taken to hospital after being badly assaulted by patients at Hillmorton Hospital in Christchurch. The earthquakes have had a big impact on the city's mental health issues.
Zach Good if your a nurse would you plan ur own therapy sessions?
@@ZachGood loved your video!! it's spot on what its like. I'm finishing my graduate program in clinical mental health counseling in April. hello fellow counselor 🙌😘. what track are you going for school or mental health? wish you the best in your journey!!!! it gets so tiresome at times as my program is 3 yrs with 1yr in unpaid internship .
@@ZachGood what online grad school did you choose?
I got a bachelors in psych in 1983 and my goal was to work at this job in a hospital. But the jobs were few and far between, and I never ended up finding one within a reasonable amount of time. I did work on a unit in occupational therapy, so I got a taste of what it was like and I loved it. But never had any violent patients around. I think they just called security to deal with restraining patients, so I never felt afraid (that was naive, I know). I always pined for what could have been my career as I always wanted to make an impact on people’s lives and I felt I’d be good at it because I was a born caregiver. This video was so detailed and honest. It made me really look at all the factors and I can see now that I would not have been able to handle the intense stress that the job could bring. I think I’d have been better in one of those private Malibu facilities overlooking the ocean helping counsel “upscale” patients with a lower risk of causing problems 🤗. But the educational requirements have practically doubled since then and you now need licenses for practically all mental health jobs. So glad you are looking to be a counselor, more money, better working conditions in private settings and you still get to use your skills. Your video changed my life because I no longer have to have regrets about not ever having had the career I thought I wanted! Thanks again for the realistic review!
Wow so powerful and meaningful! I’m 17 so just hearing this gives me a lot if insight of what Career I can go into after college before grad...thank you !
I'm looking at getting into working in a mental hospital so this video was so helpful. Thank you!
I appreciate this/you so much for taking the time to make this video. I just started as an MHT 3 weeks ago and overall I really like it!! But some days have definitely been overwhelming and I feel a little better after watching this video!
Thank you for taking the time out to make this video Zach!
No problem - glad you found it helpful.
This is a great video! As someone who feels ready to take this journey because of experience you have made it easier. I feel more confident that I CAN do this and be good at it. Good job being thorough and detailed in a nice way.
Very informative. You have a great insight into the people you worked with and I find you very articulate and sincere.
Hi, I'm glad to have come across your video at this time in my life. I'm a second year grad student of mental health counseling/art therapy, and I'm going to be beginning my first-placement internship in two weeks. I've been feeling stressed out with the time getting closer. I found your information to be very helpful. I'm looking forward to stepping outside my comfort zone snd develop hard skills. Hopefully, I'm not pushing myself to much. I'll continue educating myself with your videos. Thank you!
Thank you so much for the insight of being a Mental health Tech. This video was well thought out and it really gave me a great idea of what this job would be like on a day to day basis.
Great video. Right on point and very honest and transparent.
This was so informative to watch!
Your videos are so good! I am obsessed (in a good way) with them. So much good quality content: thanks a lot of sharing them. Regards from Brazil 🙂
I wish I had this video years ago when I was deciding on the area of nursing I wanted to go into. You are amazing in your knowledge. I suffer from depression and have been hospitalized. You are spot on in how the unit is run. I would love to be a mental health technician but age is against me. All schools should show your video during the psychiatric rotation. Again, you are amazing.
This is an exhaustive and excellent analysis of how things work in a psych hospital. I just experienced my 22nd overall psych hospitalization and he's exactly right about all the twists and turns that employees and patients have to deal wih daily. It's a really incredible field. I don't know if I could work in a psych hospital. I've worked as a peer specialist . but, dealing with that many people's issues and their different disorders at one time is overewhelming. you have to be really secure in your recovery in order to work in this field. He makes a great point about the bed checks. It's annoying to have somebody to enter your room every 15 minutes overnigte. you're trying to get a good night sleep .but, it's impossible because of the constant interruptions in the hallway, staff being loud, your bed mate snoring, and so many more things going on at once.
Ask for earplugs
I just wanted to thank you so much for this video! I have always been passionate about mental health but was on the fence as someone with a mental illness. I didnt feel I would be the right fit. I recently reenrolled in college to go for my bachelors in psych and this video solidified my resolve and passion :)
Glad to hear my video offered you some assistance on your journey!
