”It is important to just be there for the patient. You are not there to express yourselves, but to allow the patients to express themselves. You will find it surprising how normal psychiatric patients seem to be. However, please remember that these people are sick and there for a reason. Neither are you to view them as performers in a freak show.

Be on your best behaviour, wear clothing that does not appear provoking. Be on time. Don’t feel guitly about sitting around and having nothing to do. On the contrary, this will be a place where time is freely available. However, if you have been paying proper attention to the lectures, you will find that there actually is a lot to do on a psychiatric ward.

The nurses will expect you to participate actively in discussions. Don’t be afraid to express your opinions and ask questions, yet do so wisely, at the right time and the right place.

Keep an open mind.

Set clear limits and boundaries.

Do not reveal any personal information. Even if they seem like harmless questions.

Don’t be afraid… and don’t build any expectations. I expect all of you to do well. Good Luck!”

With these rather weighty words I left the school building Thursday the 17th of April, anticipating the best, worst, frightening, enlightening, eventful and uneventful. To be honest, I had no idea what to truly expect.

On Monday, the 2st I entered the Helsinki university psychiatric centre. It was 7:15, the nurse who was on night shift greeted me and showed me to the office where the smell of freshly brewed coffee invaded my nostrils, causing my empty to convulse with protest.

About one and a half weeks have gone by now, and I am still coming to terms with the fact that I am doing the one clinical placement that I feared right from the start of my studies.

But I’m still alive and kicking!

Stay tuned for more…

The award winning film ‘one flew over the cuckoo’s nest’ does not give a reliable picture of what psychiatric wards are like.

Mental Health Tip: Don’t worry…be happy! dumm de dumm dee dumm…