What Do Mental Health Workers Do?

What do they do? They try and help you with any problems you have, everyday life and/or mental health problems (depresion, etc…)

What sort of things do they do/ask to help me with my problems? They will talk to you about it, they’ll ask how things are going in school, at home, if you’re in a relationship then how that’s going, jus basically probe around to see if you’re having any problems. See if you have symptoms of any mental health problems, they’ll ask if you’re sleeping, eating ok. Etc etc…

and do they work? Yes, sometimes just talking to a neutral third part can help, or they can help you come up with a solution to whatever problem you are having. You have to be honest though and willing to cooperate for them to be able to help you.

Do they have to tell my mum/doctor about what is going on? This is a tricky one. Im assuming you’re under 18, and I really should find out what the reporting protocols are if you’re underage, but as far as I know, your information should be kept confidential unless you’re suicidal or homocidal. The best way to find out is to ask whether what you say will be kept confidential and when s/he is allowed to break confidentiality. They can be good at avoiding this question so if the response is “is there something you dont want me to tell anyone” or “is there something you need to talk about” dont say yes or no, just repeat the question and tell them that you would like to know under what situations they can break confidentiality. If they say it depends, ask them for hypotheticals…

Dont be nervous. You only have to tell them what you want to tell them. They really are there to help. If something is wrong, you may want to take advantage of that.