Adolescent Mental Health Advice

[Mondrian]

Hello good nurses,

I will be applying to nursing school in a few months and have been interested in Psych Nursing for awhile now. I went to an interview for a volunteer position at a local hospital today, and will be starting in the adolescent mental health area as a visitor/buddy shortly. I am an introverted person and am always overly nervous during interviews. When questioning why I wanted to volunteer in this particular unit, the person interviewing me made the comment "I just don't want you to be eaten alive in there." I work in a group home right now and have some experience with adult MI and CD. Does anyone here have experience with the teen population? Any and all advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Karina212]

Search under "adolescence" in the pysche nurse forum and you will find some previous posts on what to expect with this population.

[Eviene]

If you have little experience then it will be so exciting for you to learn so much, yet you will always learn, regardless of your level of experience. It is your employer/supervisors responsibility to make sure you're not "eaten alive", and was a very demoralising remark to make at an interview. Your most important qualities will be self-awareness and communication. You will learn the rest.

[LtSusiePoz]

I worked in adolscent psych for 4 years. It was a great experience but very challenging. At first it may be intimidating, but with time you will learn how to set appropriate limits. The one thing I would tell you for advice....You are not there to be friends with them. Adolescents can be fun to work with but at the same time can be very manipulative. I was very quiet and shy when I started my job, it took a while to become confident enough to be firm with my limits. Give it a shot. One other thing, adolsecent psych can be very emotionally draining. Make sure you have a life outside of work, or you will burn out too quickly. If you have any other specific questions I would be more than happy to answer them!!:)