Graduate Mental Health Worker
Graduate primary care mental health worker is a bit of a mouthful! It means that he or she has been trained in mental health and works in the primary care environment. They aims to help adults between 16 and 65 with their mental health needs.
There are three graduate primary care mental health workers in the area covered by North Dorset Primary Care Trust,. working in Sherborne, Shaftesbury, Blandford, Gillingham, Stalbridge, Sixpenny Handley, Dorchester (town and rural), Cerne Abbas, Bridport and Lyme Regis, and Weymouth and Portland.
The job is divided into 2 main roles
The first is to run self-help clinics for adults with common mental health problems, such as depression and anxiety. Graduate primary care mental health workers do not work with people whose primary problem is using drugs or alcohol, or people who have made plans to or engage in self-harm or suicidal behaviours.
The do not use therapy in a self-help clinic. Instead he or she will aid you (based on a cognitive behavioural therapy approach) in progressing through a book or through the materials (like activity planning charts). He or she will also explore reading and other activities with you, for you to do on your own between sessions. See self-help clinic or the book prescription scheme for more information.
The second job role is to raise awareness of mental health issues and resources in the community. This could be through group work with people currently experiencing problems, creating local access points to resources, and supplying useful information, e.g. leaflets and websites.