Same! Congratulations to you! You can do it! I deal with mental health issues too, but this is what can fuel us. We can relate with different issues and share different approaches. I don't know how to meditate at all so that's a challenge I want to explore for my future clients. I'm really glad I stumbled across his channel. I'm both addicted and concerned lol. His bipolar video is the epitome of what I deal with and almost word for word lol. I haven't been diagnosed with that one but I'm a little curious now. Again, I wish you the best! It'll be worth it :)
Thanks for your informative video. I feel at ease and ready for the challenges ahead. I hope to gain a lot of experiences.
This is one of the truest, most accurate presentations of working with persons living with mental illness I’ve even seen. Bravo 👏🏼.
Thanks for your feedback! I'm glad this video is helpful and realistic.
Very well made video Zach. I would say it's pretty accurate. I myself have had a few hospitalizations, mostly for Bipolar Depression, Suicide Attempt / Ideation. I've been through it all, even the dreaded "4 points". Inpatient I even tried to commit suicide a couple times. So I know the one to one as well. I was never psychotic thank God. I've been in private hospitals and state ones. The state ones are sad and are more like "warehouses". I've been pretty stable now for a few years. I thank God most of all. I thank my friends, family, and other support systems. You seem like you were a very good MHT, as I've seen some bad ones. Great video thanks.
Thank you, a most interesting, helpful and detailed video. You are a great speaker. 😊😊😊
I listened to the whole thing🙌🏼 Very interesting. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you found value!
I forgot how long it was gonna be but you made it so easy to wanna listen & watch. Great input. (:
As a former patient i appreciate this video and you, you talk about this in a caring and understanding way thank you we need more people like you that help us get better
Zach Good thank you for sharing your awesome knowledge in an amazing way
always wanted to know more about working in a mental hospital, thank you!
Glad I could be of assistance!
Absolutely love, watched the whole thkng! I took this position as I complete my MSW/Micro mental health specifically...I wanted to start at the very beginning as I move into my license as a therapist...WELL DONE & THANK YOU!!!!😊
Thanks for sharing your experience, it's been helpful to gain an insight on what it would be like to work in a psychiatric ward. I must say, those stories that you relayed on the video were very entertaining, but also very true. I've been a patient at a psych ward before, and will be going back to school for clinical psychology next year. My boyfriend used to work as a patient care tech at a psychiatric ward of a hospital, and your stories were similar to his, but not as terrifying as being hit like you did. I'm currently trying to figure out if I would be best suited to work with children, adolescents, and families, or with adults; I think at this point, it will all come down to experience on both sides from clinicals for me to decide which area in which to practice. I'll look into more of your videos. Initially I found your channel from the video about interacting with people with delusions and this one was really helpful too, so I think it would be a good idea to check out the rest.
Good career choice! Usually, the people who have experience as patients make for the best clinicians. I've been in counseling before and have addictive tendencies and I'm currently in online grad school to become a counselor so I can work with people experiencing anxiety, depression, and addictions (all things I've battled during my life).
I agree that you'll figure out which population you'll want to work with as you go through school and get on-the-job training/experience. Working with kids is a lot different from working with adults in that the way you communicate is different. Kids can be harder to get through to, but there's much more opportunity to help them improve because their minds are much more pliable. With adults, there's a lot more room for patients to feel 'tangled up' and be resistant to change (i.e. "I need to work so I don't have time to work on myself," "I have kids," "I have to stay married," etc.). In addition, a lot of kids being treated for psychiatric problems have behavioral issues as opposed to biological mental illnesses. For example, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and schizoaffective disorder typically don't present symptoms until age 15-30. If you work with kids, you'll be working a lot with diagnoses like Oppositional Defiant Disorder and anxiety/depression - and autism, as well.
So incredibly helpful. Thank you.
Such a great point about having that sense of what else is going on around you on the unit. I have worked at a state psychiatric hospital for several years and one time I was on the forensic unit to examine a patient. While I was talking with that particular individual on one part of the unit, another individual, known to be predatory, was starting to hover around and get closer to us. The guy I was seeing was a big gentleman and I am a smaller female, he saw this guy and knew his reputation so he asked me if we could move to another location. He protected me from getting attacked. And sure enough, about two days later that stalker guy attacked a female staff member. So, it’s not just staff protecting each other but even patients and staff working together at times.
