E don’t really see ourselves as a threat to any existing pro-

fessional in the field, rather we hope to complement their roles and to fill the manpower shortage where it is most serious - skillful human contact with people.

W e are learning to experience a per- son in every way that he presents him- self, and we are finding that by having his presentation validated by our ac- ceptance of him he becomes able to experience others and allow others to experience him more fully.

Although we are not being “trained to perform” in any existing role - we will complement the existing roles - we will be able to work flexibly within a social therapeutic environment.

W e do not view the “identified pa- tient” as medically ill and therefore relate to him as human. W e have learned that words like empathy, open confron- tation, experiencing another person are not just words, but rather are a very meaningful way of life. Skillful appli- cation of these concepts works thera- peutically in dealing with people.

There is no time like the present - and that is what we deal with!

W e are not nurses, we are not junior college psychiatrists, we are not aides, we are not psychiatric technicians, we are not baby sitters, we are not analysts, we are people being trained to work with people who cannot cope with their every day problems in living. 99

by Barbara Sinclair and Edna Nelson, M H T students April, 1970

Perspectives in Psychiatric Care Volume X

Abstracted from the examination p@ers of the second M H T class o f students at the end of their first year.

“Our aim is not one of conflict with the professional fields, but one of collabora- tion. The science and art of personally caring for another individual is the over- all prerequisite and the underlying phi- losophy of the program. . . . In essence, our philosophy is that we care, but this caring is coupled with the individual’s [the client’s] desire for personal change.”

Dick Dufor, M H T student

“The mental health technician will func- tion interdependently yet individually in the setting of the Therapeutic Com- munity. He will participate, yet observe; feel his own emotions, yet function as a helper; and think, but not judge.”

Pam Morgan, M H T student

“. . . as a mental health technician, I see myself as a listener, a friend, and a unique person who is sensitive to those I relate to. . . . One way we differ from the aides in a state institution is that we help people (not patients) in a personal way.”

Linda Stafford, M H T student

“We are only there to help the clients help themselves. W e do not make decisions for them, that is for them to do. W e give them the support that they need when they need it. . . . W e are try- ing to keep the client in his home, with his family, and in the community.”

Carlton Rogers, M H T student 12/7/68

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