Vestfjörður's mental health team resumed work on April 1, 2020 after a break of several months, but on that day Thelma Björk Guðmundsdóttir assumed the position of project manager of the team. Thelma Björk graduated with an MA in social work from the University of Iceland in the summer of 2015. Since graduation, Thelma has worked both as a case manager at Laugarás, a treatment and rehabilitation psychiatry department at Landspítali for young people with incipient psychotic illnesses, and also as a social worker at the Women's Refuge.
Currently, Thelma Björk is the only member of the team who is permanently employed at Hvest. Psychologist Helena Jónsdóttir is contracted and has taken on clients through the mental health team, and this August psychologist Sigrún Þóra Sveinsdóttir joined the group, but she also provides remote mental health services on a contract basis.
The dream situation would be to have an interdisciplinary team at the institution that would come together to design and provide efficient and quality mental health services. Emphasis is therefore placed on hiring more professionals permanently into the team, and recently an advertisement went live: https://www.stjornarradid.is/efst-a-baugi/laus-storf-a-starfatorgi/laust-starf/2020/09/15/Malastjori-i-gedheilsuteymi/.
It's safe to say that a lot has happened since the team started working again, but the first case of Covid-19 was detected in the Westfjords at the same time that, naturally, the restrictions that came with Covid had an effect on the activities. The waiting list for the team's services was long and many people who wanted to be in the service or had been in the service and wanted to continue. At first, the emphasis was on listening to everyone as much as possible, taking the situation and deciding what to do next.
Since it was not possible to invite people to interviews at the health care, the first interviews took place through Kara Connect, which is a secure way, certified by the National Health Service to offer remote interviews. In mid-May, it was finally possible to invite clients to interviews at the health care facility. It has gone well and the services of the mental health team are well used.
The mental health team is intended to take care of the entire country, and it is planned that Thelma Björk will go on a field trip next September 24 and 25 to further promote the activities and establish relationships with both health professionals and clients in the southern part of the Vestfjords. You can book an appointment at the health care center in Patreksfjörður by calling 450-2000, get more information about the services that are available, and follow up with conversation therapy if needed. Regular interviews will be available in the future, both on site while weather permits and in between with remote mental health services.
More information about the mental health team can be found here but it is worth noting that the team's services are free of charge to clients.
If you have questions or if you want more information, you can contact Thelma Björk at the email address thelma@hvest.is or by phone 450-4500.
Author: SLG