Life of a Mental Health Worker

By Angel and R.S. Dulle

This book takes a look into the life of a female that worked in the mental health field for 36 years. She describes many stories of the different types of people she has worked with that were locked up in a State Mental Health facility. The ups and downs of her job, the risks of your safety and at times your life. Although a very stressful and difficult job, her ability to put the fear aside and work with this population in a caring and compassionate way. Her effort to always be respectful, trusting, honest, and expect the same in return. The ability to see this population as human beings and not for their crime. She also endured stress from her home life and some tragic events yet remained composed, stable, and able to show a positive side to life. This is her first book covering about half her career, if well received she will publish her second book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Nov 29, 2021
• ISBN: 9781664199385

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Copyright © 2021 by Angel.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 03/31/2022

Xlibris

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CONTENTS

Preface

History of the Hospital

About me

The start of my career

About Them

My Family

Time To Move On

Hell Hole or Snake Pit

Big Hopes Little Success

A Little Bit of Heaven and Hell

Time for A Change

We Love You Rochelle!

No Where is Safe

Strange Things Happening

Sometimes it Seems Unfair

Pleasures in Life

Back to work

It Never Ends

Small Claims Court

Time Goes On

Something Says It Can Get Worse

Write to relax

There are truly Angels

At it Again

I Got It

You Cant Fool Me

Still Having Regrets

What More is in Store for Me

As Time Goes On

I Am Blessed

This book is

dedicated to all Psychiatric

Technicians and Mental Health care workers

who provide direct care and to the loves of

my life, my three children.

PREFACE

What I am about to tell you in this book may seem unreal, but I know it is all true, I know because I lived it. This is about my life working in the field of mental health as a Psychiatric Technician. I went to college, completed the program, tested and passed the State licensing boards.

I am twenty years into my career and have logged many things that have happened over the years. I always sit down and write after something big happens, it somehow releases my tension. I used to go back and read some of the things I wrote and realized a lot of it seems negative so I will try and remember some positive things too!

For those who read this, you must understand that the things I tell you about people you may not believe, shocking stories of what people have done. This is only a small percent of the people in the mental health system, there are many other facilities that house people either on a voluntary basis or committed by the courts.

I’m not telling you these things to harm these people in any way. I’m shocked at some of the things they have done but I am there to try and help them. Help them get back their lives, to look at their past, see where they really lost it and committed their crime. If they can’t see and understand what it was that led them to what they did, then how can they ever say, It won’t happen again.

The people I work with belong to what is called the penal code or forensic system, most are labeled PC 1026, this is actually guilty but due to mental illness not guilty by reason of insanity. Yes, these people committed the crime but were considered out of their mind, crazy, or insane, so they are sent to a mental health facility, the one I speak of is a State Hospital.

The mission of the hospital is to rehabilitate those to the best of their ability. Sure, some will probably never leave the system, but our focus is to help them look into their past, see the present and give hope for their future. Without hope even you or I would give up and when you give up, you just don’t care. When many of these people don’t care about anything, that’s when they are dangerous.

Some of the people I am going to tell you about have already served time in a prison or a restrictive mental health facility, possibly from prison or another State hospital before being transferred here to us. I have got to say if I ever had to be incarcerated (heaven forbid), I would want it to be in this facility where I work. This place has the most beautiful grounds, a lot of activities, three meals, a bed and clothing provided. You can progress quickly if pretty much together mentally and your behavior is good. The clients or inmates can earn privileges, possibly earn a grounds card that allows them to check out and leave their unit and go out on the grounds without supervision. There are a lot of trees, many are imported from faraway places, there is green grass everywhere. They have a café, patients and staff can buy deli or grocery items and there are places all over the grounds where you can sit down and relax. We have a barber and beauty shop and a great occupational shop where they can make leather goods like wallets, belts and purses. There’s an art center and a big recreation room for parties and dances, a lot of good stuff! We house all ages from eighteen years old and up, some in their nineties. We have men and women who live here, some live on coed units. There is about every race represented but the majority are black and white and over three quarters of the population are male.

