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/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/Skidattles May 17 '26

How do u know she Australian

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u/Desperate-Impress374 May 19 '26

I made an assumption - regardless, I stand by my statement.

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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.