Assessment Task 1: Mental Health Support Strategies

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Assessment Task
- Written
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Student Name Student Number
Unit Code/s &
Name/s CHCMHS001 Work with people with mental health issues
Assessment Type Written
Assessment Name Workbook Activities Assessment Task
No. AT1
Assessment Due
Date Date submitted
Assessor Name
Student Declaration: I declare that this assessment is my own work. Any ideas and comments
made by other people have been acknowledged as references. I understand that if this statement
is found to be false, it will be regarded as misconduct and will be subject to disciplinary action as
outlined in the TAFE Queensland Student Rules. I understand that by emailing or submitting this
assessment electronically, I agree to this Declaration in lieu of a written signature.
Student Signature Date
PRIVACY DISCLAIMER: TAFE Queensland is collecting your personal information for assessment purposes. The information will only be accessed by
authorised employees of TAFE Queensland. Some of this information may be given to the Australian Skills Quality Authority (ASQA) or its successor and/or
TAFE Queensland for audit and/or reporting purposes. Your information will not be given to any other person or agency unless you have given us written
permission or we are required by law.
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Instructions to
Student
General Instructions:
As you read through the Learner’s guide you will be directed to tasks identified as
1A, 1B etc. These tasks will test your understanding of the content that you have
just read and how it applies to professional practice within the Human services.
Please respond to these questions and when you have completed all the questions
submit as requested by your teacher.
Information / Materials provided:
A PowerPoint presentation summarising key points relevant to the assessment
questions is provided in the Supplementary resources section on the Connect site
for this unit.
Information / Materials provided:
Assessment questions are provided below
Assessment Criteria:
To achieve a satisfactory result, your assessor will be looking for your ability to
demonstrate the following key skills/tasks/knowledge to an acceptable industry
standard:
 Communicating in a way that develops and maintains respect, hope,
trust and self-direction.
 Working in a way that reflects and prioritises the client’s right to self-
define and direct their own recovery.
 Recognising and respecting the person’s social, cultural and spiritual
differences.
 Human rights and their application.
 0rganisational guidelines for maintaining client confidentiality.
 Seeking and interpret information about the person’s needs from the
person and other agreed sources.
 Strategies that can support empowerment and recovery.
 A person-centred approach.
 Duty of care and dignity of risk considerations in collaboration with
the person.
 Facilitating progress towards the person’s goals in collaboration with
the person and their care network.
 General principles of the revised mental health statement of rights
and responsibilities.
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 Adapting service delivery within organisation policies and
procedures to meet the person’s specific needs and requirements.
 Documenting interactions and services according to organisation
policy and procedures.
 Responding promptly to people experiencing distress or crisis.
 Working within the limits of own knowledge, abilities and work role
and make referrals to other services as indicated by the person’s
needs.
Number of Attempts:
You will receive up to two (2) attempts at this assessment task as long as these
submissions occur within the study period for this unit... Should your 1st attempt be
unsatisfactory (U), your teacher will provide feedback and discuss the relevant
sections / questions with you and will arrange a due date for the submission of
your 2nd attempt. If your 2nd submission is unsatisfactory (U), or you fail to submit a
2nd attempt, you will receive an overall unsatisfactory result for this assessment
task. Only one re-assessment attempt may be granted for each assessment task.
For more information, refer to the Student Rules.
Submission details Insert your details on page 1 and sign the Student Declaration. Include this
template with your submission.
Once you have completed all documents and saved them to your computer, you
will need to upload them for marking. To do this, follow these instructions:
1. In the section below named 'Submissions', you have three options; “Upload'
button”, “Choose Existing” or “Record Audio”. (“Record Audio” should only be
used if agreed upon with your teacher.)
