Innovation
An interactive website that demonstrates the use of specific mental health interventions and advanced communication skills. The student can watch, repeatedly if necessary, clinical examples of different therapeutic interventions and see how skills are used to develop a collaborative partnership with a client in mental health practice. The student can download a blank template of each intervention and is encouraged to write down the clinically salient information as the client speaks in the video; the aim of this is to develop their ability to maintain therapeutic engagement whilst making a record of the client’s responses. The student can then download a template completed with an ideal answer to compare with their work.
The full website can be found here.
What prompted innovation?
Learning how to work therapeutically with clients in mental health care takes a great deal of time to practice. Students will not learn how to be effective in their clinical interactions simply through trial and error in their practice placements. This web resource outlines a structured way of working with clients that aims to help students develop their skills utilising evidence based practices.
Limited teaching contact with students means that it is vital to make the most of classroom time. Rather than spending 30 minutes demonstrating the therapeutic skills live in the room and a further 30 minutes discussing this, encouraging students to access the website prior to the class means that the students arrive in class ready to practice the interventions. Students can also revisit the website to hone their skills following their experience of practicing the interventions. The website is useful for students that may miss taught sessions, as there is little time to recap material. It is also helpful as a reminder for students further on in their training.
What makes innovation different?
The web resource is not just video examples of practice; it outlines a structured way of working. It addresses the overarching therapeutic framework, the range of individual interventions and the micro-skills required of clinical practice. In this way, the resource layered and can be viewed actively in different ways.
Changes in practice
- The student can chose to be an active participant by interacting with the resource by practicing their note-taking skills.
- It is accessible from the internet, rather than being shown exclusively in class, so students are able to watch it as many times as required and at their own pace; they can pause, rewind and watch specific skills in use.
Impact
The resource has just been trialled with a full group. It has been frequently cited in student evaluations as an important learning resource; 19 of 28 evaluation forms specifically cited the video resource as one of the best features of the module:
“the online videos of the sessions were helpful to watch how to apply the skills”
“application of skills through video examples”
“video resource was great!”
“Harvey and Ben’s website with interactive learning is JUST BRILLIANT!”
The most significant evidence for the impact of the resource is demonstrated through the students’ involvement in the in-class exercises. No longer are students waiting to be fed new information, they are coming to the class prepared, with a clear idea of what is expected of them.
Dissemination
The staff in the Mental Health team have been introduced to the resource and encouraged to use it. It has been used at a number of external conferences and courses, yet it has not been widely disseminated.