FACING YOUR FEARS

CAMHS
JABATAN PSIKIATRI DAN KESIHATAN MENTAL
HOSPITAL SULTANAH NUR ZAHIRAH
KUALA TERENGGANU
COMMENT
FEEDBACK
FACING YOUR FEARS: COMMON
GROUSES
• It is so difficult.
• Can I really do it?
• Is this the right way to talk to/ engage with
them?
• What happens if something goes wrong?
• They can be pain in the … (you know what’s
that, right?)
• No way I am going to handle them.
• Let’s someone else handle them.
 FACING YOUR FEARS: FACTS
OR MYTHS
• F = False
• E = Evidence
• A = Appearing
• R = Real
FACING YOUR FEARS: FACTS
• Skills (can be developed)
• Attitude (affects your skills and judgment)
• Prejudice (need to be addressed)
• Unresolved conflict (you can’t be
conflicting all the times)
• Judgmental values (reflect back)
 FACING YOUR FEARS:
OBJECTIVES
• To identify and normalize personal fears in dealing
with teenagers in health care interview settings.
• To create awareness and recognize that fear can lead
to difficulties in managing self emotions in handling the
interview with teenagers.
• To be aware of personal values and responses in
relating to teenagers.
• To impart and generate appropriate responses to
manage fears and to minimize inappropriate
reactions.
• To maintain practice in self awareness of personal
fears in dealing with teenagers, appropriate
behavioural responses to teenagers and managing
personal fears.
FACING YOUR FEARS: WHY?
• Teenagers can be difficult group to handle.
• Many health care professional find dealing
with teenagers can be discomforting.
• The use of HEADSS module can also lead to
difficulty situations between professional and
the teenager.
• Difficult situation could bring negative
feelings (anger; frustration; guilt; feeling of
threat) among the professionals who deal
with teenagers.
 FEARING THE TEENAGERS:
WHAT’S THE ISSUES
• Interacting with teenagers can be difficult
for the adult.
• Difficulties due to fear of handling
teenagers.
• Difficult to interview with fear.
• Fear can lead to mistaken assumption.
• Fear may discourage teenagers from
answering or disclosing further.
 FACING YOUR FEARS:
SOURCES OF FEAR
• Self doubt secondary to lack of self confidence
• Values clash/ personal prejudice
• Negative self expectation/ thinking
• Lack of knowledge and skills (actual or perceived)
• Unfamiliarity with teen issues (developmental,
education, sexuality, spiritual, medical, mental
health, culture, trend, etc)
• Fear of too rigid/ too liberal with personal values.
• Perceived/ actual inability to control self behaviour.
 FACING YOUR FEARS:
SOURCES
Knowledge Skills

Adolescent health problems Communication

Bio-psycho-social developmental Conflict management

stages
Counseling skills
Substance use and abuse
Crisis management
Deliberate self harm
Management of intrusion and
manipulation by parents, teachers
and others
 FACING YOUR FEARS: OTHER
FACTS
• Language barrier
• Silence/ non responsive teenager
• Extreme emotion
• Emotional blackmail
• Attraction/ attachment
• Manipulation of harassment by teenager
• Abnormal behaviour
• Lack of networking/ resources
• Lack of SOP
• Insufficient time for assessment of teenagers
• Inadequate medico-legal knowledge
 FACING YOUR FEARS:
HANDLING IT
• Self awareness
• Interact with teens often
• Professional training
• Improve medical knowledge
SELF AWARENESS: WHAT?

The key to understanding people is to

understand yourself, and how you relate to
other people
 FACING YOUR FEARS: SELF
AWARENESS
• Part of overcoming fear in relating to
teenagers is to understand the self through
self-awareness.

• The lack of self-awareness leads to

discomfort in dealing with teenagers

• Knowing the self in relation to the teenager

helps us to understand personal responses
and values.

• Personal values and belief system can

interfere with interviewing and engagement.
 SELF AWARENESS: WHY IS IT
IMPORTANT?
• Self-awareness is needed to understand
fear in relating to teenagers

• Self-awareness leads to self-acceptance

• Self-acceptance leads to comfort

SELF AWARENESS: BENEFITS IN
COUNSELING
• Knowing how you react to certain
interactions.
• Knowing what you are sensitive to
• Knowing your values and your limits
• Knowing personal motives in helping
others
SELF AWARENESS: MOTIVES
3 common motivations (Day, 1995)

1. To do for others what someone has done

for me.
2. To do for others what I wish had been
done for me.
3. To share with others certain insights I
have learned.
 NEGATIVE MOTIVES: LONG
TERM EFFECTS
Competence Power Intimacy
Negative self image Abuse of power Fear of rejection/
closeness
Poor self esteem Play GOD
Interfering therapeutic
Projected to client Power struggle relationship

Over-submissive Filtering of certain

information
SELF AWARENESS: How does it relate to
the use of HEADSS?

• In HEADSS, the interviewer needs to

encourage answers.
• Poor self-awareness can discourage
answers
• Self-awareness training can help
health care professionals / providers in
being more efficient in obtaining
information
 AWARENESS OF OWN
VALUES
• Values – attitudes, stereotypes, feelings and
preference – should and shouldn’t
– e.g. homosexuality, cancer, death, sex, criminals,
religion, foul language, drug users, alcoholics, AIDS
carrier, sexist, racist, ageist, music (black metal)
• Impossible to be value free so as to have a
perfectly unbiased interview
• Conflict of interest can affect interview process
• Diversity – acceptance, knowledge of culture
(define culture – family, race, beliefs, ideology,
identity, history, etc) – includes values
 HOW DO WE IMPROVE SELF
AWARENESS?
• Knowing how you react to certain
interactions
• Knowing what you are sensitive to
• Knowing your values and your limits
• Knowing personal motives in helping
others
• …so as to minimise personal
idiosyncrasies that can interfere with counselling
process
 FACING YOUR FEAR
Challenging issues:

1. Reluctance to talk
2. Flirtatious
3. Annoyed and aggressive
4. Withdrawn and depressed
5. Teenage prostitutes and money boys
ANGGOTA YANG KREATIF

Health care providers are like a teacher

“ takes their hands, opens their mind and
touches their heart”
 TAKE AWAY MESSAGE

“YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR

YOUR BEHAVIOUR”
 TAKE AWAY MESSAGE

Berkawan bukan
bermakna mesti
melakukan
hubungan seks
QUESTIONS