For those without grounds card’s, they are restricted to the unit. To be able to go off the unit they have to be supervised by staff. These are the individuals most my work day is spent with. Individuals who may truly be mentally ill. Some who hear voices or visually hallucinate, seeing or hearing things that are not really there. People who rarely trust anyone or even themselves.

Then we have those who are really bright but unwilling to look at their past and become stagnate in the system. Some have such a strong sense of denial that they begin to actually believe they are innocent. There are others that do not want to leave the hospital, they like the community they have grown to know. They like being able to feel safe knowing the staff here will protect them from others and themselves. Sometimes as hard as we try, we are unable to protect everybody.

We have a very tough job and it can be dangerous. I speak out on behalf of Psychiatric Technicians, those out on the front lines, those on the floor dealing with the people. We are the true backbone of the facility. Although the state does not recognize us as Professionals, we are the Pro’s, we are the ones risking our lives to help people get better. I want to also recognize our partners the Registered nurses, they are also out on the floor right along with us. We are the people who listen, assess people or incidents, make decisions and act quickly. We counsel people, talk, offer choices, control situations and try to provide safety to each other, our patients, our environment and the community, we are a group of special people!

HISTORY OF THE HOSPITAL

When I took an English class at the college I wrote my final paper about a State Hospital. It made it easier to research and write about something I actually had an interest in. This hospital has been treating the mentally ill for over 130 years. It is sad to think before this time people with mental illness were often seen as someone possessed by the devil, or evil because they didn’t understand why someone would act the way they do when responding to the voices in their head or responding to things they see, yet others couldn’t see. Some people thought people with mental illness had things wrong like being a witch and some were burned at the stake or chained up, (this must have made them even more ill than they started). The mind can go places no one really understands but I know when I dream it is like I am in this place where it seems so real, you may do things in your dream that you would never do in the real world. Sometimes I see people in my dreams that I have no idea of who they are, or I go places I don’t recognize ever being. Dreams can be so vivid and clear it is like being in another world. Sometimes I wake up from a nightmare, sweating, maybe crying and I thank God it was not really happening. For many people who are mentally ill, they are caught in a dream or nightmare state of mind and it is happening while they are awake and it can go on day after day.

I remember being young and my parents would take us for an ice cream at Foster Freeze and go for a Sunday drive. Sometimes they would drive on the grounds of the hospital and we would look at the patients walking on the grounds. Back then there were more people that were mentally challenged and their appearance scared me. My parents would tell us to keep the windows up and doors locked. Back then anyone could drive on the grounds until about 8 years ago, in 1999 they sectioned off a large portion of the facility putting up no climb cyclone fencing about fifteen feet tall with razor wire at the top and motion detectors on the fence. Inside the fence are the individuals who committed crimes, kind of like a prison type environment.

I also remember when I was in elementary school our class would visit the dairy that was on the grounds or visit the fire station. The hospital was once self-sufficient with everything, food, water, bakery, everything! I will include my report from my English class now because it covers most of what I’m telling you. I gathered my information from books in the library and things that people told me or what I learned growing up in the area and working here. I don’t want to get in trouble if any of the facts are not correct, but I believe in what I’m writing, what I remember in my head.

My school report:

The first State Hospital for the mentally ill was built in Stockton Ca in 1852. It was built to house only eight people (imagine, only 8 people) and by 1860 became overcrowded. In 1870 the legislature passed a bill to take steps to establish a second State Hospital.

Edmond T. Wilkins M.D. a long-time resident farmer in Butte county had moved to Marysville in July 1861 where he practiced medicine, concentrating his efforts on the care and treatment of the mentally ill. He traveled throughout Northern America and Europe studying 149 institutions. He returned to California and made an exhaustive report favoring the moral treatment of the mentally ill and presented it to the Governor of California. On December 2, 1871 the State Legislature approved the act and on April 18, 1872 Governor Newton Booth appointed Dr Wilkins, Dr Shurtleff, and Judge Swift to select a Bay area site for California’s second asylum.

