Jump to content

Mental Health Activity Directors


Guest shayna

Recommended Posts

Guest shayna

:hammer: Ok, so i must need a knock on my head... lol -lol. i have chosen to be an activity director at a mental health facility in AZ. we have 32 beds, 16 adults, 16 adolescents. anyone else out there like me? ideas for getting the adults out of their beds? the adolescents are lethargic and have little motivation or motor skills. any ideas? Pay? what are you all recieving? All of this aside, i really love my work and know how to have fun!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

This is interesting. I would love to hear more about this. I have worked with mental health in the past...just children on a one on one basis. This must be very challenging.

 

Good luck to you.

 

Tiff

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
Guest shayna

8-) its challenging to say the least! Because of the nature of the Seriously Mentally ill clients you are limited to what you can use for supplies. Everything is a weapon and has to be counted. Can't use things like string, popcicle sticks, long pencils. I think i have tried every thing you can do with construction paper! and even thats a weapon for "cutters" :-?

My clients are either a threat to themselves or others....

anyone else out there doing Mental Health clients?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Have you tried the crafts in Oriental Trading? They have a lot of foam kits you can use glue or double sided tape. Most are already cut out so you don't need scissors. :-)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 
 
Guest Tinki

I have worked in Psych as a TRS, I loved it. Because there was and OT we did not do any crafts. But we did mostly games, cognitive, sensory stim, Leisure education and remotivation. I did not know that they hire AD for Psych, that is great.

Karen :-D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hi Shayna!

I worked for a locked psych.facility a few years back and I did crafts with the residents daily.As long as they were on their meds I never had a problem with any supplies being used for anything other than crafts,but I did do alot of music activities and word games with them too.Try having sing alongs,musical instrument bands and have musical entertainment for your residents.We also had cooking class twice a week which was a big hit with my group.What about a creative writing group,pick a topic and have the residents write about it,talk about it.I also use to do an activity called Remember when? Which was fun for the older residents as well as the younger ones,you pick an item or items to talk about,say the old ice boxes,get all the info you can from the internet,pictures etc. and talk about how the item has changed through the years.My residents really enjoyed that activity too.

I know that it is alot more challanging working with the mentally disturbed but just try different things out on them and see what works for your group.

Let me know how you are doing and if you need some more ideas.

Have fun! Gina :-D

 

By the way, where are you at in Az?

I am in Litchfield Park,near Goodyear.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
  • Create New...