The Capital District Mental Health Program was honored to have the authors of the Tidal Model, Dr. Phil Barker and Poppy Buchanan-Barker visit our facilities for two days of consultation and present a one day conference. The honor was complemented with their Scottish background. Nova Scotia has special historical connections with Scotland that are captured in the very name of our province and the strong cultural heritage of our communities.
The two days of consultation were planned to permit as many staff as possible to meet and talk to Phil and Poppy. Visits to the units provided our visitors with an opportunity to discover the issues of concern to front-line staff members and their work with the Tidal Model. Some clients joined the conversation to add their concerns and observations. Forums, open to all disciplines were held to dialogue about implementation and changing practice.
There were many highlights to the visit; however, the Tidal Model Conference “Navigating the Future with the Tidal Model: Enhancing Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing Practice” provided a venue for over 130 participants to meet Phil and Poppy. It was a unique opportunity to be present while the authors explained and demonstrated how the Tidal Model works. Nurses attended from several other provinces including Newfoundland, Ontario, and Alberta. The response was overwhelmingly positive.
Comments and Evaluation
Some of the participant comments capture the energy and reflection generated from the conference.
“Another reminder that care of people is a human undertaking that often gets overlooked as we get caught up in our professionalism and business.”
“I felt a bit saddened about the state of mental health care in Canada, but Tidal offers hope. We are all part of the solution.”
“My place is with my patients as a nurse not [with] the clinical paper work that can be time consuming.”
When participants were asked to identify the “Best Part of the Conference”, many identified our keynote speakers, Poppy and Phil.
Comments such as:
“Listening to Phil and Poppy and watching them engage with the audience.”
“Listening to Poppy and Phil – their genuineness and down to earth humor really comes across.”
“I found Poppy and Phil to be charming, articulate and reasonable.”
“The sharing between Poppy and Phil and the audience.”
The participants went away from the conference with plans to change their practice. Some of the ideas they shared included:
‘’Meet others in the management team to begin the process of implementation.”
“Buy the book, examine my own practice and provide a feedback session for my co-workers on the Model.”
“Consider ways in which Tidal might be taught in nursing undergrad.”
“Share with clients and read more – I see how the concepts of the Tidal Model fit with PSR [psycho-social rehabilitation] Principles that guide practice. There are parallels that match perfectly.”
“Try to apply Tidal principles in my interactions with the nursing staff on the unit I manage.”
“Educate and inform my colleagues in Public Health. I need to understand and apply it more so that I can see how to adopt it into what we do.”
“Work towards “implementation” at my workplace.”
“Complete an Holistic Assessment.”
“Read the book.”
“I will answer the phone, door and telephone requests much less. My place is with my patients and the rest will have to work itself out.”
The conference provided opportunities for networking, reflection on practice issues, and identification of ways to work collaboratively with people experiencing mental health concerns. For those of us who were involved with conference planning our question is, “How soon can we invite Phil and Poppy back?”
