Jenna Denley is an Inspire Foundation Youth Ambassador and
Research Study Champion. She is also a Student Paramedic in
her final weeks of university.
Having recently returned from 5 weeks in the USA
completing a clinical placement in Minnesota with Gold Cross
Ambulance, I have been left to ponder a few similarities and
differences in the way that young people are treated and perceived
in the health system when suffering from a mental health
issue.
My first shift in Rochester, Minnesota presented me
with 2 mental health cases, both young women under the age of 25.
This shift set the scenario for the rest of my placement, with all
bar 2 of the psych cases we were called to being for young women
under the age of 25. The psychology of young people and mental
illness is still the same on the other side of the world, young
women are more likely to engage in help-seeking behaviours and
methods of self-harming behaviours are almost identical to those
here
in Australia.
One thing that stood out as being dramatically
different was just how many young people fly 'under the radar' so
to speak. In Minnesota, if a young person is admitted, they can
only be held for 72 hours before being released into the care of
their guardian or before being admitted to a residential treatment
facility, a very expensive option in a country where many people do
not have access to, or are ineligible for private
health care. After talking to one of my patients'
guardians, they stated that it was easier financially for them to
take full care themselves rather than seeking support from
professionals.
From my experiences with the Australian system I
know that there is a lot more to be done in making the system more
friendly for young people. My experiences in Minnesota taught me
much more about the struggles that the population suffering from
mental illness in the USA face in accessing care and the major
stigma barrier that is still there in the US, one that is beginning
to be broken down here in Australia. That there is next to no
support for young people suffering from a mental illness and that
health
care professionals are fighting hard for changes to
the health care system as a whole, particularly in the area of
mental health.
I guess the main thing I took away from all of this
is the need to continue fighting for better, more accessible
services. The need for clear training packages for health care
professionals, the need for us to continue breaking through the
stigma barrier and the need to make sure that everyone involved in
a patient's care is up-to-date with treatment plans, care plans
etc.
Having recently returned from 5 weeks in the USA completing a
clinical placement in Minnesota with Gold Cross Ambulance, I have
been left to ponder a few similarities and differences in the way
that young people are treated and perceived in the health system
when suffering from a mental health issue.
My first shift in Rochester, Minnesota presented me with 2
mental health cases, both young women under the age of 25. This
shift set the scenario for the rest of my placement, with all bar 2
of the psych cases we were called to being for young women under
the age of 25. The psychology of young people and mental illness is
still the same on the other side of the world, young women are more
likely to engage in help-seeking behaviours and methods of
self-harming behaviours are almost identical to those here in
Australia.
One thing that stood out as being dramatically different was
just how many young people fly 'under the radar' so to speak. In
Minnesota, if a young person is admitted, they can only be held for
72 hours before being released into the care of their guardian or
before being admitted to a residential treatment facility, a very
expensive option in a country where many people do not have access
to, or are ineligible for private health care. After talking
to one of my patients' guardians, they stated that it was easier
financially for them to take full care themselves rather than
seeking support from professionals.
From my experiences with the Australian system I know that there
is a lot more to be done in making the system more friendly for
young people. My experiences in Minnesota taught me much more about
the struggles that the population suffering from mental illness in
the USA face in accessing care and the major stigma barrier that is
still there in the US, one that is beginning to be broken down here
in Australia. That there is next to no support for young people
suffering from a mental illness and that health care
professionals are fighting hard for changes to the health care
system as a whole, particularly in the area of mental health.
I guess the main thing I took away from all of this is the need
to continue fighting for better, more accessible services. The need
for clear training packages for health care professionals, the need
for us to continue breaking through the stigma barrier and the need
to make sure that everyone involved in a patient's care is
up-to-date with treatment plans, care plans etc.