They searched for several months for a serene and peaceful area that would promote people’s wellness. A beautiful site was selected for the new hospital because of its healthful and stable climate, the fact that it offered good land at reasonable prices and its nearness to a water way for receiving supplies, (A river).

They found this sought out place one and a half miles from a small country like town. It was chosen as the site on August 2, 1872. The land was purchased from Don Cayetano Juarez who had received this land as part of a Mexican land grant in 1841 from General Mariano Guadalupe Vallejo.

The first Board of Directors was developed September 18, 1872 and they hired Wright and Sanders, two San Francisco architects to build a 500-bed asylum. This castle like structure was built for $600,000 dollars. The 7 towered domestic Gothic structure was elaborate and ornate, and its uniqueness made it one of the little towns earliest tourist attractions.

The initial amount of land in 1872 was 209 acres. Over the years to meet the water and farming needs it was enlarged to 2062 acres. This was later reduced to 1500 acres, some of the land was leased or sold. The land once encompassed the land a College sits on, it went West to the river and North which is now the downtown area. In 1980 the land was again decreased in size to what it still remains at approximately 1200 acres. The citizens were granted a fifty-year lease to use the land for a wilderness park. This park is home to me, where my ashes will one day be spread. This park is open to the public, this is where I horseback ride and you can still see sites that were developed over one hundred years ago.

The oldest structure on the hospital grounds, both of those standing and gone, is a Dam, now known as a Camp (can’t say). Some of the first stones from the quarry were used to build the dam in 1872. A water source was a first priority when construction began and this dam provided the solution. Elevation assured excellent pressure for the pipes leading to the castle. This dam served as the only water source until 1879 when the ________ Creek was purchased and developed. This land is located at the East end of the property and is still visited by clients and staff. You walk up a beautiful narrow path past an old lath house, past a spring fed basin, a fireplace and rough stone walls built by patients. The lower area still shows the foundation of other small homes built and occupied by patients in the 1800’s.

The first patients arrived on November 15, 1875 to receive mental health services, the average stay was about three months. Many of the patients were displaced people or those suffering from alcohol or drug addiction. By 1880 the patient load had increased by such an extent that funds were appropriated to finish the attic areas of the castle to accommodate more residents.

The hospital was once self-sufficient from the water source to food supply. They had their own dairy, cattle and a poultry farm. They had orchards, gardens, grain fields and even their own cannery, bakery, clothing center, carpentry and upholstery shop. Many of these services are still within the hospital. The dairy closed in the sixties along with the poultry farm, cannery and bakery. Food and water are now supplied by companies who have contracted with the State but many of the other services are still provided within the institution.

The historic name was _____ State Asylum for the Insane. It was to serve those who were mentally disordered, many needing to be removed from society. In 1922 the Department of Institutions was established and under the department’s direction viewpoints changed about mental illness. The name of the facility was changed to a State Hospital and the term insanity became recognized as mental illness. I am not allowed to give names of my town, the facility or any patients names so I had to go back and re-edit everything. I wasn’t told this until after I paid to get my book published. It is an autobiography, I can’t even say where I was born! What bullshit!

The nursing staff originally lived in the castle like structure with the patients until 1920 when the first employee dormitory was built. It housed 17 single women, 5 married couples (both employees), and the upstairs was for night attendants. This building is still used today as an employee dorm, it is coed and has a limited term of 3 to 6 months for employees who need temporary housing for financial reasons or re-location.

In 1949 the castle like structure was deemed unsafe and had to be torn down. It was at this time it was realized how sturdy and strong the structure was, it was difficult tearing it down. More modern facilities were built and the population grew to its peak in 1960 when 4,991 patients were housed in the facility. After 1960 admissions began to decline as changes took place in Government levels of responsibility and more County and Regional based programs were developed. The continual decline was followed by the closure of all farming operations along with the demolition of numerous worker cottages.

