Is museum training enough?
October 21, 2010
I’ve already written about some projects with prisons, and since then I’ve seen some other examples which have had remarkable results, but it’s left me wondering whether museum professionals are really qualified to do this work.
We know that many prisoners – sadly – have complex mental health conditions. Many of the other projects I have seen are created for people with mental illness. Others engage people who may have had traumatic experiences, such as refugees. Museum training doesn’t necessarily give us the skills to provide what these people need.
I’ve talked to a some of the museum outreach people about this, and there are a number of approaches.
- some staff do have counselling qualifications.
- others have specific training sessions about what to expect when working with certain groups – this is built into the project plan. This training also ensures the museum staff know where to refer people for assistance if necessary.
- most projects are run in collaboration with partner organisations, who generally have expertise in this field.