Ian,
 
Your analysis of this issue is very clear and sensible, and I concur that the need for awareness training in mental health is educational and other contexts is pressing.  One small point though - people with manic depression / bipolar mood disorder do very frequently experience degrees of highs and lows even when using medication (typically lithium) and when accessing mental health professionals regularly to monitor treatment levels.  The point is that the degree of mood swing is manageable with medication rather than removed altogether (I have some degree of personal insight into this, for what that's worth).
 
Best, Joel

________________________________

From: Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff. on behalf of Ian F.
Sent: Tue 01/03/2005 04:35
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: Mental Health issue



Recent debate here suggests people are still a bit unsure about dealing with
students with mental health problems. Some awareness training would be
useful.

In this case:
- The student has divulged his mental health difficulty to you. That's a
positive step as many other students don't reveal this information for fear
of discrimination. This student is worried he will be discriminated against
or treated differently on placement.

- There may be several other students going on placement who have mental
health problems but have not disclosed them. How would they deal with a
student who presented similar symptoms but was not diagnosed?

- If the student is diagnosed as 'bi-polar' he should be receiving
treatment. He should not be going through degrees of 'highs and lows' that
cause you to be concerned about his well-being either now or on placement.
Is he aware of his behaviour during these 'highs and lows'? If you are
worried about the student now, you should ask him to go and see his
psychiatrist. Maybe he needs to review his treatment. Why is his behaviour
acceptable now but might not be on placement?

If you think the student might pose a risk to himself or others you can seek
immediate advice from the head of the college counselling or student
services without breaching confidentiality rules.

If the student isn't an obvious risk to himself or others, he should be
allowed to go on placement without revealing his diagnosis of mental health
problems. The student should be advised to discus his placement with his
psychiatrist - maybe local mental health support can then be provided.

The student should be asked to consider how his behaviour might affect his
placement. If he accepts his behaviour might be difficult to accept at
times, he should be advised that his placement supervisor will not be able
to provide adequate support or take his needs into account without prior
warning.

I think the final decision should be reached by the student and his
psychiatrist and/or a trusted senior counsellor.

Ian Francis



----- Original Message -----
From: "Anna Jackson" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, February 28, 2005 10:05 AM
Subject: Mental Health issue


> Hi - I wonder if you can help me please ?
>
> I am a freelance Disability Consultant and have been approached by a
> College in England about one of their students.
>
> They are diagnosed as Bi-Polar and seems to  go quite regularly through
> highs and lows , and are due to go on a work placement. They want to go
> abroad but is does not sound like it is to an educational establishment.
>
> He is reluctant to divulge his diagnosis to the people he is due to go on
> placement to.
>
> The College are worried about how they make sure they can provide the
> support he may need if he goes abroad and becomes unwell, especially if
> the host abroad does not know about his condition ??
>
> Couple of questions really
>
> 1) has anyone come across this before - I guess someone out there will
> have !!
> 2) Can the College refuse to let him go if they are not happy that he will
> get the correct care out there should he need it ? especially if he will
> not divulge his condition.
> 3) Basically what should they do next ??
>
>
> Thanks, appreciate any assistance you can give me, feel free to reply off
> list if that helps
>
> A Jackson 'Awareness Matters'
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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