is it true that having mh problems will stop dd being a social worker?

[justicesign]

i am so worried about my dd1 :( she is off to uni in september and she definitely has an eating disorder and i just don't know what to do. she says she would access some help but says she isnt 'bad enough' so not worth it when they wouldnt let her do her course, etc.

is this true? i have tried telling her it isn't and she says i dont know that so i figured i would try and get some facts

Best to check the criteria for the course. I'm not a social worker but you can't do my course/job if you have an eating disorder so they may have a similar criteria. If she hasn't yet been diagnosed then by getting help now she could hopefully address the issues before they become full blown.

I'm not sure about her uni but I know that, in filling in the forms for your s/w placement, some course ask you to advise on any health issues that might affect your placement work. A student I knew had epilepsy and had to be assessed by occupational health at the uni. Another had dyslexia and had a hard time being placed in statutory s/s because of the amount of paperwork she would have had to do. You could try asking the programme leaders of another uni as a general
inquiry. I suspect , though, they would say it would depend

Not sure about that, I work in health and I know a lot of social workers, and it seems a lot of them have a background of having mental health problems, or from a family with drug addiction or dv, etc. They have knowledge and interest in helping people who are in the situations they were in, which is which they became social workers. I'm in Australia though so ymmv.

I know a social worker who has had MH issues, so no, it wouldn't necessarily stop her being a social worker, but the one i know was already qualified before she had issues so not 100% on if it would affect her course, would ringing the uni and asking be an option? Obviously don't give DD's name, but if you called saying you were looking at doing whatever course shes looking at they'd be able to tell you if it was a rule. national careers service might also be worth talking to.

epilepsy and dyslexia aren't mental health issues btw pennydrops17 epilepsy is medical condition and dyslexia is a specific learning difficulty.

My d has a diagnosed eating disorder and has had inpatient treatment. She hopes to go to medical school. Her research has shown that as long as she is in good physical and mental health when she goes to uni, and because she went into treatment as a voluntary (as opposed to sectioned) patient, her medical history won't prevent her from going to medical school or registering as a doctor.

I work in student support for a HE institute and this is my day to day work (for a medical school, so governed by a professional body) For me, it wouldn't stop any student being on the course as long as they were fit and well. This includes having active treatment and making adjustments to training to allow that to happen. E.g. allowing a student certain placements that would mean they could get to their counselling/phychiatrist/CBT appointment every week. Occupational Health referrals in this situation are common but are for the benefit of the student, OH recommend adjustments and support strategies that we can then implement. Out of 1500 students I've only ever known 1 be signed off by OH and we make referrals almost daily.

The only thing I would stress is making the university/her course leader/personal tutor aware of it if/when she feels comfortable enough with them or if she does think she might need more support. She will be eligible for support but they can't help if they don't know. Sadly, but understandably, I do see many students who are too worried about the stigma and the 'Chinese whispers' that's go around between students to seek support.

I have seen many students with eating disorders graduate happy and healthy

Not sure about uni courses but i know an occupational therapist who has previously been sectioned and had electric shock therapy.

I got onto a psych nursing course as a mature student,

I never got taking up my place cos my physical health broke down but from a mh perspective I'd stopped counting my mh admissions after 30 inpatient stays, which my average was approx 4-5 months each, that includes sections.

It still wasn't going to disqualify me to train having lived experience of mental illness.

A friend who has 3 separate mh diagnosis qualified as a sw last year and is attached to the mh team in her area covering the other side of the town so her clients aren't on doorsteps and potential for boundaries to be crossed. She still struggles and her colleagues support her like when she was a service user.

I don't think having had a mental health issue would stop her. Having an active and untreated one might do... She would be better off getting help and support because the stress of uni is unlikely to make it better :(

Yes GreebolACutePussPuss, I know that. I did mention 'any health issues' (as in OH assessment which the students underwent)** before mentioning dyslexia and epilepsy.

I agree OH itself may well think they're not a barrier but someone, somewhere discriminated against these students getting placed. That said, clearly in some unis/placements, others are being supported so that is good and promising.

OP, you must be worried. Will she be living at home at uni or going away? It strikes me that going to a new place, trying to make new friends could exacerbate her eating disorder. Is it the best plan, at this stage?

You have to be deemed medically fit to undertake the course. As it stands she isn't. If she seems treatment she will be.

Justice, that sounds like a whole load of worry for you and no one could blame you for being so concerned.

My instinct would be to try and stop my DD from going away if I knew she wasnt very well but Im not sure how actually managing that would be possible.

A previous poster asks if DD going away could make things worse for your DD and I think, very sadly, that her going away is going to the start of a very difficult time, for her, for all of you. I think when she has the freedom to live with the eating disorder out of sight of the family it really is going to develop further.

Is there any way over the next few months that you could take advice yourself on how to handle being the parent of someone with an eating disorder? I concerned about what you probably will have to face the first time she's home.

Would it stop her being a SW? Ive no idea but my mother who had a lifetime of MH issues was once assigned a SW and to this day I can remember exactly how she came across on the doorstep. She had very obvious MH problems herself and I asked for her to be taken off my mums case. That however was back in the day when people didn't use very much common sense and the SW's health problems were meant to make her more understanding of her clients. I thought it was the last thing she needed - someone who was obviously unwell herself trying to give her advice. It may have been a different situation altogether a year or so down the line if she'd received the help she needed and she was well again.

It sounds to me like she is avoiding getting help. As far as I know there is no blanket ban on eating disorders, but they will (quite rightly) want to be sure that the work placements won't make her more ill, and that she has got it under control.

SW is a demanding stressful job and personally I'd be concerned that it would aggravate her problems. I also think (this is my personal opinion) that for the time being at least she should not be working with service users with eating disorders. I'm not saying that in 10 years time she shouldn't use her experience but right now she is living with this as a current problem and it would be the wrong thing for her and for the service users.

Unless she has sought help for her disorder and its on her medical records, why would she even disclose it?

I'm a doctor and doctors are watched more closely than any other profession. I've had loads of issues in the past, which many people think would disqualify me from being a doctor, but I made it and happily working for many years now with no restriction. The issues happened in medical school. The important thing is to be honest, get help, and recover.

What Stinky and others have said. It's not about what is on her record, it's about what her state of health actually allows her to cope with.

I have a dd with somewhat different MH issues who is going away to HE in the autumn. I feel quietly confident because she is very pragmatic about her situation and proactive in getting help.

As a university lecturer I have seen countless students with various conditions over the years, we have a very good support set-up, but as Stinky says, we can only help when we know.

I am a doctor, a friend I lived with at uni (also a doctor) went through treatment for anorexia at uni and it didnt affect her training at all.

Hi OP. She needs to seek help for her eating disorder.

The course will potentially make things worse as studying / placements will be stressful and could exacerbate symptoms. If things get worse then, yes, they can potentially, get occupational health advice and she could have to take time out until she is fit.

The best thing she can do is be proactive and get the counselling / treatment she needs right from the beginning. That is a whole lot better than having the university deem her unfit at some point in her studies, taking time out and having to rejoin at a later date. They can also refuse registration at the end if they judge her to be unfit to practice.

Make no mistake, if she is struggling with symptoms now, it could get worse during the course so she needs to be proactive and get herself the help she needs. She can't support others effectively unless she is mentally and physically fit herself.

@StillDrivingMeBonkers - I think the point is, she hasn't received help and she needs to. However, the girl won't get help because she is worried about it being on her records and most unis for social work, etc. require an occupational health assessment, where it would come to the surface if she received help in the past. Not necessarily to say she isn't fit to do it, but to discuss it.