Interview with Michelle Blanchard, Head of Projects
and Partnerships, Young and Well CRC
Everywhere we look these days, young people seem to becoming more
and more engaged in the use of technology. There are social
networking sites such as Facebook, entertainment sites such as
Youtube, and school and university research seems to be done
primarily online. If this engagement with technology can be
utilised within the youth mental health workforce, we may be
able to increase the mental health wellbeing of young people.
There are many benefits to using technology in the youth mental
health workforce, not least that it is extremely cost effective.
Head of Projects and Partnerships for the Young and Well CRC
Michelle Blanchard talks of the $10 billion spent on untreated
mental illness and $17.5 billion spent on suicide each year,
with "large amounts of money spent on treating mental ill-health
and the costs of not treating mental health". By utilising
technology, we are able to disseminate interventions to larger
groups of people and introduce stepped care, or low-intensity
intervention during the early stages of mental health problems. If
there is no difference after utilising these, more intensive
assistance can be given if required. There is also an appeal for
young people in the confidentiality afforded online if they are not
yet comfortable speaking to someone face-to-face about their
problems.
In saying this, though, we need to understand the unique
experience of groups that may not have easy access to technology.
Blanchard tells of the young people involved in the Inspire
Foundationʼs (where Blanchard previously worked as Senior Research
Officer) 2006 Bridging the Digital Divide study. These young people
came from backgrounds of drug and alcohol abuse, homelessness
and refugees, overestimated their use of technology. For many of
these young people, challenges could be something that seems simple
to us, like setting up an email address, because of literacy
problems, and Blanchard places an importance on evaluating "the
capacity for young people to access different technology". So too
do we need to look at barriers stopping the youth health workforce
from using technology, such as infrastructure (bad internet
connections, computers without USB ports and similar) and bans on
using the internet during work hours and on sending emails and SMS
to clients.
The CRC, led by the Inspire Foundation, will develop "tech-savvy
tools to support the wellbeing of our young Australians". Blanchard
is no stranger to this area, with her PhD study focused on
understanding the use of information communication technologies by
the youth health workforce to improve young people's mental health
and wellbeing. Blanchard chose this topic after working on the
Bridging the Digital Divide report. "There was a disconnect
between young people and how professionals perceived young peoplesʼ
experience," says Blanchard, who saw that the need for youth health
workers to better understand how young people engage in technology
was not being responded to. In her research, Blanchard looked at
previously collected data from the Inspire Foundation and designed
research based on methods previously used and what was appropriate
to research in this sector. Online diaries, for instance, were not
as successful, as "the youth health workforce are very time
poor".
Find out more about the Young and
Well CRC: http://youngandwellcrc.org.au/
Blanchard also engaged with thought leaders in the field, such as
Pat McGorry, Helen Christiensen, Ian Hickie and others, whose work
is very influential in terms of mental health and wellbeing.
Blanchard found that "there is a disconnect between the workers,
who are really enthusiastic about implementing new technology, and
the thought leaders, who are enthusiastic about technology,
and the middle management who are apprehensive about using
it." These apprehensions, such as concerns about young peoplesʼ
safety online, particularly in regard to cyber bullying, and duty
of care if using technology in practices - for example, what if a
client sends their counsellor an SMS at three A.M.? Is it then
their duty of care to respond to this immediately? - are not
necessarily unfounded, says Blanchard.
"Some of these concerns are founded, and young people do
experience crises outside of office hours." However, "research has
shown that that cyber bullying affects 14 to 19 per cent of young
people, whereas the statistics for face to face bullying are
significantly higher", so this must be viewed in context. So too can
steps be taken to minimise risk for workers being held responsible
for their clients outside of office hours, with auto-reply messages
on email and SMS letting the client know places they can call to
get help such as Lifeline or Kids Help Line.
So if we are to start implementing technology in the workplace,
where to start? Blanchard has some introductory suggestions. "Make
use of online resources such as ReachOut Pro and Beacon; these are
a good starting point if you are looking to increase use of
technology". She also advises speaking to young people about what
technology they find useful. "Facebook can be used to do
assessments, and this can be as simple as looking at their
Facebook profile with the young person and saying ʻThis person posts
on your wall a lot, can you tell me about your relationship?ʼ".
Interactive online resources can also be used, such as MoodGym,
eCouch and Reach Out Central, to provide some assistance between
appointments that can be followed up in subsequent meetings with
the young person.
Stay in touch with the Young and Well
CRC:
Website http://youngandwellcrc.org.au
Facebook http://facebook.com/yawcrc
Twitter http://twitter.com/yawcrc
Online resources mentioned in this
article: