Hi, I’m Lana. I carried out my SME Internship as a mental health support worker at Supported Independence (SI), within their Redcliffe branch.
I began by attending three days of training: the first two days were company-specific training carried out by SI staff, and the third was run by an external company regarding breakaway and challenging behaviour. On the days of my inductions, I shadowed a few different experienced mental health support workers with clients they supported.
After approximately one week of shadowing, I began working with clients one-on-one. This included:
- meal supporting clients struggling with eating disorders
- supporting clients with their day-to-day activities, such as trips to the supermarket, appointments, managing finances, and supporting with medication
- listening to those who wanted to talk about how they were feeling.

Throughout my internship, I learned how to better support clients in a person-centred way, whereby their individual needs were my priority.
I was given the opportunity to ask other support workers about individual clients’ needs in order to make them feel more comfortable with the way I approach them.