There is a range of existing resources available to make clinical education in the mental health setting a success including training for the educator, training for the student, practical hints and formal guidelines. This is a start on what is currently available:
Clinical supervision support across contexts
This journal article reports on the experiences with using an online learning module for supervising students in the mental health setting, including evidence based recommendations and videos to assist with your learning. Note that the focus of this module is acute illness in an inpatient setting.
Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services, as part of the Queensland Plan for Mental Health 2007 – 2017
For overarching principles of supervising Allied Health clinicians in the Mental Health setting, Queensland Health (2009) completed the Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services as part of the Queensland Plan for Mental Health 2007 – 2017. The Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services provides a standardised, generic and flexible statewide approach to clinical supervision for all mental health professionals involved in mental health service delivery. Some of the information in the staff based guidelines can be adapted to the student context but an awareness that fundamentally this resource is aimed at a qualified staff level is also necessary.
Supervisor’s toolkit for Mental Health practitioners
The Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning (2008) also compiled a supervisor’s toolkit for Mental Health practitioners. This kit has a comprehensive collection of self-administered scales that can be used to assess readiness for supervision, evaluation of supervisor, supervisee and the supervision itself. Suggested templates for supervision agreements and agendas are also included. Though predominantly for the supervision of clinicians and not students, it may be a good place to start for self-evaluation with respect to your own skills and needs prior to taking on a student.
Reflection Activity
Consider your own practice. What resources does your workplace provide? What strategies do you have to support a student in the workplace? What might you need to improve your clinical education experience? Make a list prior to commencing a placement. Ask your colleagues what they think that your workplace can offer. Are there any available University based training sessions to help you up skill prior to placement commencing?
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Some additional considerations specific to mental health as suggested by mental health practitioners, are featured in the topics below.
References
Clinical Supervision Guidelines for Mental Health Services (2009), Retrieved from Queensland Health: https://www.health.qld.gov.au/qcmhl/supervision_res
Queensland Centre for Mental Health Learning (2008). Supervision Training 2008 - Supervisor Toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.health.qld.gov.au/qcmhl/Supervision/SuperTool.pdf
Topics
Providing Feedback In The Mental Health Setting
Specific considerations when providing feedback in the...
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