Thanks for sharing your story. I've also had situations when patients looked out for me. There are lots of great people in psych hospitals.
I really appreciate your videos, I have previous experience but it’s been so many years ago, plus standards have changed and even back then I didn’t know enough to last long, I have an interview coming soon and I need these videos, very helpful, and Thankyou!
i’m super interested in the mental health field and helping people with illnesses, as i deal with mental health problems myself. thankyou for this video and explaining all of these things, extremely interesting!
Great video, very thorough, except perhaps discussing how too often there are psychotic people who work at these facilities, so they can control, manipulate, instigate, demean and physically and psychologically harm patients. All too often, if the patient complains, the supervisor, etc. believe the “sane” employee over the “disturbed and deeply troubled” patient.
Please make a video to discuss this aspect of mental health. Perhaps patients can open up and share their stories about this topic.
That said, I want to thank you again for being a decent human being and a positive part of the patient’s experience. Yes, most employees working in a psychiatric facility do their job well and with integrity, and are never paid enough.
I was a patient and I have done stories to share, if you will make a separate video to discuss this mostly ignored and very disturbing issue.
Thanks!
👏
I studied MSc psychology in UK and I think the experience of mental health you got, will put you on the right spot if you up for counselling.
Thanks for the video
You gave a lot of really good, valuable information. This video would be great for families of people in the unit so they know how things work.
Thanks for your feedback - I appreciate it. I agree that it's helpful for patients and families to understand how psych hospitals work. People generally have tons of misperceptions about psych hospitals, and that makes people afraid to use them even in situations when they're absolutely needed.
Iv watched the whole thing and i always considered working at a psychiatric hospital but i never knew the details about it like i knew a lot but never could find something that answers all my questions like you have! You have really motivated me to pursue and go into that job industry so thank you!!!
I'm very happy to hear that my video provided you with the information you needed to become more resolute about your decision to work in the field. That was my goal - to provide a comprehensive view of the job so that people will come away thinking either "Wow, I definitely want that job!" or "Oh my gosh, I'm definitely not getting that job now." Too many job videos gloss over important details and default to using rosy platitudes like "You'll have so much fun helping people in this job." I wanted to show the full range of the job - warts and all - so people can make more reliable job decisions.
Thanks again for watching!
Thanks for sharing this video! I do respect you! You guys are awesome! That kind of place won’t work without you!
I am learning a lot as Nurse who just quit my job yesterday because of the people I worked with who constantly tries to break my spirit....they’re for the most part caused me to have more stress than dealing with sick and difficult patients.I told the HR, that they have bullies in the house!
My patients loved me so much and I love my job.
I just recently was having some inflammation in my body which was caused by the chronic stress I got from work.
And I need to take care of myself first.But I am looking forward to pursue a degree into psychiatry....when I get better.I want to change the way they treat mentally I’ll patients....not Medicate them in any way possible that will make them worse but in a loving and positive ways.
Love this!! I work with behavioral but love the clinical side too!
Incredibly informative and professional. I wish more people were working in this field with your mentality. This is a very stressful line of work and what will work in one instance may not work in another, but structure and routine are key. Thank you for speaking about these people in a respectful and kind manner. Sadly, there is a great deal of room for abuse to these vulnerable patients and they really do need help to survive.
I agree. We as a society need to provide more incentives (financial and otherwise) for people working in these fields so that they acquire compassionate talent and don't become mere service jobs only performed by people simply looking for a job. People working in these jobs who don't really want to be there create negative outcomes for patients.
@@ZachGood I couldn't have said it any better.
I watched the whole video....thx for sharing 😊
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed.
Respect Sir, towards your kind explanations towards few good causes those helpful retrieval informations to us.
Great video. Thank you
I was actually in stitches when you told the apple in the sock story I laughed so hard that's fucking hilarious!!! So sorry xxxx but you are sooooo funny :) but I would also follow you around for your 8 hour shift. You're awesome. Thanks for this! I'd love to spend Christmas with you listening to all your funny stories. Never change you are lovely.
This is such an amazing, in-depth overview! Thank you!
Glad you found my video helpful! Are you thinking about a career in mental health?
