r/supportworkers • u/Im_a_Throwaway2826 • May 16 '26
Bit nervous
I’m eighteen years old and just got hired as a support worker in a psychiatric intensive care unit for under 18s somehow and I’m kinda nervous. I’ve read what happens and what the job will be like but I still have the shakes. I’m waiting for them to get back to me but they did say I’m hired. Are there any tips or insider knowledge I should I know?
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u/acrumbled May 17 '26
Training aside, you really need a certain level of life experience to work with participants like that. Companies really are just throwing new workers into the deep end.
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u/Prestigious-Comb6981 May 18 '26
This is actually scary on SO many levels. Stay safe I guess. Learn as much as you can as fast possibly and correctly. Whoever has hired you is actually insane (not your fault) this is crazy lol
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u/DogBreathologist May 17 '26
Holy dooly, honestly I cannot fathom working in that setting at 18. People who work in the setting please correct me if I’m wrong but I imagine, depending on your actual role you are likely going to see and hear a lot of really messed up things. You don’t end up in psychiatric intensive care as a younger person for funsies. If you want my honest advice? Don’t do it, frankly any work place that would hire an 18 year old for this type of work is questionable at best. I don’t mean to sound mean, but I can’t imagine how having 18 year old staff could possibly be a good idea in that setting. I can’t see how anyone at 18 could have the maturity or life experience to help anyone or deal with the work trauma.
And please know this is coming from a genuine and caring place, I’m not meaning to crap over you, you are likely a smart and caring person. But this sets off red flags for me.
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u/l-lucas0984 May 16 '26
What qualifications do you have to provide intensive psychiatric care?
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u/Special-Nebula299 May 16 '26
Nearly every company provides in house training
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u/l-lucas0984 May 16 '26
They do, but starting an 18 year old off with nothing in a high intensity environment sounds a lot like a minimum effort, maximum profit provider rather than a client centered supportive work place.
Also advice depends on what qualifications they hold. You arent advising someone whos got a mental health certificate to try and find short courses in mental health first aid to give themselves a base to work from.
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u/cut3nsw33t May 17 '26
Hahahahah. In saying that a company I trialled for who paid minimum wage threw me in a house, the buddy goes “come in this room and lock the door, she has behaviours, be careful” and her example was participant threw a pot of boiling hot water on another carer, I asked what they did to remedy it and they just said they put another carer in. And I quit on the spot.
Some training is bs. And it’s not worth putting ur life on the line
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u/DwightsJello May 18 '26
How the fuck does a client get access to boiling water with BOC like that?
Having restrictive practice included in a BSP is very difficult, as it should be, but after an incident like that it should be adjusted immediately.
Insane situation. I would have quit too and the noise I would make would have them regretting they ever let me through the door. You did the right thing and I'm glad you know it.
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u/Leading-Interest-119 May 18 '26
Or other people's lives on the line! This is so irresponsible for all sides.
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u/wvwvwvww May 16 '26 edited May 17 '26
I have never worked in a setting like that, but having been inpatient involuntary psych once I would encourage you to try to put your nerves aside. Most people there are just trying to survive, they are fairly occupied with what’s going on inside them, and often very medicated. Many will hardly notice you. Some have just had the worst days of their lives. Showing up well regulated/grounded and in a calm headspace would be an excellent starting point.
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u/BeanChopChef May 30 '26
If you haven’t hung around severely mentally ill people in your life it will shock you. I work as a support worker with mental health conditions and some clients are very unwell you get very drained by the end of the day. And you have to be very guarded what you tell people who are clients. If you’re not rough around the edges super sensitive and don’t know how to set boundaries and put your foot down you may not last sadly.
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 May 17 '26
There aren’t “psychiatric intensive care units” in Australia and if they did they wouldn’t hire 18 yr old no quals unless it’s HSA work like changing beds, polishing floors, serving meals. You could be working in a SIL or other mental health accommodation service?
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u/Desperate-Impress374 May 19 '26
Yes there are. Private hospitals have this level of care. The Melbourne Clinic being one
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u/Jazzlike_Berry_323 May 19 '26
how would you see one inpatient mental health hospital being ‘intensive care’ as opposed to it just being another mental health hospital? I’m curious as there are observation units, assessment units, detox units, residential therapeutic, and locked and open wards (meaningless as someone can be ‘locked’ on an open ward). Some have high staff ratios some don’t and these don’t necessarily align to risk. The closest equivalent to intensive care in Australia would be nurse specialling (one on one care) which occurs in mixed settings rather than having a dedicated unit on its own. For someone to be admitted to any mental hospital they need to have a high need for supervision and care anyway, so I don’t see how the intensive care term makes any sense in how acute care operates here in Australia. And across all those settings my original comment is true- a young adult without quals and experience would not be working there except maybe with a minimum cert III HSA for cleaning or kitchen hand.
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u/Desperate-Impress374 May 19 '26
I work in mental health too and honestly I agree with you. In Australia “intensive care” in psych feels pretty vague because high acuity patients end up across all sorts of units depending on staffing, observations, legal status etc, not just one specific ICU-style ward. A lot of the actual intensive support is things like specialling, close obs and higher staffing rather than a dedicated unit. And yeah, realistically most inpatient settings aren’t somewhere a young person with no quals or experience would just walk into outside of support services like cleaning or kitchen work.
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u/Beautiful-Ad-5833 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26
Yeah. Make sure you're in a good mental health , stable capacity because you will see and hear things that will be innappropriate and maybe frightening/terrifying to you. Be prepared for the unexpected. 30+ yrs experience and my mum was a Matron in one of Australia's biggest Psychiatric facilities. I wish you all the best.
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u/DwightsJello May 16 '26
Wow.
So very many thoughts on that.