The State Hospital began treating people with developmental disabilities opening the first program in October 1968. The hospitals organizational structure was dramatically changed in the early 1970’s by a state wide shift to a Program Management model. This concept called for 14 small management teams, each team responsible for 100-300 patients per program. The clients were grouped together by either their regional (county) or by virtue of similar treatment needs (target group). By the mid 1980’s all the Programs had been switched to the target group approach.

Today there are six separate Programs, each Program having 150-250 patients. Each Program has individual units that house approximately 45 patients per unit and the larger units house up to 75 patients per unit.

Due to the impact of expanded community programing and residential care for the developmentally disabled it resulted in available bed space at other hospitals. In the early to mid-eighties they began phasing out the developmentally disabled (now called developmentally challenged) population and many of these individuals were moved to another developmental Hospital. In exchange that hospital moved their individuals who were mentally ill (not the people labeled mentally challenged), were moved to our facility. The phase out began in 1984 and was completed in 1987 when the last Program for developmentally disabled individuals was closed. Now we served a different population, a little scary for me.

The hospital today houses approximately 1100 clients. Eighty percent are known as the forensic population. Most are committed on what is called a 1026 commitment, they have committed crimes, usually a felony, (such as murder, rape, molestation, assault, robbery, homicide, etc), and the courts have found them not guilty by reason of insanity. There are two other types, a 2972, someone who served their time in prison for a crime but deemed not safe to return to the community due to symptoms of mental illness, therefore sent to the mental health system. The third is called 1370 and they committed a crime but they are ’not competent to stand trial. The job for staff on this type of unit is to help them become competent. See if they know what they have done and assess if they are able to process their thoughts around what happened. Some do become competent and go to trial and end up in the criminal justice system in prison and others become 1026’s and remain in the mental health system. There is a unit that also houses dual diagnosed clients, they are both criminal (as they committed crimes) and developmentally disabled. Some clients (or patients) are labeled sexual predators but most of the violent predators are sent to another more restrictive State Hospital.

The population I discussed, (forensic) are housed within the secured treatment area to prevent them from escaping. This is the area enclosed with cyclone, razor wire, motion detectors, camera’s and hospital police in little booths all around the complex.

The other twenty percent of the patient population exists outside the secured area on what is called the B units. The clients here are mainly on civil commitments, some sent by the courts, some brought by family members or friends, others are sent here from crisis clinic’s and a few voluntarily committed. Most have been found gravely disabled meaning unable to provide food, shelter, or clothing, others because they are a danger to themselves or others. They may be suicidal, homicidal, possibly destruction of property or assaulted someone. They are brought to the hospital because they are out of control and need mental health treatment to get better and get back into the community. They start out on a 72 hour hold and staff observes and assesses their behavior and documents everything in the charts. Doctors, both Psychiatrists and Psychologists, along with social workers and rehab therapists work with the individuals and also make assessments to determine if they indeed need to stay for mental health treatment. If held after the 72 hours they are then reviewed at 14 days and again if held admitted for a lengthier stay. The courts are always involved to make the determination as to if admitted or not. The people who come in voluntarily may leave when requested but if staff feels they are dangerous because of their behavior displayed while in the hospital they can petition the courts to see if the Judge wants to have them admitted, now against their will. Now the process starts again with the 72 hours hold and so on.

There is similar diagnosis of mental illness on both sides of the fence, the secured area and outside. The majority are diagnosed with schizophrenia, some acutely psychotic others chronic. We have people that are diagnosed as antisocial, borderline personality, bipolar/manic depressive, some suicidal, homicidal, dual diagnosed, there are sociopaths, psychopaths, and many have a secondary diagnosis of drug or alcohol dependence.