@@ZachGood yes! My end goal is to become an LPC after finishing graduate school and work in community mental health but I would love to gain some great experience in a mental health setting before hand!!
@@olivia9316 Very nice. A job at a psych hospital would give you a strong foundation of knowledge. There's really no better place to get mental health experience. It'll make grad school and LPC training seem easy.
Very detailed and knowledgeable....I bet you were a great tech!!
I just finished watching and I am pretty interested tbh, but I just wanted to thank you for everything you’ve done in your job xx
Thanks! I appreciate the support and I'm glad my video was useful for you.
Appreciate it. Thank you. Very well explained.
Wow I don't know how you did your job for so long I know how exhausting it is to deal with one schizophrenic child so to have to try and help numerous people with all sorts of things going on with them is just, wow...much respect !!! I think its great that you are still helping people understand because it's a scary part of the world that no one wants to see or understand really. Its like half the schools and people if only they would educate themselves I think that would make a difference in my kids life as far as his schizophrenia but its so true dealing with it does change you and I personally can say it has made me less afraid of a lot of things because if you have never seen someone going through psychosis or mental break then you would never believe it!
How was I able to survive that job for so long? Haha that's a good question. I think it comes down to the fact that I felt *really* motivated to make an impact, I loved how hard that job pushed me, and I also felt ready to work at the hospital because I'd been (willingly) off work for about 8 months before I started. If I had to go back tomorrow, however, I think I'd fold under the pressure. It's a *very* intense job.
Any work I've done at the hospital pales in comparison to raising a child with a mental illness. At the end of the day I was able to go home and leave it all behind, whereas your work is a constant part of your life. I can't overstate how mentally tough you (and other parents of mentally ill children) are.
We absolutely need more mental health education in this country. The reason so many people are afraid or 'freaked out' by people with severe mental illnesses is because they don't understand their mental illnesses, and when we humans don't understand something we're usually averse to it. For example, it's easy for someone to be afraid of a person who has auditory hallucinations (hears voices), but once that person learns that auditory hallucinations are just a result of an overactive temporal lobe, it doesn't seem so scary. It almost seems mundane.
Zach Good i
This was amazing to listen to!!
Thanks for the positive feedback!
Thanks so much for posting this video..!! Will start my first position in mental health as a psych. aide very soon
Awesome! I know it'll be a great experience.
so helpful! thank you!!!!
Thanks for the video. I am in a grad program for counseling and I’ve been taught never to refer to someone who is dealing with a substance use disorder as an “addict”-it’s a way of negatively labeling them as their disorder.
Amazing video, very informative thank you
Excellent video. Thank you.
Great video! You seem like such a positive and very cool guy :) Keep up the great work! :))))
thank you so much for sharing
Patience is the key to success.
very helpful, thank you! i just got a job as a MHW and i'm quite nervous, mostly for the 1:1 interactions and safety checks. this video was very eye-opening and gave me a good idea of what a typical shift would be like and how to handle some difficult moments. also thank you for the warning that a MHW might become desensitized to stress and adrenaline- knowing that ahead of time and entering the field being mindful of that will surely lessen the blow of that desensitization. thank you for the tips and stories!
My MHT was just showing me memes on his phone for 8 hours. Pretty cool
15:34 yeah that would scare me haha. Awesome video by the way it’s very interesting.
Thank you for this video! I’m applying to be a peer support specialist. A bit different, but it’s great to hear what it’s like to work in a hospital before I apply
Glad you found value in my video!
Also, I checked out your TH-cam channel (I always do when I see that someone who appears to have a legit account comments or subscribes to my page). Your channel seems like a lot of fun. Your videos are made well and you have the thumbnail game down perfect. Best of luck to you!
Fascinating video! I loved your impersonations/reenactments of your horror story patients... you have a very believable psychotic look in your eyes LOL
When you encounter it enough, you learn the ways quite easily haha
@@ZachGood I came across your video because I will be starting a new position as a psych RN, working with children 5-17yrs old. Do you have any experience or know of anyone working in a pediatric/adolescent inpatient psych unit?
This would be GREAT for anyone to watch whose living with someone with a mental disorder.
