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Mental health mentor

I currently have a mental health mentor but I am never sure what to do in meetings.

Id be really grateful if any of you could share ideas about what types of things you have done with your MH mentor.

TIA

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Reply 1

The_Lonely_Goatherd

With my first postgrad mentor (no DSA at undergrad uni), I used to just word vomit all over her about how my week had been. I was very ill and vulnerable at the time and she was very good at calming me down. She even phoned my psychiatrist's secretary one time to ******* her :teehee:

With PhD DSA mentor, it's very much focused on my academic work, unless there is a major problem with my health. We discuss what I've done for my PhD supervisor and come up with an action plan for, say, the next month :yep:

Reply 2

Ella2b

Thank you, I have been doing just that but i realise that its more academic stuff that she is there for but im just unsure what.

Reply 3

goldfishgirl

With my uni mental health mentor, we mostly discuss what's happened in the past week, good or bad. If I've had any anxious feelings, panic attacks or bad mental health days, we talk through what happened and how I could deal with it if it happens again.
They also help me access other services such as CBT and mitigation from my department if I need it.

For me, I know it's not going to cure my anxiety, but it is REALLY reassuring to know that I can always come to my mentor for advice.

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 4

Pathway

I have quite a lot of issues with motivation, so I've gone back to basics with good old tick lists and my mentor checks in on it with me to make sure I'm on track with my assignments/reading/revision/dissertation and helps me manage the workload it when I get behind as it stresses me out when I get too behind (so I procrastinate more...lol, which causes more problems. :facepalm:

). I find that having someone to make sure that I'm doing my work when I'm having a particularly bad time MH wise is good. In addition to that, she helps me think of ways to prevent panic attacks in exam situations and lectures/seminars.

She also lets me rant at her when I've had a bad week with attendance or having a lot of PTSD/depression/anxiety related issues. Moreover, my mentor liaises with my disability support worker (I've got a physical disability as well) when I'm struggling a lot as sometimes I am unable to articulate how things are going - so attendance problems for example can go through her (although, I normally go to my disability adviser for this kind of stuff). She's also said that she'd be willing (if I ever needed her to) to talk to my CMHT which is good, it makes me feel like I've got someone on my side.

More recently we've been focussing on how to make sure I don't have another crisis when I go back home for Christmas break (which seems to be a recurring pattern :facepalm:

).

Oh, and she helps me focus on the positives - like recently I got 73% in an exam, despite having a panic attack in it. Prior to getting the result back, I was berating myself for it as I'd (wrongly) assumed I'd performed poorly in it despite knowing that I'm mostly performing at a 1st class level throughout my time at university so far. So it was sort of like CBT techniques in a way. Basically, she helps with boosting my self-esteem in academic work as well.

Essentially, they're there for whatever you need. So if you need help with study related issues (motivation, concentration, how to reduce exam anxiety, etc.) they can help out. Equally, they're also there to make sure you always have a go to person for advice/counselling so that you don't need to access your university's counselling service as they're normally trained psychotherapists (although, of course, if you did need to, they'd probably let you anyway).

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 5

snoopydoopz

Original post by Ella2b

its difficult for mentors too. but a good mentor should initiate convo. you can always change if not.
1. if they dont initiate, make a list of all the problems you had since last sessions.. and ramble them off and say how its bothering you.. VENT
2. talk about your week in general, good and lows but even life stuff, friends, family, to covid and politics..
and then ask - what your views, thoughts and ideas on what ive said?

If they dont say much, time to find your own mentor! *not through a NMH provider.. ping me if you want advice on this (some are poorly trained but also they take half the pay off your mentor or about - so mentor loses enthusiasm too and feels exploited). Pick your own, a good one.. a mental heath mentor just needs some proper qualifications and you can find them only BPS site; and you call them.. or i can recommend depending though..and if you happy to have sessions online? (mines a proper psychologist) > ping me seriously if you feel lost - they should be helping you not just listening to you..