2. Browse for your file if using either of the first two methods.
3. Upload your file.
4. Repeat steps 1-3 to upload other files.
5. Enter any comments in the box provided, if necessary.
6. Click the 'Submit to Dropbox' button.
Assessment to be submitted via:
 TAFE Queensland Learning Management System: Connect url:
https://connect.tafeqld.edu.au/d2l/login
 Username; 9 digit student number
 For Password: Reset password go to
https://passwordreset.tafeqld.edu.au/default.aspx
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Instructions for the
Assessor
Benchmarked responses have been provided for each of these tasks.
Students need to demonstrate that they have understood the concepts
discussed in the Learner’s Guide.
Note to Student An overview of all Assessment Tasks relevant to this unit is located in the
Unit Study Guide.
Workbook Activities
Activity 1A
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to communicate in a way that develops and maintains
respect, hope, trust and self-direction.
1. Interpersonal skills are needed for a youth worker to be able to communicate effectively. What five
types of interpersonal skill are useful?
Interpersonal skills are very crucial for a youth worker as proper and appropriate communication is the
key to solving any such issue. Five major types of interpersonal skill which can be useful to a youth
worker are namely listening, non-verbal communication, paraphrasing, summarizing and questioning.
Listening makes people who are speaking feel worthwhile and connected. They have faith on the other
person actively listening to feel less isolated. Non-verbal communication like eye contact, nodding and
giving people a positive impression of the body language encourages confidence of the speaker.
Paraphrasing and summarizing done by the listener give a better outlook of the speaker to reassure their
message has been understood. Lastly questioning the speaker to elaborate their problems makes them
comfortable to speak about their problem precisely.
2. Describe one of these interpersonal skills in detail.
Communication is nothing but sharing and expressing ones feelings, views and thoughts. It involves both
speaking and listening, both of which are important. Listening is a virtue which is a must particularly for a
health worker. Listening helps an individual to feel that they are worth it and are respected as a person.
People feel that someone cares about them when somebody listens to them and gives them attention.
They connect better with others and feel less lonely and isolated. Having someone who listens make it
easier for people to express their feelings and share their experiences, which helps them to stay relaxed
and decreases stress. Listening to actually listen to one’s thought and not just for replying is very
important, particularly for a health worker as they are supposed to be majorly on the listening side before
suggesting or recommending anything.
Activity 1B
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to work in a way that reflects and prioritises the person’s
right to self-define and direct their own recovery.
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1. Explain how you would work in a way that reflects and prioritises the client’s right to self-define and
direct their own recovery. Feel free to draw on your own experience for this question.
I feel that every individual should have a say in the process of their recovery as it is going to affect them
the most. As per me, the clients wish should be taken in consideration while deciding a treatment plan for
him or her. In my professional care, I have tried my level best to strike a partnership with the client as the
client is more likely to respond better and cooperate when his or her point of view is given equal
importance. An approach which focuses on striking a perfectly balanced partnership is more likely to
result in a long lasting effect. Also, I have noticed that if the client’s point of view is not taken into
consideration the results, if attained at all, are only short lasting.
Activity 1C
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to recognise and respect the person’s social, cultural and
spiritual differences.
1. Name five social factors that can have an impact on a person’s mental health.
Social factors can cause a huge impact and effect on a person’s mental health. Hence, while managing
a client’s condition it is very necessary to know about their background and the social factors which
could be affecting them. Treatments involving mental health are likely to be multi-factorial and working
on numerous levels. Five social factors affecting mental health could be (1) age particularly with respect
to children, young people and older people, (2) experience of major life crises (including bereavement,
relationship breakdown, accidents, natural disasters or life-threatening illness), (3) being excluded from
family or social support, (4) physical, financial, emotional or sexual abuse, and (5) any kind of
intellectual, physical or psychosocial disability including acquired brain injury.
2. What is meant by culture and what is your responsibility as a health worker in regards to culture?
Culture refers to values, beliefs and common behaviors of a certain group. These groups can be
determined by a variety of factors, such as location, age, upbringing, religion, interests etc. An
individual's culture is often determined by many of these factors, rather than one thing.
