Mental Health

< Back

The mental health program comprises a number of clinical facilities and services throughout the catchment area including Berwickwide, Dandenong, Cranbourne, Monash Link, and Cockatoo Community Health Centres. In addition, we offer specialist & consultation services at a state wide and interstate level as well as advanced post graduate educational programmes that are run in conjunction with a number of leading universities. The Mental Health Program is part of the Department of Human Services, Southern Metropolitan Region. 

Mental Health Nursing is an exciting and challenging career choice for those nurses who wish to treat and care for people who experience a mental illness. Mental Health Nurses offer a range of clinical interventions aimed at promoting the individuals wellbeing, aiding them in their recovery from illness and enhancing their capacity to participate in community life.

At Southern Health, Mental Health nurses are highly valued and can work in a broad range of clinical settings including acute in-patient units, residential and non-residential rehabilitation programs, community based teams including crisis intervention, emergency departments, training and education and the private sector. They can also work with all age groups including mother and baby, adolescent, adult and older people.

Southern Health Mental Health Programme welcomes mental health nurses in all clinical programmes and is therefore able to provide opportunities to develop clinical skills in individual counselling, psychosocial group work, consultation liaison activities, family therapy, consumer and carer engagement. Nurses are encouraged to develop leadership and management skills and are well represented in senior positions within the programme.

How do I become a Mental Health Nurse?

After completing a Bachelor of Nursing degree, registered nurses (Division 1) wishing to work as a Mental Health Nurse can apply to Southern Health for employment. Nurses employed at Southern Health are encouraged and supported to undertake a specialist graduate year program in Mental Health Nursing & a postgraduate course in Mental Health Nursing.

The PRECEPT team (Mental Health Nurse Practice Development and Training Team) offers a comprehensive professional development program for all Mental Health Nurses within Southern Health. Precept offers individual support to Mental Health nurses who are undertaking further education and ample ongoing study leave is available to support nurses in achieving their professional goals. Registered nurses (division 2) wishing to work in mental health at Southern Health are encouraged to complete the post basic module in mental health nursing. Exciting opportunities await at Southern Health for registered nurses (div 2) that wish to pursue a career in mental health.
For more information contact:   Precept@southernhealth.org.au

Adult Psychiatry Inpatient Services:  Monash Medical Centre, Clayton

P Block provides voluntary and involuntary short-term inpatient management and treatment during an acute phase of mental illness, until the person has recovered enough to be treated effectively and safely in the community. People admitted to the unit from the community are usually assessed by a CAT service to see if a less restrictive option is possible.  PSU provides specialist inpatient services for the admission of mothers with a mental illness with their baby and for people with eating disorder.   Both units are semi-detached with their own defined staffing profiles.  They share staff facilities, consumables and fiscal resources and are located within the acute general hospital.
Adult specialist mental health services are aimed primarily at people with serious mental illness or mental disorder who have associated significant levels of disturbance and psychosocial disability due to their illness or disorder. Commonly these will be people with a diagnosis of a major mental illness, such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, but will also include some people with other conditions such as severe personality disorder, severe anxiety disorder, or those who present in situational crisis that may lead to self-harm or inappropriate behaviour towards others.
The distinguishing factor is the level of severity of the disturbance and impairment. Increasingly, adult mental health service consumers have more than one disorder, with drug and alcohol related disorders (dual diagnosis) being most prevalent.
For general information on how mental health services operate in Victoria an orientation manual for new workers provides an overview of services, issues in mental health and skills required for workers is available on the following link:
 http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth/publications/intro-mhservices.pdf
 
Check out the Victorian Government website for more information about Victorian Mental Health Services:             http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealth

 

Stepping Stones:  Monash Medical Centre, Clayton
            .            
Stepping Stones is an acute in patient unit for adolescents aged 12 – 18 years who are experiencing severe mental health difficulties. Stepping Stones provides residential milieu therapy and utilises a multi disciplinary approach to assess and treat young people and their families or carers. Stepping Stones provides a broad variety of treatment modalities. The Transition Program is a partial hospitalisation program that operates on weekdays; it is a community based program incorporated into Stepping Stones and shares the group program provided to patients. The Transition Program is for young people who do not require 24 hour care in patient care.

Stepping Stones Adolescent Unit is designed around a central garden courtyard, consisting of a residential area, high dependency unit, school building and a gym with indoor pool. We provide acute in-patient care, comprehensive assessment and treatment service to the south eastern metropolitan region extending to Gippsland. Our multidisciplinary team provide an excellent service and we work closely with our community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service counterparts. 

Ward E - Adult Mental Health:  Casey Hospital

Ward E is an acute psychiatric inpatient unit for adults ranging from 16 to 65 yrs. The most prevalent disorders being schizophrenia, psychosis, bipolar affective disorder, major depression and personality disorders. The outlay of the unit is conducive to team work and efficiency.  The unit has a resource and meeting room available for regular meetings and the unit based in services.