I am personally living with depression and severe anxiety disorder, and I have been in that situation with traumatized and psychotic patients. Yet when I got out of the psychotic/mental asylum, my parents STILL didn't understand what was going on inside my heads or what I was stressed over til now.........??.???
I had a little fear about my upcoming job tomorrow. I go to training for a psych tech in a state hospital. I was nervous and felt terrified to start but this makes me feel a bit of comfort. I've been on the opposite side of the psych ward. It's rough either way. The staff that are there make a difference in every little way. Some people don't even realize how big an impact they make others. I feel so much more confident about this new position hearing your stories, advice, etc. I hope I can see people go home from this place and succeed. It would make me so happy to see.
You're going to do well! Your training will be thorough and you'll be given the tools you need.
The best part about the job is the moment when you're thrown into the mix and you basically just transition into a mode where you know what to do. It's hard to describe, but you'll experience it. When we humans are put into challenging situations, we're wired to rise to the occasion. In fact, most of the suffering we experience from challenging situations occurs before the situation, often coming in the form of worrying about what's going to happen.
My best advice for you is to research the common types of mental illnesses you'll be treating so you know the ins and outs of your patient's behaviors. It's so much easier to understand why people do what they do when you understand what kinds of impacts mental illnesses have on people.
Give me an update in a couple weeks to let me know how things are going!
@@ZachGood
I've researched the disorders I'm Working with since I was 15 or 16. When I had been diagnosed with my own struggles I wrapped myself in research. I was surprised that they were dealing with the same thing I was. Explaining that I'd been through all the coping skill classes such as DBT surprised my boss.
I'm so excited to go into the next part of training. It's in a state hospital and most of the clients if not all are either going to a correction facility or coming from one.
Awesome! Your obvious excitement for the job is a sign you're going to do great.
Hello. I am in Venezuela... Things like that are like daily life for so many people here... I think my country may be the biggest place that has people with ALL those problems that you just mentioned... And yes, looking thru your back is a skill you kind of develop over time in situations like this... I like your honesty. I like your stories. I like your passion towards this. God Bless you.
The evening techs are always the best.
Then the night techs show up and all the mood ends.
Thank you, you make us feel wanted
Very intelligent man. Just the sort of person I would trust if I had a crisis xxxx I found it funny you don't like working in the kids' ward. I would have thought kids would love someone nice and funny like you!!!!
Thanks for the compliments. I don't think the kids disliked me, I think it was more that they could tell that working with kids wasn't my jam. Plus, I just can't stand kids in general, so there's that too, haha.
Thank you this was so helpful and funny
what a great video! i am an RN and will start working at a state hospital on tuesday. needless to say the safety aspect bothers me but it seems like an interesting area of nursing
I currently work at psych unit here in California as RN and we pretty much have the same job description man. U deserved to get paid a lot of money for helping these people who needed help. I listened to the whole thing and i haven’t even been working there for a month and im already experiencing that adrenaline stuff and paranoia.
Definitely take time every day to practice some form of relaxation/stress relief. Whether that's meditation, jogging, or reading, build it into your routine. Working at a psychiatric hospital is, by nature, extremely stressful, so you'll need to counteract that.
Zach Good thanks man.. i workout at home every other day and that helps me a lot. It’s busy in a different kind of way compared to my previous job at a nursing home.
It's all about being empathetic without becoming an empath. Caring without taking on others emotions as our own. Y'all are stressed the hell out. I just got out of 72 hour hold and I tried to make y'all staff laugh just as much as the patients, because your job isn't easy and I hope you guys get those brief moments of humor to break it up.
Hospital staff always appreciate good-hearted patients, and humor does indeed help sustain the employees on a regular basis. There were many moments when me and the patients shared a good laugh about something, and that always made the day easier.
That said, sometimes people use humor to avoid facing uncomfortable situations (I know I do, and I'm working on that). So while it's important for patients to find humor in their challenges, it's also important for them to get to the root of those challenges.
I hope your time in the hospital was helpful for you, and I hope you have an effective care strategy that'll bring you closer to wellness (and keep you out of the hospital!).
My husband just became a PNA at the state hospital (psych nurse assistant) and I wanted a better understanding of what that is and I can't attest to how physically draining it is for him. I noticed that his reactions are on high alert all the time lately. Thank you this really helped me better understand what he's going through and how better to help him continue further with the job he's chosen.
