why i work in mental health 🏥

hello all 🍋

tonight as i get off of work, i wanted to talk to you a little bit about my job and why i do it!

i am a mental health technician (mht) working in my city’s main psychiatric inpatient hospital. being an mht, i help run the units by facilitating/leading group therapies, bringing patients to meals, the downstairs gym, visitations, and doing so much more 1:1 work with different individuals. i provide coping mechanisms and skills for patients to use, as well as de-escalate situations and keep the unit clean and positive. i mainly am a child/adolescent staff member, but i am trained to work with all ages/units no matter the acuity.

i first chose to work at my hospital almost three years ago because i am a psychology major in college, so working so closely with people in an inpatient facility gives me great experience and it is very helpful for my resumé and applying for master’s programs. after graduating that, i plan to move forward and get my ph.d in psychology and be a clinical psychologist.

i grew a passion for this at a very young age. at my middle and high school, i experienced many different aspects of mental health. whether it was my own struggles that i felt would never pass, or losing others who lost that battle and chose the permanent solution over a more-than-likely temporary issue. seeing so many of my peers around me deal with such harsh things and not know how to process it led our communities to their loss. and it breaks my heart thinking of all the young folks in my life who i’ve known and now lost, who should be the same age as me by now, crossing their college’s graduation stage this coming spring, etc.

when covid-19 hit, that is when my true love for helping others especially kicked in. i became a person that a lot of my friends would come to for comfort, ranting, advice, and more, and i am always so happy to just listen. after the main height of the pandemic passed and i graduated high school in 2021, i decided firmly that not only was psychology going to be my major, but that i wanted to actively make a difference WHILE gaining experience.

i am thankful for all my kiddos at work who are so thoughtful, kind, and patient. as tough as it might be on occasion, someone telling me “you’re my favorite tech”, or “what you said really clicked for me today, thank you”, or even asking me “are you coming back tomorrow?”… those little things make it so worth it.

i will always advocate for mental health, and fight to break the stigma! 🤍

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