My mental health career began ten years after general nurse training at St George Hospital Sydney (1983–86), followed by mental retardation nurse training and employment at the Riverglade Centre in Gladesville. I thoroughly enjoyed several years in disability, rising through the ranks to Clinical Nurse Specialist and Nurse Unit Manager — but once the NSW institutions began closing in the 1990s following recommendations of the Richmond Report, the writing was on the wall.
I was at a career crossroad. Having sampled behavioural nursing I now felt more drawn to the idea of psychiatry than returning to general nursing. Many of my clients had comorbid mental illness, and I knew colleagues from the psychiatric side working casually with us. I opted for the hands-on phase 1 psychiatric nursing certificate, moving six kilometres to Rozelle Hospital to facilitate this. Here I worked in numerous specialty practice areas, including Intensive Psychiatric Care, two 40-bed acute admission units, psychogeriatric admissions, rehabilitation, a medicated detox, and Department of Veterans Affairs wards. I learnt a great deal from the experienced staff and patients I had the privilege to work with — some older staff could even recall practice prior to psychotropic medication.
My first community experience, with the Redfern mental health team, followed on from Rozelle. This was an incredible period of professional growth — assisting the rich tapestry of characters inhabiting the towering public housing blocks of Redfern and Waterloo. I worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist with this small, experienced, and supportive team. It was the best possible induction. There were minimal OH&S protocols to follow in the day, with discretion, intuition, and gut instinct highly regarded.
My family relocated to northern Tasmania in 2000. Upon arrival I was surprised — and somewhat horrified — to learn that my psychiatric certificate wasn't recognised there, prior to national registration through AHPRA. I could work in inpatient settings, but not community settings, without a Graduate Diploma. Inconvenient with a young family, I completed my studies through Deakin, courtesy of a College of Nursing scholarship. I then worked 18 months at the Launceston General Hospital before returning to the community sector I sorely missed.
I worked a total of 15 years with the Community Forensic Mental Health Service in northern Tasmania. Working across rural and remote areas was markedly different to my experience in inner Sydney — instead of clients living within close proximity of the health centre, home visits were often vast distances apart. It was rewarding fostering therapeutic relationships with clients in their homes over many years. Assisting individuals to achieve and maintain wellness, live fulfilling lives, and within the forensic context — avoiding re-offending — was my objective. I also acted in a Court liaison role, supporting the Courts through provision of reports and recommendations.
In 2013 I seized an opportunity to visit the Lagankhel mental health facility in Nepal with colleagues from the ACMHN — a fascinating cross-cultural experience. I have attended numerous ACMHN conferences throughout my career, presenting at a couple, reviewed chapters of international textbooks for adaptation to the Australian and New Zealand context, published short stories, and sat on several committees including the Inaugural Sentencing Advisory Council in Tasmania. I have long been a Credentialed member of the College.