Ben Omizzolo – Assistant Principal, Whittlesea Secondary College: So we're a school of about 720 students. Like all high schools, we have a complex range of student needs here at the school when it comes to mental health and wellbeing. So we found that having Tania, with her professional background as a Nurse, and being able to bring those skills into our wellbeing team, and having that professional background, has been able to positively influence our students, and also help support our team when support is needed with dealing with these students.
Tania Pyle – Mental Health Practitioner, Whittlesea Secondary College: My name's Tania Pyle. I'm a Registered Nurse with a specialisation in mental health, and I'm working at Whittlesea Secondary College four days a week. What attracted me to the role as Mental Health Practitioner was a significant need for early identification and early intervention. And just the fact that I love working with young people. I have three daughters of my own. I've been involved in lots of community sports programs with my children.
Young people have got amazing stories to tell, and I think that it's really important for them to be able to be heard and have that voice.
Malinda Ballie – Mental Health Coordinator, North Eastern Melbourne Area The MHPs work along the multi-tiered system of support framework. That means that they are able to support schools universally. And that means that they might promote, to the whole school community, positive aspects about mental health. They might provide psychoeducation around mental health. They can also build staff capacity in schools. And that would mean that there's a common language being used across the schools when it comes to talking about mental health, which is wonderful, and also targeted group work for young people.
Tania Pyle: My skills as a Registered Nurse with a mental health specialisation allows me to bring in experience of communication, early identification and intervention with mental health. I'm still working one day a week within the acute sector. So, it still allows me to develop my own skill set, and bring that into the school setting, and help with the wellbeing team as well, teaching them about the processes of identification and communication.
Ben Omizzolo: With mental health, there is no one size fits all. So having our Mental Health Practitioner here on site at the school allows us to have that further support for those students, as well as consultation for staff in the areas of mental health. So being able to have that extra support member in our team in wellbeing, and being able to consult with them on a daily basis with the needs for young people has been really positive for our wellbeing team.
Tania Pyle: My role involves working with students, on a one-on-one basis, who present with mild to moderate mental health related issues. I'm also working with the teaching cohort in helping them to identify anything that may present within the students that they're teaching.
And I think it's really important too to have that community and family connection, and raising awareness around mental health, youth mental health. We have activity days which I'm strongly involved with as well.
Ben Omizzolo: There's been two main areas that our Mental Health Practitioner has really promoted here at the school. And that's overall health promotion here at the college, especially with mental health, and also breaking the stigma of being able to access wellbeing and wellbeing support, particularly in the mental health area, here at the college.
Harmony - Student: Actually having someone there who can talk to you just about mental health means that we kind of take more notice at it and we actually look at our mental health, and actually make sure that we are okay. And by having someone specifically for that, they also know how to help us in the best way possible.
Will - Student: Having someone just to talk to and rely on, and having awareness days and mental health promotion, or students just being able to know that they have someone to talk to. They know there's always an option there.
Harmony: I think we've definitely become more of a community. Like just having all these supports in place makes you feel kind of more together, and that, again, you're not alone.
Tania Pyle: So, for any nurses or anyone that's considering to apply for the Mental Health Practitioner role, there is more to nursing than inside the four walls of hospital. There's so many opportunities that are out there. Also, I'd say that it gives you a really good sense of work-life balance, great community connections through community engagement programs, doctors, and other external services.
There's great relationships that you can build with young people and staff. Know you can walk along, and the kids will say hello to you. And you know, they certainly challenge you at times, but I just like working with young people.
Updated