My time at the psych hospital fueled some pre-existing anxiety. It's good you and your husband recognize how the job has changed him. He needs to implement regular self-improvement measures (such as daily meditation) - that's something I didn't do at the time but now wish I had.
@@ZachGood his facility requires them to work a 12 hour shift along with the nurses. I could tell the other day was harder than others. Finally he said he had to stand by and watch a female pna get punched in the face and all he could do was restrain the person when his instinct was to protect. I told him he did exactly that because these people are not aware that they are hurting Innocents they feel they are the victim. He's such a compassionate person and I Know this is a challenge. His hardest day was he was In the adolescent ward and he loves that ward but his primary ward is elder Care. He said it was like summer camp he got along great with the kids. However the following day he was called back and his favorite kid he had to restrain and it broke his heart because to hold a child down went against what he knows. We are currently looking into what his interests are so he can find a good way to release the negative energy that envelopes him after 12 hours.
I understand. It's a difficult job mentally (and, sometimes, physically) and he'll need time to adjust. In that job, people need to have a bit of emotional distance because otherwise you get burned out. You need to care about everyone, but not get attached to anyone. People in a psych hospital are going through turbulent times and one minute they might be so laid back and happy and the next minute they're punching staff. Have to internally respond to patient behavior objectively and un-emotionally. Hard skills to master, but they should come with time.
very informative!
Thanks for watching, and glad you found value in it!
I work in a forensic psych ward in Sweden as a health technician and I watched your video for the first time maybe half a year ago and while I was a work the other day I remembered something you said in regards to restraining patients, how I've gone from being nervous and anxious about doing it, to becoming completely eager, excited or just feeling "alive" as you stated it. It's taken me about a year to have this change in attitude and remembered you stating something similar. I've also found this to be difficult to talk to my colleagues about even thought I feel most of them feel the same. Otherwise, I completely agree with everything you've said in regards of the job. Not many people are too keen to talk about the job on TH-cam from the staffs' perspective.
Any job impacts a person's behavior and outlook, but this kind of job is especially impactful. It's really important to practice daily self-care. What kinds of self-care do you practice?
@@ZachGood Activities that increase my own mental health I suppose; such as exercise, sleeping well, eating right food and occasionally watching cat memes on Reddit. Basically doing things I enjoy. Another thing that comes to mind is trying to separate my private life from work, albeit difficult.
Is there anything that you did in particular that you've found useful?
Meditating and being positive about things. That job requires unlimited empathy and patience, and meditating and positive helps prepare for it.
Im so happy i watched this.. thank you so much! Im okay with everything but a little scared of getting hit in the head with a Sock apple lol 😆
Great helpful info, thank you! Another importat point I like to add is that if you decide to work in the psychiatric field, especially around suicidal and chronically mental-health issues, you must possess a highly strong mental stability as well as perseverence with a deep compassion and empathy towards understanding these odd human minds in order to be fully switched on and alerted for the worse dangerous event that may arise ..and I would recommend that you start discipline yourself into a daily morning exercise routine before encountering the events ahead You only need 30min exercise to your comfort to boost some dopamine, and to normalise stress-related chemicals in your brains creatiung a positive mindset to deal with nasty surprises coming up... I was just wandering what level of coaching/admin/people skills or qualification is the minimum in Australia to do this work? i realised this video is old a year ago but I ask anyway
Thank you for making such a comprehensive video on a topic that's difficult to find information on. I know you mentioned that you rarely got to see the psychiatrists unless you had a morning shift, but I would still love to hear about your perspective on psychiatrists in general. Whether that be advice, or good practices, or things to avoid, or things that bothered you about the psychiatrists. Any insight would be great! Thanks again!
Glad my video provided you with some insight.
First, I think it's important to keep in mind that psychiatrists are medical doctors (MDs) that specialize in the human brain. Their primary function is to identify and treat mental illnesses. While they listen to a client's needs and seek to understand their emotional stability and stressors, they don't provide talk therapy like counselors or other mental health professionals.
