Maintaining the problem

The Mental Health Workers' Guide part 40

Part 40 of The Mental Health Workers' Guide makes the simple point that if we keep on doing what wer're doing we'll keep on experiencing the same consequences. If you do the same things you get the same results. Don't forget that you can download all the podcasts and video clips that accompany this series here.

If you do the same things - you get the same results

The Mental Health Workers' Guide part 38

Part 38 of The Mental Health Workers' Guide is the second of two posts dividing challenging behaviours into categories tht we need to understand before we can decide what to do (or not do) about them. Don't forget that you can download all the podcasts and video clips that accompany this series here.

The Guide 38: Do we need help?

Let’s look at two other ‘categories’ of challenging behaviour:

• Behaviours that we can cope with;
• Behaviours that are beyond our ability or authority.

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The Mental Health Workers' Guide part 37

Part 37 of The Mental Health Workers' Guide is the first of two posts dividing challenging behaviours into categories tht we need to understand before we can decide what to do (or not do) about them. Don't forget that you can download all the podcasts and video clips that accompany this series here.

The Guide 37: Different types of challenging behaviour

The Mental Health Workers' Guide part 36

Part 36 of The Mental Health Workers' Guide presents a simple working definition of challenging behaviour that is more than just a collection of lists. It's an easy to understand, two point system that is far more use to workers 'on the ground' than the endless moralising we often come across in health and social care. Don't forget that you can download all the podcasts and video clips that accompany this series here.

Challenging behaviour means....

There are many different definitions of challenging behaviour. Some rely upon long lists of activities and behaviours that society sees as unacceptable. Others attempt to define the concept philosophically by referring to the works of ethical or moral authorities, sometimes dating back thousands of years. Throughout this series we shall use a fairly simple definition.

Challenging behaviour is a combination of two criteria:

1.     Behaviour that we don’t like;

2.     Behaviour that we think we need to respond to.

According to this definition both criteria must be met before we can say that the behaviour is challenging. For example, someone somewhere has been attacked within the last thirty seconds (a statistical certainty). I am not challenged by that because I am not in a position to respond to it. Therefore the behaviour is merely something I disapprove of but it is not actually challenging to me because there is nothing for me to do about it.

It’s important to get the sense of this definition clearly in mind before we go any further with this topic. Much of what people think of as challenging behaviour is not really challenging at all. We don’t have to respond in every case. Arguably, if we do respond and try to prevent people from doing things that they have a perfect right to do then the truly challenging behaviour is our own – not that of the service-user. Disagreeing with the care staff is not necessarily a challenging behaviour – it’s just a choice.

One of the most common problems among health and social care workers is the assumption that they have to ‘deal with’ behaviours that they do not personally agree with. This isn’t always true and by adopting a more flexible approach to the choices of service-users we can avoid many of the conflicts that make this work so difficult in practice.

Another important theme throughout will be the rights of the worker to be free from abuse, assault or harassment. The law in UK, in particular the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974), is very clear on the responsibility we all have to keep ourselves safe and the need for proper assessment of risk in order to ensure the safety of the service-user but also that of the worker and the person’s other carers or relatives. We’ll also consider ways to strike a realistic and reasonable balance between the needs of all concerned and the rights of all people to be safe and free from abuse.

The Mental Health Workers' Guide part 35

Part 35 of The Mental Health Workers' Guide considers idea that people's actions might be described as 'just behavioural' in mental health care. In reality this label is just the cover we professionals use to hide our own inadequacies. Don't forget that you can download the podcasts and video clips that accompany this series here.

“It’s just behavioural” – a workers’ excuse for lazy thinking about service users’ needs.