A connection and rapport with people with lived experience and colleagues is established by mental health practitioners to build and support effective therapeutic and professional relationships. Practioners maintain a high standard of documentation and use information systems and evaluation to ensure data collection meets clinical, service delivery, monitoring and evaluation needs.
The mental health practitioner:
Communication
- Establishes a positive rapport with people, families and carers, adapting a communication style and using age-appropriate mediums to facilitate engagement
- Uses culturally appropriate non-verbal communication, including eye contact and body posture
- Demonstrates active listening skills and advanced interpersonal skills
- Communicates verbally and in written documentation in a well-formulated, concise and clear way
- Provides timely written feedback or correspondence to people, families/carers, referrers and other appropriate, involved professionals
Information management
- Informs the person, families and carers about information exchanged related to their care
- Fulfils reporting requirements in a timely manner
- Legibly and thoroughly completes designated forms for documentation and reporting
- Uses current available technology to facilitate timely communication and effective service delivery
- Maintains contemporary skills in using information technology and related practices, for example, electronic records
- Adheres to professional and ethical requirements when using social media
- Treats personal information obtained in a professional capacity as private and confidential