I think the greatest challenge facing psychiatrists who work in psychiatric hospitals is they're forced to complete a large amount of work in a small window of time. Every patient in a psychiatric hospital is required to be seen by a psychiatrist each day. It's similar to a general MD performing rounds in a certain wing of a hospital. The challenge for a psychiatrist is to touch base with each patient in a manner that permits them to determine how the patient is progressing without getting so deep into conversation with the patient that they fall behind. Psychiatrists working in psychiatric hospitals are also constrained by the fact that they have difficulty interacting with a significant percentage of their patients due to the symptoms of each patient's mental illness. For example, some common schizophrenia symptoms are alogia (poverty of speech) and thought blocking (when a patient loses their train of thought and stops talking for an extended period of time). Some schizophrenia patients can exhibit a symptom called "word salad" which occurs when the patient says words that have no logical connection. You could ask them how they're feeling and they'd respond, "Spaghetti dad outside." What the patient really meant to say was "The cafeteria served spaghetti today and it was really good. It was almost as good as the spaghetti my dad used to make growing up. Then we got to go outside and enjoy the nice weather." In conjunction, psychiatric hospitals frequently treat patients with bipolar disorder who are in manic episodes, and they can have a symptom called "flight of ideas" where they talk uninterrupted for minutes at a time, jumping around from one subject to the next. The psychiatrist could ask them how they're feeling and they'll respond, "It rained yesterday. Water is in the ocean. The ocean is deep. Could I swim across the Atlantic Ocean? My friend went to Europe last year. Switzerland has lots of mountains. I've never been skiing. Did you watch the X Games last week?" These sorts of symptoms present significant communication challenges for psychiatrists.
In summation, psychiatrists do incredible work under tough circumstances. They sometimes get a bad rep because people confuse their duties with the duties of counselors/therapists/social workers. Psychiatrists manage a patient's medication while counselors/therapists/social workers talk with patients about traumatic experiences and things of that nature, but some people are under the impression that psychiatrists should be providing talk therapy. Also, since many psychiatric treatments are still rudimentary in nature (in other words, we humans have a general understanding of what causes mental illnesses but we still don't have definitive answers or cures), psychiatry is still in its infancy in relation to other medical specialties, and as a result, people sometimes speak badly of psychiatrists simply because they're frustrated about the limitations caused by our still-growing knowledge of the human brain.
Thank you for the reply! I appreciate the explanations and sentiment regarding the field of psychiatry in general being in its infancy - which consequently is part of the reason I am so interested in the field. I am actually a medical student applying for psychiatry residency programs this year; as a medical student I only had 2 weeks in an inpatient psychiatric unit, which was not enough to learn about the rolls of all mental health professionals involved - that is why I especially found your video helpful. Thanks again. I guess I did forget to be more specific with my question - do you have any suggestions for someone going into the field of psychiatry? I know that is very vague, but maybe 1 or 2 things you think I should try to do next year.
Hmm...suggestions for someone going into the field of psychiatry...I can't think of any simply because that's a highly specialized position that I have no direct experience in. I guess my only feedback would be that if psychiatry is something that interests you, go for it!
If I could click my fingers and learn a set of skills, I think it'd be psychiatry or neuroscience. The brain is such an interesting topic and we humans have immense ground to cover before we create definitive treatments for various mental illnesses. I'm sure someday we'll look back on current psychiatric treatment as being almost like the dark ages of physical medicine when we'd use leeches on people.
Hi. I know this is an old video but I thought I would tell you/add that it’s important to understand eating disorders as well. I had an ED and have been in psychiatric hospitals that don’t understand that part and I was able to get away with sooooo many things that the staff didn’t know about or care about at all. They were hurtful for my recovery.
It’s something that’s overlooked so much and it’s a huge disservice to those patients and a very dangerous thing.
I also should add that I told them during intake that I had that diagnosis.
Good point. I think that a responsible psychiatric hospital would understand and be able to effectively treat an ED, but it depends. I worked with patients with EDs and the staff was extremely attentive to potential trouble behaviors. For example, when we had a patient who had a history of purging after eating, we'd make a point of doing something outside immediately after dinner so as to prevent them from having the ability to purge. But again, it depends on the hospital and the quality of staff. Thanks again for raising this point.
I'm outside US, in a city but they didn't believe me.
I have genetic disturbances, ASD/LD/ADHD, possible tourettes, memory issues, MH and hormonal d/o.
Ive been admitted for depression and "psychosis" but they said adjustment d/o.