As a health worker one need to be patient and recognize that meanings of words, gestures and other
non-verbal communication will differ from person to person. One may have to clarify things more often
than usual. There may be multiple cultural differences which could pose a problem if not understood
properly. To minimize the chance of cultural misunderstandings one should avoid using jargon and
slangs, and also ask the other person if they understand the meaning, practice listening to accents and
listen carefully to what is said.
3. Describe the meaning of spirituality.
Spirituality may be linked closely to religious places such as church, temples, monasteries, synagogues
etc. Also, for some people it could be another form of worshipping which is not necessarily religious,
something which connects self to beyond. For some people spirituality could be something similar to a
sense of being alive or a feeling of interconnection with the world and all the people. Spirituality is often
linked with questions reflecting on the meaning of life such as whether there is any reason behind
whatever is happening, purpose behind life, meaning of life, and reason of suffering which people face.
The ways of following and practicing spirituality could be different for everybody, but it mainly revolves
around finding a meaning behind everything which has been happening.
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Activity 1D
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to support the person to understand and exercise their
rights.
1. What are human rights and who do they apply to? Give three examples of human rights with your
answer.
Human rights are nothing but a set of moral and legal recommendations which help to protect values,
identity and ability. Also, they ensure a decent standard of living for everyone. Human rights can help to
measure inequality and maintain fairness through human rights. For example human rights can help one
deal with gender equality or racial equality.
Human rights also include the rights associated with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, namely
freedom of opinion or expression, freedom of thought, conscience or religious worship, freedom of
association or peaceful assembly, no one should be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment, no one
should be held in servitude, everyone is equal e.g. before the law, everyone has the right to education,
everyone has the right to employment and to be treated fairly, everyone has the right to freely participate
in the community, everyone has the right to social protection and freedom from arbitrary detention.
2. There is a legal obligation to obtain client consent – that is, that they agree to services you intend
to provide for them. What two types of consent are there?
Clients have the right to decide on what care is appropriate for them as long as they have the ability to
make that decision, for example they are not under the influence of alcohol or drugs or they have the
cognitive capacity that is they are not suffering from a mental illness that is detrimental to their decision
making such as dementia. This is even the case where death or serious injury may be the consequence
of refusal. There are two types of consent implied and explicit. Implied where the client follows
instructions of health care professional and explicit where the client states agreement which is either
verbal and written. Refusing support/treatment can also be either verbal or written. Clients may not want
treatment based on cultural, religious or personal beliefs.
Activity1E
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to maintain confidentiality and privacy of the person within
organisation policy and protocols.
1. What are organisational guidelines for maintaining client confidentiality?
Maintaining client confidentiality is very important and crucial in any field and more so in the field of
health and social care. There are few organizational guidelines for maintaining client confidentiality. The
guideline states never to discuss client information in social circles. It clarifies that documented
information should only ever relate to service delivery and related factors. Confidential documents must
be stored securely, and out of reach of the public and unauthorized personnel. Client information should
never be disclosed to external agencies that are not part of the client's service delivery system. Names
and details of clients should not be disclosed in public forums for example meetings and seminars etc.
2. In what instances can you breach confidentiality?
Although confidentiality is very important to be maintained, there are few cases where it is required that
confidentiality can be broken. There are certain instances that confidentiality can be broken such as if
the person is at serious risk of harm. In cases where there is an imminent, serious threat to the public or
a specific person. Where there is a police request for information under the Police Powers and
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Responsibilities Act 2000; for use by healthcare professional (as long as a recognized standard of
treatment is being delivered). Issues of confidentiality should never be taken lightly and they should be
discussed with the supervisor. Senior staff should always be involved while making complex and
competing decisions considering both confidentiality and safety.
Activity 2A
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to gather and interpret information about the person’s
needs from the person and other agreed sources.
1. List the type of information you may need to collect in regards to a client.
One should begin by gathering and interpreting information about the person to determine their needs.