The mission of the hospital is to assist individuals to achieve their highest potential of independence and quality of life and to integrate safely and successfully into society. The hospitals values are focused on equal access to service delivery, recognition, promoting independence, partnership, safe and supportive environment, ethical behavior, leadership, and quality of care. We achieve excellence through dedication, collaboration, and innovation. Each unit develops their own philosophy and my Programs philosophy is to provide treatment based on the biopsychosocial rehabilitation model. The goal is to establish a violence free expectation from all the individuals and to assist them in effectively dealing with the forensic issues surrounding their commitment. Primary efforts focus on the development of socially responsible behaviors and independent living skills. Services include an emphasis on chemical dependency, education, vocational services, job skills development, leisure and recreation skills, along with group and individual therapy. The unit I work on now has a philosophy to provide clients with the necessary transition towards out-patient status. It offers clients a rare opportunity to participate in an individually based program of community life that emphasizes structured programming as well as mutual respect between clients and staff. The treatment philosophy is guided by staff who believe that a compassionate response towards clients fosters the development and maintenance of therapeutic boundaries as well as community spirit. Treatment approaches emphasize wellness and recovery and encourage clients to develop self-help skills as well as an understanding of the relationship between mind, body, and spirit. Special creative activities, core individual therapy and other unique groups provide a consistent blend of positive reinforcement. We believe that successful clients can positively influence other clients on the same unit as well as throughout the hospital. It is in this manner that a healing experience can be appreciated, and discharge readiness can be furthered.

Services are given by using a treatment team approach. The role of the nursing staff is to promote client independence and responsibility. The nursing staff, also called the level of care staff, provides guidance and care for mental health as well as physical health. We are the Registered Nurses, Psychiatric Technicians, Licensed Vocational Nurses, Psych Tech Assistants and the Hospital Worker. We are the ones who provide the care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We have rotating days off working 5 days on then 2 off followed with 4 on 2 off and it rotates backwards. Besides the level of care staff we have the Ancillary staff, the doctors, social worker, and rehab staff, combined we are the treatment team. Ancillary provides the therapy in a group setting or meets individually. They work Monday thru Friday, usually working 4 days of 10 hour shifts so they have a 3-day weekend every week having Friday-Sunday or Saturday-Monday. The Psychiatrists order their medication and treat any medical conditions. The Social workers and Psychologists provide groups but so do some of the Drs and nursing staff. Nursing provides more leisure groups, and the rehab provides more recreational activities and exercise. All these things together are what a treatment team offers. There are other people that may be involved if any of your individuals go to school, have a job on grounds, attends speech or language classes, chemical dependency, or medical services. It takes time to build a strong team where all can get along, consistent in their approaches, communicate openly and document in charts to keep everyone informed.

At one time the hospital had a positive impact on the community as it drew tourists and was a benefit to the merchants. Today the hospital had to build a dirt berm to cover the fenced in area that looks similar to a prison. Now the community feels it has a negative impact on tourism and City and County officials meet with hospital Administration to ensure the safety of the public and prevention of escapes. This caused a lot of security measures to be put into place. Just to get in you must pass through three locked gates walking in front of hospital police on the other side of the glass. You go around the corner and check out keys from key control which are Hospital Police officers, and you give your peg with your photo, name and discipline inscribed on it. Then you go to your building where the unit you work on is located and enter using your keys you checked out. There are alarms on each key set so you can’t leave the fenced in area with them, they don’t want anyone to try to duplicate any keys for security reasons.

There is an estimated 2500 staff, for all the upkeep of the grounds and buildings, kitchen staff, administration and all the staff working with the clients. The ratio of nursing staff required on each unit is one to every eight patients for Am and PM shift. It is one staff for every 16 patients on Noc shift. So, my unit has 45 patients, we have 6 staff on AM and PM shift and 3 on Noc shift, along with the ancillary staff of 2 Psychiatrists, 2 psychologists, 2 social workers, 2 rehabs, and a janitor. There are so many job possibilities and the benefit with retirement is quite nice. An entry level for nursing is the Psych tech assistant starting at about $2100 a month, a psych tech makes up to $3600 a month, RN’s make a lot more. The Unit Supervisor about $5800 a month (that’s me), and my next step will be Nursing Coordinator at $7500 a month. We are always short staffed and looking to hire, especially licensed techs and RN’s. Hospital police is another area short, and we need more officers. It only requires one class at the college, pass the background check, a psychological and fingerprints. Get hired and make about 4 gran a month, not too shabby!