They admitted me for dx clarification a third time but they didn't believe me
Didnt know anything about ASD plus "psychosis" or hormonal stuff.
The hospital can't treat hormonal disorders either.
I had to actually battle against the psych for my freedom because he threatened me.
The rest of hospital experience was awesome; most providers horrible.
Another problem outside hospital if ur alone, there's no way they know you have anything wrong because lying on a bed presents no barriers.
Say "don't feel anything", "I'm a shell", sleep shifted, feel sick, etc.
The providers are clueless because specificity isn't there.
Right now I'm experiencing new tremors, new muteness and its possible I have delirium and/or catatonic autism.
28:10
So what if they are not clear or confused don't know what treatment they need, where do they go..?
Thanks so much Zach!! This was fascinating to learn about. I am a recently Retired police officer and have applied to a Forensic Security Assistant job in Michigan. I know there is a process to go through for that specific job but the technician aspect is probably very similar. Your thoughts please. I know all about that condition yellow of alertness as we in L.E. consider this. Sincere respect for your selfless courage in this field. I have been sober since 2003, so I can relate to your sharing a little here as your spoke when you were younger. Thanks again. Peace !
Such a great video, I have an interview for mental health tech .. thank you
Good video brother
Note to self: Don’t watch the part of the scariest experience he’s had at 2:00 am ( I start Monday the 8th)
I just got hired on as a tech while I work on my masters in counseling psych and this is awesome information to have
Enjoy! Hope your journey goes well and you help lots of people.
@@ZachGood Thanks!
I was kind of embrassed to ask you that😌 For yrs that's been my fear. Thanks😊
I’m a psych nurse, I find it completely unethical that hospitals just expect abuse from pts... we tolerate way too much.
I agree. I work in the mental health field, I have my cons about a few things, we as the workers are important and should be respected.
I just discovered your chanel. I like you already. (but not in a creepy way)
I'm interested in a topic about the difference between MDD with psychosis and other forms of psychosis. (and delusions)
Thank you for explaining your experience with all of us. Anyone with any mental health connection be it as a patient, friends, family, health care worker, or the curious can learn something from watching your vids.
That was incredibly interesting! I’m fascinated by the conditions of the human brain and I’m drawn to videos such as yours, but I’m also very fearful of people who are not thinking clearly. I’m really ashamed to even admit that, as I completely understand their situations are not of their own doing and I feel empathy along with my fear...still, while I DID watch the entire video and enjoyed it very much, the field is not for me. I have two post scripts: 1) you are a very captivating speaker, and 2) I thank God that there are people like you who take on this challenging type of work!
I can understand your fears about interacting with people who are experiencing severe psychiatric episodes, and I don't think you should be ashamed about having those kinds of thoughts. I think it's natural to feel that way. People experiencing psychosis are functioning in a manner that is fundamentally different that typical human behavior (I say 'typical', not 'normal', because normal is a judgment that implies good/bad). One of the things that helped me overcome that fear was learning more about the causes and symptoms of some of the more complicated mental illnesses, like schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar mania. Essentially, when someone is in the throes of a psychiatric episode due to one of those illnesses, their brains are either operating at way too high of a level or way too low of a level. Either way, their behavior is just an outward expression of an impaired biological process occurring in their brains. In addition, 99% of the time people experience such psychiatric episodes, they're either on top of the world (feeling euphoria) or really, really scared/anxious/worried. I've worked with a couple thousand people who were in the midst of perhaps the worst psychiatric episodes they'd ever faced in their lives, and only one time was I physically harmed by one of them - and even that situation was a rare case of someone who had schizoaffective disorder on top of a traumatic brain injury sustained during military combat. My point being, there is reason to be cautious around people experiencing severe psychiatric episodes, but there is little to fear. You're much more likely to get hurt or attacked by being in a bar around a bunch of drunk/high people. But again, your choice to not want to work with people experiencing psychosis is completely reasonable and not something you should feel guilty about. That kind of work isn't for everyone - and even for the people who want to do it (like me), it's often not a sustainable long-term career choice because it is so incredibly emotionally and mentally demanding. I lasted seven months before I had to step away, and the work environment left me with some anxiety I'm still recovering from more than a year later.
Thanks so much for your compliments, and I'm glad my video delivered some value for you!