You must first gather what information you can from them personally and then if required can move on to
other agreed sources of information e.g. a doctor, family, friends or counselor etc. From this information
you can begin to put a picture together of the person. You can record the details of what you have found
in the agreed manner of the organization in consultation with the focus person.
A profile contains information about the client that is necessary to carry out any support and will vary
depending on the service provided. The information one may need to collect could include names and
contact details of clients, the support person’s they have in place, financial information only if relevant,
service delivery plans, medication needs as relevant, behavioral patterns as relevant, likes/dislikes,
goals, plans and aspirations, other personal information for example health records.
2. Describe the process you would take to collect information about the person’s needs.
Your organization may have a template document for establishing client profiles. You may be required to
use a computer to fill in the form or need to manually enter information using paper and pen. If you are
talking with the person you should find somewhere private to have your conversation and explain that
you need to gather some details. You should then ask if they are willing to talk to you about their needs
and give you some personal details. You may like to reassure the person that the information collected
will be kept confidential. At this point, if they are happy to continue, you should begin a professional
discussion that will allow you to understand the ideas and needs of the person. After you have finished it
is a good idea to briefly check that you have the information required to progress the needs of the
person.
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Activity 2B
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to identify and discuss with the person services and
strategies that support empowerment and recovery.
1. What three strategies can you think of that can support empowerment and recovery?
Three strategies could be (a) coaching for recovery is about mental health workers adopting a coaching
position in relation to their clients to support recovery. (b) Examining different areas at different areas of
your life and assessing them/how well the person does them and what you could do to improve such as
managing mental health and well-being, physical health and self-care, living skills, social networks, work,
relationships, managing addictive or destructive behavior, responsibilities, identity and self-esteem, trust,
hope. (c) Preventing escalation of issues by planning for different situations and stages of mental health
issues decline, identifying and managing triggers, identifying early warning signs, being aware of when
life is not going to plan when things are unraveling/falling apart, and having a plan or protocol in the
event of a crisis or emergency situation.
2. What stages are involved in the gradual change process?
Change is a gradual process and does not take place overnight. There are many stages in the
process of gradual change and a client can move back and forth to those stages. The process of
gradual change can involve the sense of feeling stuck. It is very normal to be in a stage of denial. In this
particular stage the client either has not faced the problem yet or has not accepted that there is a
problem which exists. The other stage could be accepting the help. Addressing the problem is a very
crucial stage and it is here where the client is in the notion that someone will fix the problem for him or
her. Another stage involves believing that a change could be made. This requires setting up of goals,
accepting support when needed and looking forwards towards the future and being hopeful about it. The
final stage being learning to recover; it is during this stage that the individual learns to become self-
reliant and tries to see whether they make a difference.
3. Give an example of a trigger and an example of an early warning sign of mental illness.
Triggers could be defined as external events which if not tackled successfully can imply a mental health
relapse or decline. One of the examples of a common trigger could be certain smells, tastes or noises
that make you feel uncomfortable. For example an individual may connect a bad memory with a
particular smell, taste or noise. Due to the connection being formed in one’s mind, it is likely that those
memories would be triggered if the person comes in vicinity of such associations.
Early warning signs of mental illness are very likely to differ for each and every client. One of the signs
could be a tendency to become more isolated than usual. There is a difference between loneliness and
solitude and this difference can reflect a lot on one’s mental health.
Activity2C
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to support the person to express their own identity and
preferences and avoid imposing own values and attitudes.
1. What does a person-centred approach involve?
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It is advisable to take a person-centric approach while dealing with a client. A person-centric approach
means being considerate of client preferences for instance knowing whether they would like to be called
by any prefix, first name, or by their last name.
A person-centered approach can involve making time to listen to people and be demonstrating respect
for their story by not getting distracted by anything. Recall the person’s name and details of their life to
show that you value. Taking into account any hearing or visual impairments or communication issues.