There is a strong multidisciplinary approach and close liaisons with the community teams. There is an emphasis on the complete patient journey incorporating family and carer involvement. Patients/Families and their carers are empowered to participate in the individual care delivered to them.  Participation with care takes place during clinical reviews and family meetings with Medical and Nursing staff and members of the Allied Health and community teams.  Clinical and operational issues are formally addressed by the team in regular minuted business and nurse’s meetings.

Ward E works closely with and is guided by the Southern Health Mental Health Program. We are also proud of our close connection and good working relationship with the rest of the Casey Hospital.

 

Child and Adolescent Mental Health:  Dandenong Hospital
Adolescent Recovery Centre:   Dandenong Hospital

The Adolescent Recovery Centre (ARC) is a group therapy day program for adolescents (12-18) with a mental illness. Referrals are drawn from CAMHS clients and once accepted into the program they attend for one term with a view to returning to school or other vocational setting. The young people are usually recovering from or learning to cope with a mental illness whilst participating in the program, however some young people come for assessment alone rather than going to the inpatient unit, if suitable.  An individual plan is designed by ARC key worker in collaboration with the young person, their parent or carer and their case manager, to ensure that their treatment needs are meet by the program in a coordinated and appropriate manner.

The group program is flexible to the needs of the young people and the program is reviewed and evaluated frequently.  ARC provides education to the young person about their illness and medication and works with specific CAMHS education staff on returning the young person to school but we do not provide any secondary education.  ARC staff are able at the end of the term to offer the Case Manager some recommendations for the management of the young person in an educational setting and some assistance in appropriate educational placements.  The Case Manager remains involved throughout the placement offering individual therapy family therapy and parental education and support as is required. This ensures a seamless service too the client.

ARC is a house in Dandenong that has been renovated to run a day program and it has been operating since 1999. The staff are trained to prevent and manage aggression, with safety as a priority for all staff. ARC is part of a wider service which is CAMHS and will access an inpatient unit bed for a young person if it is required.  In all this time the feedback from parents, participants and case managers in CAMHS and DHS is that the young people enjoy the program and most sustain some improvement in their mental health and general social functioning.

The ARC staff are supported by a weekly clinical meeting run by a consultant psychiatrist who is able to review some clients and participate in some groups. The staff are provided with a fortnightly staff support session with an outside facilitator and have access to weekly supervision within their discipline or area of interest. The staff work very closely together providing therapy in the group setting, milieu therapy, rather than individual work.

 

Child and Adolescent Mental Health:  Dandenong Hospital
Intensive Mobile Youth Outreach Service:  Dandenong Hospital 

IMYOS is part of a state wide initiative to service the hard to engage adolescents (12-18 year olds) with a mental illness, clients who are unable or unwilling to attend a CAMHS clinic. IMYOS clients are more likely to have a dual diagnosis, be disengaged from family and school and to a history of high risk behaviours.  IMYOS clients are referred to the team by CAMHS clinicians if they have found them hard to engage or in need of more intensive case management or a more flexible approach to service delivery. The IMYOS clinician is able to visit the client at home or at another safe place and will spend time working with the young person and the people who provide them with ongoing support, parent, carers, teachers and workers from the Department of Human Services.

IMYOS staff are mobile, intensive CAMHS case managers and as such provide therapeutic support to the young person and once they are able to accept this type of support from a less intensive agency the IMYOS staff work with the community agency to support the young person prior to discharge and this can be a lengthy process.

Amaroo Unit:   Dandenong Hospital

Amaroo Unit is an acute inpatient mental health facility which is committed to providing high quality assessment, treatment and care to people over the age of 65 years with a major psychiatric illness and/or severe problems associated with dementia.  The areas serviced by Amaroo are consistent with the Cities of Greater Dandenong, Casey and Cardinia.

Amaroo is part of the Aged Persons Mental Health Service based at Dandenong Hospital under the Rehabilitation and Aged Services Program (RASP) of Southern Health.  It is regulated under the Mental
Health Act 1986.  The multidisciplinary staff at Amaroo work in conjunction with Aged Personas Mental Health Team (APMHT) based at Endeavour Hills.

Amaroo is staffed by an experienced and committed multidisciplinary team which includes nurses (Nurse Unit Manager, Associate Nurse Unit Managers, Division 1, Division 2 and Division 3) Consultant Psychiatrists, Psychiatric Registrars, Occupational Therapist, Social Worker, Physiotherapist, Psychiatric Services Officer, Music Therapist and Ward Clerk.  It is well supported by a geriatrician. Patients and their families are actively encouraged to participate in the assessment and delivery of care needs.