I grew up in a culture that doesn’t talk a lot about mental health. Behavioral health challenges are misunderstood as weakness, seeking attention or something swept under the rug. Even in American culture, there are a lot of stigmas with mental health.
For that reason, I chose to work in the mental health field. Every day at work, I provide a safe space for patients who are in crisis, or want to hurt themselves to feel seen, have a voice and be listened to. It’s our job to listen. And I take my job seriously. Lives depend on our observations and engagement.
Mental health workers are often the first person at the scene of a psychiatric emergency. I remember early in my career working on the adult unit, a worker doing observations alerted the staff to come to help. When I entered the room, I saw the patient on the bathroom counter crying and speaking to the auditory hallucinations that were torturing her to hurt herself.
She did not want to harm herself but felt obligated to do what the voices in her head said. She said she could not live another minute with the voices. I listened and validated her feelings. I told her she wasn’t alone. We kept her safe while waiting for additional clinical staff to arrive. She was able to receive support and step-down care.
My patient didn’t hurt herself that day and eventually she was released from the hospital, hopefully on a better path. It was a moment in my career and in her life.
But we were there for her when she needed someone. I hope others will be there for her throughout her many days.
As I think about the patient and that moment, I’m saddened by news of a proposed state regulation that puts jobs like mine — mental health workers, often called “technicians” — at risk. The proposal would require nearly full staffing of psychiatric facilities with registered nurses, rather than a team-based approach with different disciplines as it currently is structured.
I’ve heard from my friends who are RNs that they love the way our different skills complement one another. Mental health workers can focus on the patients’ emotional need and relating to them on a very human level through interaction and shared trust, while nurses can do what they do best — clinical care and planning, alongside our doctors.
This is a collaborative effort.
I am proud that the technicians are diverse and a great representation of the population we serve. Technicians help bridge communication to the interdisciplinary team. I love that I am not behind a desk or office. I am on the floor with the patients.
I love the RNs I work with, and the feeling is mutual. We have deep respect for each other’s expertise and the roles we play in caring for our patients. The politicians don’t seem to care, or they have forgotten about the mental health workers.
I care about what I do. The nurses I work with care about what I do. And patients — like the one I sat with as she was contemplating suicide — care about what I do.
Policymakers should too.
Joanna Espinoza-Moreno is milieu manager at Santa Rosa Behavioral Healthcare.
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