|
ally bad for your mental health . I don ' t doubt potentially some people do live their life on these social networks but with everything in life , you need to strike a balance and recognise that actually – we should be embracing this . The NHS seems to fear the unknown and social media hits the jackpot . However , some initiatives are being driven forward and discussions are taking place . The Internet needs to be a safe place that protects staff an patients and with simple guidelines – then this is achievable .
Dr Trevor Lakey works as a health improvement officer in Glasgow and is involved in many projects which put social media at the forefront of all things mental health . A pioneer of the Mindwaves project is one small strand of the work he does . Taking part and viewing the online chats which take place on Twitter is something that he has engaged with and learns from . It provides a platform for the NHS taking social media seriously and providing projects all across Scotland .
COMMUNICATING
Trevor said : “ My career is all about communication and dialogue . “ Whilst looking online , I could see more and more people using social media in a professional way , rather than for social link ups . “ I attended a conference a few years ago hosted by Chris O ' Sullivan ( he works for the Mental Health Foundation ) on social media within mental health .
|
“ At that point , I felt there was an opportunity to use social media in a more planned way . “ My NHS board didn ' t have a social media policy for employees to use it without jumping through several hoops . “ Therefore , I decided to set up my own private twitter account to use outside of work but to explore topics close to my job . “ I found fairly rapidly there was a huge benefit of being on twitter .”
BOUNDARIES
Social media formed a way in where normal boundaries were broken down but still respected . He explains : “ I could see that there was a growing body of people ( professionals and service users ) and I could see the boundaries between everyone merging . “ Twitter has become a levelling tool from having discussions with different hierarchies . “ Also , from a geographic point of view – you could quite easily be having the conversation with someone from Brazil .
“ I started to learn things from other initiatives that I could start to use in my own daily work from places like Australia . “ Both myself and my colleagues tapped into things like ' Head Space ' in Australia which was a mental health initiative . “ With it being a huge country , they needed to use imaginative ways to communicate and support people . “ Originally that was by phone but it ' s now branched online now .”
|
DEBATE
If only it was as straight forward back here in Scotland and debates will likely continue over the merits of social media in a medical context . In larger public organisations there is always going to be constraints as more time is need to consider things . A growing number of people are pushing for change and modernisation – the time has come to embrace the technology we have .
It ' s not just about chatting for Trevor though as he explains involvement in other projects which engage with the younger generation and aim to provide the tools to educate them properly on mental illness . He adds : “ Young people are constantly on the lookout for new apps and websites that will help their own recovery . “ Already there is a lot of god content on the Internet but we ' re finding young people don ' t know where to start and perhaps go straight to Google and can end up anywhere with good , bad or indifferent quality .”
MINDWAVES
The mindwaves project is an online blog which posts positive articles about mental health wellbeing in Scotland . The content is posted by community reporters who have real life experience of living with a mental illness . It looks to provide insightful points of view from those who we must listen to the most . The benefits of social media and these projects is quite
|
evident and they need time to continue to prosper , more people need to get involved and see the benefits of embracing the Internet .
Trevor adds : “ I think just from health service point of view that we need to commit to be in this game for the long-haul . “ We can ' t do it on our own and we need to work in partnership with other organisations . “ The catch 22 is that unless you are using some form of social media as a health professional - whether in a professional capacity or in your homelife – how do you know what it ' s capable of ? “ They assume the risks are higher than they are .
“ You need to develop your own boundaries and rules and safety mechanisms – we should be helping people with guidelines and setting those boundaries . “ We shouldn ' t just put the shutters down became it ' s risky – we should manage our way out the risks . “ A lot of people are now realising that if you set a sensible guidelines that aren ' t too restrictive – then the benefits far outweigh the risks . “ If you aren ' t prepared to let people try things and get them wrong so you can correct them , then you ' ll never get far . You learn , you improve and you then try something different .”
Follow Trevor on Twitter @ Synedrum
|