Learning as much as you can about people’s life, values, identity and care preferences. If someone asks
for information, ensuring you make an effort to follow it. Using interpreters if there are language barriers
and considering their wish regarding the help they need.
Activity2D
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to identify duty of care and dignity of risk considerations in
collaboration with the person.
1. What is duty of care andfrom what criteria will courts determine breaches of duty of care?
Duty of care is a moral duty to anticipate possible hazards and causes of injury and do everything
reasonably practicable to prevent/remove/minimize these causes. It has been written legally into the
Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995. This means that duty of care cannot be delegated and all adults
in the workplace are responsible for health and safety.
Courts determine breaches of duty of care based on the following criteria:
• What is typically expected of another person in the same situation?
• The person's roles and responsibilities within their organization.
• The experience/level of training for the individual.
• The practicalities of the situation.
• What is deemed acceptable practice within the community?
• Generally acceptable standards in the situation.
• Relevant laws e.g. the Workplace Health and Safety Act 1995.
2. What is dignity of risk and why is it important?
Dignity of risk is regarding allowing the people you care for. It is about them to have the right to make
decisions and exercise personal autonomy regarding their own learning, skills and independence, and
taking calculated risks. Clients may fail when taking these risks, but they still have the right to fail and to
learn from their mistakes. A Community service or health worker’s natural instincts are to protect people,
yet although this is good and you have a duty of care to protect your clients, you need to strike a balance
with dignity of risk.
Activity 3A
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to provide support that facilitates progress towards the
person’s goals in collaboration with the person and their care network.
1. Why are choices important?
The right to make a choice is very important as when people feel like they have choices they are more
likely to change certain behaviors or thinking patterns. There can be various pressures on people that
make them feel like they do not have a choice; people may feel they cannot choose to change their
circumstances and their health issue.
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2. Why is collaborating with clients and people in their care network important?
Collaborating with clients and those people in their care network can ensure a holistic approach that
involves the client in the decision-making process.
3. Why is setting goals important?
Setting goals can sound like a tedious process and it can often be quite frustrating for clients. You should
reassure clients that having goals can bring about a sense of hope which aids recovery. Encouraging
self-determination is about helping the client feel free to choose their own course of action and make
their own decisions. It is a good idea to begin by identifying the specific issues that a client would like to
resolve. Once you have identified the area or areas of concern, you should begin to develop an action
plan to help the client with their goals.
4. How can a solution focused approach be useful for clients struggling with mental health issues?
The Solution focused approach is an outcome of a strength based approach. The therapeutic approach
used by workers moves from a focus on the problematic behaviors to solutions- this approach believes
that clients already make choices in their lives to try to resolve the challenges facing them and the
worker’s role is to help them explore what actually works for them. (Miller and deShazer 1998)
A solution-focused approach emphasizes future orientation, or how we anticipate the future. Clients who
have been struggling with a mental health issue often feel stuck– they feel fear for the future and are
overwhelmed by a sense of powerlessness. By steering clients away from the past and encouraging
them to see a life in the future without a mental health issue can help them to see that it is possible.
By pointing out their strengths they can gain a more positive outlook as the solution-based therapy
validates their actions. To focus on positive outcomes is a very empowering approach that allows the
client to control the situation and gain a clearer sense of self that is often needed.
Activity3B
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to work in ways that upholds the person’s rights.
1. What are some of the general principles behind the revised mental health statement of rights and
responsibilities?
Some of the general principles behind the revised mental health statement of rights and
responsibilities are as follows.
 Everybody has inherent dignity and worth as a human being – people using mental health
services who have a cognitive impairment should be supported to understand and exercise their
rights.
 Non-discrimination and social inclusion – for example everyone at all stages and ages of life
should have their privacy and confidentiality respected, their safety and welfare looked out for,
the opportunity to enjoy the highest standard of physical and mental health, equal protection and
recognition from the law, an adequate standard of living and social protection, an equal
opportunity to access and maintain health and mental health care, housing, education and
training, work and employment, legal services, income maintenance and insurance.