Once you are in a state job you can count on having it for years. If you like the area you work in, you can probably stay for years. If you don’t like it, you can move to other Programs or units. The hospital has been providing care for over 130 years and will probably be here for many more years to come!

ABOUT ME

My name is Angel, I am a white female born and raised in a Valley which is in Northern California. Over the years I have really seen a lot of growth in the valley and it is still growing. My dad graduated from the same High school as well as myself, and my kids.

When I was young my parents would take us places like Los Angeles to go to Disneyland or to Santa Cruz to visit my Grandparents and spend time on the Boardwalk. They would frequently meet people and have conversations like Where are you from or Do you live locally, and my dad would respond We are from this Valley as if proud. The people would either say Oh, I have never heard of that or a response like That’s where the crazy people are or that is where the insane asylum is". Then my dad would talk about the beautiful hills and trees here and how you can’t beat the mild climate anywhere else in the area, for that matter you may not get better weather anywhere else in the state, maybe the country, that’s what we think anyway!

Now the Valley seems to be known for the grapes. I mention I am from here and people say something about that is where all the best wines come from. They can’t hardly believe it when I say I don’t even drink wine. People come from all over to tour and visit the big winery estates to see how their delicious wine is produced and tastes. The reason I do not drink wine is because when I was seventeen years old I was partying and each of us drank our own bottle of strawberry wine, Strawberry hill. All the kids drank this cheap wine or at least heard of it. My mistake was going to this pool hall after, and I chased the wine with a couple of beers. I went home drunker than a skunk (I didn’t drive). My brother had a big waterbed and he was away for the weekend staying at his friend’s house, so I laid on his bed and crashed out. When I woke up the next day I had vomit in my hair, all over the blankets and down in the cracks of the waterbed. The smell was awful, just think about the way puke smells mixed with the sweet wine that now soured in my stomach along with the stingy smell of beer. I had to clean all that up, between the cracks and crevices of the waterbed mattress and frame and myself. Needless to say, that was the last of my wine drinking days. A good friend of mine said I should try a glass of good wine that I might like it, I just don’t have any desire too. I rarely even drink any alcohol, maybe a margarita with Mexican food or out with friends but this is only six or seven times a year.

In this little town I live in, I was raised by both my mother and father along with one sister and one brother. My sister Ellen was born first, and I came along eighteen months later. My brother Jr was born eleven months after me. I can’t imagine having a newborn with an eleven-month-old and a two-year-old. My kids are three and a half years apart between each of the three, that was manageable.

My parents gave us so much love (and still do) and we grew up a very close family. We would go camping, spend time at the beach, or just go for a Sunday drive and get a big ice cream cone dipped in chocolate at Foster Freeze. I never minded the drives because they were usually in the country and scenic. I always looked for wildlife and nature’s things. We would frequently go to the drive-in movies, a big pan of buttered popcorn, sodas and a little candy, that was the good old days. My parents let my sister and I raise guide dogs for the blind. We were in 4-H and each had female Golden Retrievers that were sisters. My pup was named Kitta and hers was Kenna, how neat, two sisters raising sister pups. We had them for a year taking them to training classes and dog shows on a regular basis. I was about seven years old and Ellen nine. We met with other kids every week and all of us would learn how to train the dogs and tasks to work on until the following week. The dog shows were statewide so we went to other cities and competed, most of the shows were in San Rafael where the main office is for Guide dogs. At the end of a year is the hardest part when you have to say goodbye and turn the dogs into the facility where they go through extensive training before going on to serve the blind people. We had to say goodbye, hugging and kissing them, crying, cried all the way home. About six months later we get a call to say my dog Kitta would make an excellent breeding dog for pups and wanted to know if we were interested in getting her back. I was so happy I couldn’t wait to pick her up. I felt sorry for my sister as her dog went on to a new home with a blind lady. There was a ceremony and she presented Kenna to her new owner. This too made us cry but that was the whole purpose of raising the pups. The agreement was my dog had to be