Elmer Peiffer of Rotorua Whakaroa said looking after mental health is important in their line of work otherwise they fall apart. ...
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Elmer Peiffer of Rotorua Whakaroa said looking after mental health is important in their line of work otherwise they fall apart.
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Elmer Peiffer of Rotorua Whakaroa said looking after mental health is important in their line of work otherwise they fall apart. ...
Their days are spent being the rock for others at their rock bottom - hearing the horror stories and seeing the pain first hand. Those who have to be strong for everyone else share how they look after their own wellbeing for Mental Health Awareness Week. Cira Olivier reports.
Rotorua Intermediate learning support
Dean Henderson is Rotorua Intermediate's learning support co-ordinator. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Intermediate learning support coordinator Dean Henderson deals with everything from minor social or learning issues to major things such as contacting Oranga Tamariki with welfare concerns.
He's been at the school for two years, and it has been "intense" from day one.
"It especially takes a toll when you have a vested interest in the student.
Covid meant they saw things they didn't expect - "a lot" of kids in emergency housing, families strained by economic hardship, and kids being exposed to negative news or situations.
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"Some of the students here we're dealing with on a daily basis and when something big and traumatic happens in their lives, you do tend to carry that a bit.
"You do sort of internalise things, you feel for the kids."
Henderson said due to the nature of counselling, they've been able to get a counsellor to come into school through the Gumboot Friday initiative which provides two free sessions per student.
This gave the staff information and helped them understand what the children might need.
There were also "different layers of mental health issues" in his line of work.
"We all have our own issues".
There school support team was made up of a social worker, a counsellor, and himself with a big caseload between them.
The team debriefed and unloaded which Henderson said helped them to leave the heaviness behind before going home.
They also took mental health days if needed, take a caseload home if they can, and have counselling available to them through the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP) paid for by the school.
"In this line of work, I don't think you can function to your best if you aren't open about your own health issues and you're addressing those."
He said it was "really important" to have an open relationship with family or friends. For himself, he loved going for walks and gardening.
He said getting help, and not being afraid to ask for help, was crucial.
Rotorua Whakaora
Elmer Peiffer of Rotorua Whakaroa. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rotorua Whakaora's Elmer Peiffer said he and his wife Gina worked seven days a week with a staff of 10 working a varying number of days.
While it was a heavy workload, seeing what their work did for the community made the fatigue worth it, he said.
One of many examples was the gratitude across the face of one of the men who received a piece of T-bone steak from the couple.
When they first dedicated their life to helping people put food on the table, there were tears and sadness from being exposed to what the families were exposed to, he said.
"Everyone has troubles ... you have to set that aside and focus on the relief and joy that the clients are going to get when they see they're going to get food security.
He said it was crucial for them to compartmentalise the "heartbreaking" stories they heard.
"You have to have strong mental health ... you can't take on other people's troubles yourself because you will just break down and fall to pieces."
He said it was a balancing act of showing compassion and understanding but not "take it on and try to be a miracle worker and try to be a miracle fix".
"You need to understand that their troubles are their own. You can help them through their troubles, but don't take them on as your own."
Part of their balancing act was the weekly trip to Hastings to pick up food - a time where he and his wife tried to talk about anything but work and recharged for the week ahead.
Tauranga Women's Refuge
Tauranga Women's Refuge manager Hazel Hape. Photo / George Novak
"Some days I look out the window thinking what the f***, did I just see that, did I just hear that?"
In moments like these, Tauranga Women's Refuge manager Hazel Hape pops on her gumboots and tells the team she's going to the beach.
The working environment they've created meant that when there were moments like this, the team could take some time to refresh.
"Because of the violence and trauma [women and children] are experiencing, our workers get an insight into what that looks like, sounds like, and feels like.
"At the end of the day, we're all people ... it's going to impact any human being who's working in any space where there's trauma."
Since March 2020, the intensity of domestic violence increased two-fold with Covid-19 and there was a "significant" increase in mental health and wellbeing hardships, she said.
To manage their wellbeing, the team had daily karakia and waiata, and stopped work for an hour on Tuesday and Thursday to go for a walk or yoga, and have healthy lunch days together.
Hazel Hape
Manager Hazel Hape has a lot of things in place to make sure staff mental health and well-being is a priority.
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Hape said the team is staggered to allow four-day working weeks since the pandemic, and those that would like to work from home are able to.
"That's just one small way of acknowledging that they're valued ... We forget that in our helping people and trying to save lives, we're asking a lot of workers."
All practitioners had to see an external supervisor to help with their wellbeing, and burnout was managed and prevented in sticking to their roles - they did not try to be mental health practitioners, doctors, nurses, or police.
Team building was also important, she said, and they did things like the escape room and fishing to take the focus off of the work they do.
"If we look after our workers, we can look after our family and whānau."
Tauranga Living Without Violence
Tauranga Living Without Violence social workers proactive in looking after their mental health. Photo / George Novak
There's a lot of joking and laughing among staff at Tauranga Living Without Violence.
There has to be - the things they deal with daily can be confronting, Karina Liddicoat said.
They work with victims and perpetrators of domestic violence - men, women, and children - in groups as well as one-on-one settings.
One of the caseworkers and facilitators, Niki Wade, explained that vicarious trauma could happen in their line of work - second-hand trauma that can build up over time if left unaddressed.
This could show up as overthinking and internalising, identifying with the trauma, and not being able to separate professional from personal.
They needed to make a conscious effort to stop their work influencing how they viewed the world and their analysis of the people and situations around them.
Fellow staff member Susan Robb said there was open communication between caseworkers and team leaders, and staff felt like they could speak to someone if they needed.
Charlotte Fairhurst said self-care and boundaries were "probably one of the most important things".
She said compartmentalising helped - taking the time on the drive home to leave the work behind and practice the self-care they taught their clients.
One of the policies within the organisation was a ban on taking work phones home and there is peer, cultural, and internal, and external supervision.
"Although our job is really serious, and we're working with life or death situations at times, we make a conscious effort to share the load and check-in with each other," Karina Liddicoat said.
This included laughing yoga, having lunch together, having waiata, and singing, on top of supporting one another.
"We try not to take ourselves too seriously ... our jobs can be very heavy."
The team also has access to safety alarms and regular health and safety reviews.
Lockdown was difficult for the caseworkers, and the importance of the policies and practices at work to keep their mental health in check became clear.
Not having the physical boundary between work and home reinforced the need to have good boundaries.
Where to get help:
● Lifeline: 0800 543 354 (available 24/7) ● Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508 828 865 (0508 TAUTOKO) (available 24/7) ● Youth services: (06) 3555 906 ● Youthline: 0800 376 633 ● Kidsline: 0800 543 754 (available 24/7) ● Whatsup: 0800 942 8787 (1pm to 11pm) ● Depression helpline: 0800 111 757 (available 24/7) ● Rainbow Youth: (09) 376 4155 ● Helpline: 1737 ● Anxiety Helpline: 0800 ANXIETY (0800 269 4389) If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111