2. If a child is admitted to a mental health facility – what are their rights?
It is important that health care workers recognize that children and young people have special needs
with regard to mental health care – for example, whether they can make decisions for themselves.
Children and young people who are admitted to a mental health facility have the right to get support from
families/guardians/carers, an independent advocate service, special protection and safeguarding and a
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separate area/accommodation to adult clients and programs/treatments suitable to their age and
development.
Activity3C
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to adapt service delivery within organisation policies and
procedures to meet the person’s specific needs and requirements.
1. In order for your service delivery to be inclusive, it must be flexible enough to undergo some
adaptation to meet the needs of different people. What groups might you need to adapt your
service for?
Certain groups which might need the service to be adapted for them are namely vulnerable people as
they need to be ensured service delivery is trauma informed, for different cultures cultural consultants,
adaption is required to ensure cultural safety, for someone whose first language is not English, for
people with disabilities and for young children.
One may have to work with children whose parents are affected by mental health issue. The
communication with these children would depend on their age and the stage of development they are in.
Working with someone who has an intellectual disability also requires adaptability.
If someone has an intellectual disability or possibly has an acquired brain injury through accident or
stroke etc. they may experience problems with comprehension and communication, in this case the
worker will need to consider a range of strategies to get their message across and also to enable the
person to communicate their ideas and feelings. This could be through use of simplified information,
graphics or signing etc. Service might need to be adapted for someone with physical disabilities, while
most services rely on a face to face mode of communication; there is an increasing focus on the
potential use of computer based therapy programs.
2. Give an example of how you might adapt your service for one of the above groups.
While working with someone who has had some kind of brain injury due to an accident might have
difficulty comprehending and communication. In siuch cases I woul liek to establish a preferred method
of communication which the client is able to understand.If the client is not able to understand the verbal
mode satisfactorily, I would make use of visual ways to convey and understand the client. For example
the client might respond well to pictorial representations and after recognizing the need I would include
more of visual aids in our meetings.
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Activity 3D
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to document interactions and services according to
organisation policy and procedures.
1. What two basic styles (that come from counselling) exist for documenting conversational
interactions? Give an example of an advantage and disadvantage for each.
Two basic styles that come from counseling exist for documenting conversational interactions, and they
are Mechanical and Free flow. The mechanical style comprises of record details as they are told, in a
logical sequential manner. The Free flow style guides one to listen first and then summarize. The
mechanical style is more precise but it can put the organizing process ahead of empathizing with the
client emotions. The free flow style is more interpretive but it can lose some factual accuracy. Different
skills are required for each style.
2. Summarise what you believe an organisation policy and procedures are when documenting
interactions.
Organizational policies and protocols are implemented to ensure that this is the case for as much
paperwork as possible and can benefit everyone involved.
The types of things you might need to document include client personal information/profile, appointments
made, appointments kept and clients. Every organization has got different policies and protocols which
needs to be implemented accordingly.
Activity 3E
Objective: To provide you with an opportunity to respond promptly and supportively to people
experiencing distress or crisis.
1. Why should responses be prompt for people experiencing distress or crisis?
Responses should be prompt as it reduces the intensity and the length of time that an individual is in
distress, but in addition as the distress escalates options become limited. Within the scope of services
available in the community ideally there should be 24-hour access to services 7 days a week, as well as
the capability for outreach services to be provided for when people cannot or do not want to come to the
facility. However in some communities this will not be possible. In those situations 24 hour phone
helplines like Lifeline or on line support services like those offered by Beyond Blue etc. can attempt to
meet the short term need for crisis response. Clients can also access their local hospital service;
however, the response may be limited depending on the assessment of the severity of the crisis and the
availability of appropriately trained staff.
2. What information needs to be included in a joint crisis plan?
A joint crisis plan is an advance statement that is agreed between the client and mental health care
professionals involved in the client’s care. Having a plan can reduce the likelihood of a client being
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