Tell us a bit about yourself.

I'm a Senior Registered Psychiatric Nurse currently working with the Hamilton Centre service navigations team, as well as Turning Point's AOD Pathways team.

I've worked in the mental health and drug and alcohol sectors for over 23 years, and I graduated as a psychiatric nurse in 2007.

I live in Metro Melbourne with my family, and we love it here. In my spare time, I enjoy travelling, freediving, boxing, yoga, tennis, basketball, movies, music, camping, playing chess and board games and cooking plant-based food.

What is the role of mental health nurses in promoting integrated care for people with co-occurring mental health and AOD conditions?

Call me biased but nurses play a huge role because we are often the frontline face of healthcare.

Mental health nurses often support clients throughout their full arc of treatment, from initial assessment phases to inpatient care planning, through linking people to community support programs and eventual discharge planning.

We need to be very mindful about the wording we use, avoiding stigmatising language or jargon. This is true for communication with clients and when liaising with other healthcare providers and agencies.

Our words and how we engage with people are vital aspects of successfully integrating care. As mental health nurses, we must ensure that a client's voice is central, and their autonomy is always intact.

How can the Hamilton Centre support mental health nurses?

The Advice and Mentorship Line (1800 517 383) is an on-the-spot support line for nurses and other health professionals experiencing challenging or unclear situations with their clients.

Sometimes clinicians are working alone and may need advice about certain drugs, withdrawal symptoms or support pathways, and at other times they may need extra support to successfully implement recommended interventions.

People calling us may need advice on harm minimisation or to discuss ways to effectively engage with their clients who are using substances.

We may also be able to assist clinicians in making referrals for primary or secondary consultations with our clinical network of multidisciplinary teams, which includes addiction specialists.

We are essentially available to help anyone who might need specific support navigating the mental health and drug and alcohol sectors.

Additionally, the Hamilton Centre training programs and online resources are well aimed at providing a good cross-section of information catering to experienced nurses wishing to upskill or those at the start of their careers seeking new ways of engaging in this work. 

What advice would you give to someone considering a career in mental health nursing?

It's a great career choice. I've never had a dull day in my 23 years! I'm not going to lie, it can be stressful at times, but with the right training and support, it's a very rewarding and thoroughly interesting career path.

You can also travel and work abroad, and there is an increasing number of telehealth positions becoming available for mental health nurses.

I'd highly recommend studying or taking extra modules in psychotherapy or psychology. Solid psychological approaches such as motivational interviewing, CBT (Cognitive Behavioural Therapy) for psychosis and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy can go a very long way for mental health nurses.

These sorts of effective therapeutic skills can significantly increase your confidence to engage with people who are experiencing mental illness or using dependent behaviours. 

What changes or improvements would you like to see in mental health care moving forward?

I'd like to see a biopsychosocial and spiritual model of care more consistently integrated into wider healthcare systems.

Asking people with physical health conditions about their trauma history or their feelings of self-worth should be standardised, yet it's rarely considered by specialist physical health departments.

I believe there is still too much focus on the biological aspect of mental illness and substance dependence. Our healthcare systems tend to only focus on singular presenting problems without looking at lifestyle factors and developmental histories to get a better understanding of the patient's presentation.

A high proportion of people who are dependent on substances will tell you they are using substances to self-medicate traumatic memories.

With this in mind, I don't see a reductionist 'disease model' holding as much weight as it does. Instead, I see time and time again - people exhibiting completely understandable (mal)adaptations to very challenging developmental or social circumstances. As clinicians, we need to be gently enquiring about these circumstances to make the best formulations and most appropriate treatment pathways.

Currently, too many healthcare systems operate in silos, and I'd love to see a more integrated care model where all perspectives are accounted for.

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For more insights, tune into Episode 5 of our podcast, where James and Senior Social Worker Sally Thomas join us to discuss the support available for mental health and AOD workers navigating complex cases.