What could be different in mental health care, what helps, and what have you found to be useful reading?

[OwFriggingOw]

First off - this is a thread inspired by another thread - not about another thread.

I am a lecturer who teaches mainly MH nursing students, but also Adult, Child and Learning Disability field nurses about MH, and also occasionally medical students. I have no agenda for this thread bar a genuine desire to listen, share ideas, and have an open discussion about what is helpful / less so. I worked in NHS MH for 13 odd years.

In case anyone links the other threads that inspired this thread - I have been comissioned to edit a book about people's experiences (service users and carers / family / friends) within MH services and with MH issues. NONE OF THE POSTS HERE WILL BE USED IN ANY WAY, SHAPE OR FORM FOR THIS BOOK. You have my ABSOLUTE word on that. Similarly, NONE of the posts here will be used in any of my teaching.

My aim in starting this stems from several PM's and several on-thread comments about how this would be useful/ I hope it can be a helpful, supportive and productive meeting place for thoughts and ideas about what people have found helpful with regards MH care / services / support (statutory and non statutory) and what has been less helpful. Most importantly with regards the less helpful - what can be done differently?

And - beacuse I like books - maybe we can share reading ideas :)

Would it be helpful if I shared parts of my long thread from earlier regarding what I see as needed, without any other details from the thread?

seems arbours are restructuring:

www.arbourscentre.org.uk

there is a 24hr one in edinburgh:

www.edinburghcrisiscentre.org.uk/wordpress/index.php/services

and one in drayton pk london:

Drayton Park Womens Crisis House and Resource Centre
Address:
32 Drayton Park
London
N5 1PB
Email:
Send an enquiry
Website:
www.candi.nhs.uk
Phone:
020 7607 2777

Open:
24 hours.
Fax:
020 7607 3777

Details:

Residential mental health crisis project for women living in Camden and Islington who would otherwise be admitted to hospital. Short term crisis work linking women with community services, alternative and statutory. Children can be accommodated with their mothers.

also this one:

Maytree Respite Centre
Address:
72 Moray Road
London
N4 3LG
Email:
Send an enquiry
Website:
www.maytree.org.uk
Phone:
020 7263 7070
24 hour emergency line.
Open:
Open Mon-Sun 24 hours.
Fax:
020 7272 6863

Details:

Charity offering a one-off four night residential sanctuary to people in a suicidal crisis in a calm, safe house in north London. Provides time and space to talk, reflect and be befriended in a supportive, non-medical environment. Alcohol and drugs, apart from prescribed medication, are not permitted. Not a drop-in centre, contact by phone first. Email for volunteering: [email protected]

apologies for long post but these may help somebody in those areas.

Brilliant thank you :)

Yep that's the one :)

YY, Aesop! That's it :) Thanks!

these projects sound great but are few and far between. think of how much better things would be if there were more places like these, especially where mothers could take their kids. way less stigma than hospitals, cmht's, cpns etc.

it doesn't take much to set up a peer support group though (except am not sure how helpful these things are over time) - I got funding easily for the bipolar/manic depression self help group, and through that people went on to do self management training for which there's quite a bit of evidence I think

somewhere on these boards, way way way back and under another name I think I tried to recruit people for an online top up version of a bipolar self management course that I quickly lost interest in

am just saying that sometimes there are some things we can have a go at setting up ourselves, but I might have an intermittent addiction to setting up groups because see also: eczema support group, women's group etc

a residential/respite thing would be massive leap from hiring a meeting place once or twice a month and putting out a few leaflets and getting the occasional speaker in, wouldn't it?

Yep - peer support can be fantastic and easily set up - there's a lot of work around peer support workers being employed by MH service users too currently - I think mainly in the Midlands? Not sure if it's national as yet.

The crisis house that the community team I worked for referred to closed and was sold - it was owned by the NHS trust, for women only, and was such a gentle, supportive place. Massive loss to the services when it went - all voluntary admission, people could self refer etc - but apparently not cost effective :(

There's loads on the US version available - Soteria - on the Internet and a range of people in the UK involved in this type of ethos, including psychiatrists - I found both post-psychiatry and critical psychiatry to be useful resources, though I didn't agree with everything. Crit psych has a google-able website with masses of resources and papers?

imo both are good i think alameda in terms of people in crisis and avoiding cycles of hospital admissions/ dignity and human rights issues/ lack of aftercare etc

A huge leap - but local MH service and / or MIND, Rething or MDF (bipolar charity who do amazing work) may have funds, advice and networks available to help set up local group?

there is also national lottery funding, the co-operative :

www.co-operative.coop/membership/local-communities/community-fund/funding-selection-criteria

there are funding sources here:

www.mind.org.uk/help/social_factors/funding_opportunities

cunnalingo is person to speak to about funding ops...

MDF only gave £100 in those days, but obviously it is a help and they do provide lots of other support for setting up one of their groups - and they delivered the self management training and paid for hotels and things

have feeling much of this has stopped now, plus they have rebranded at least twice but hopefully they are keeping up some of the good work (like STEADY for young people)

My experience.

Old GP amazing (I suspect because he'd suffered with anxiety/depression himself. New GP good, very supportive and kind enough to make me cry. GPs in the middle? Cr@p! It really is hit or miss out there.

I'm a self-harmer, too. I started late in life, about 9 years ago. I'd recently suffered my fourth miscarriage and was hurting so badly inside that the only way I could think to make it stop was to hurt the outside. I've cut and burned and frightened my family to death in the process. My DH has become a first-aider as I refuse to go to hospital for anything unless absolutely necessary. I've been trying really hard to stop but the slightest stress, and off I go again.

Diazepam helped with both my sleep issues and anxiety but is no longer available to me. I'm offered other drugs for sleep but am reluctant to try them as they are addictive and can only be given short-term (fail to see why Diazepam was withdrawn from me as they said the same thing about that).

I've had several CPNs since 1998. I've recently seen an OT who wanted to call the police on my ex even though the last 4 CPNs and my current private counsellor have never suggested it. The low-grade harassment I was getting from him and his family and that the police would/could not do anything about finally stopped about 2 years ago. If the police had been involved they would have found nothing illegal on him or at his house (firearms) and he holds a license anyway so they must be satisfied that he's suitable, but he would have known it was me and the cr@p would have started again. It took me vehemently telling her that I would tell the police I lied to her if she called them before she dropped it. Then she nagged and nagged about me joining her new confidence building group, despite me telling her each time that I did not want to. Oh, then finally, she made an appointment for me to see her with 2 male staff members despite me saying in the beginning (and middle when she was nagging about the group thing) that I was uncomfortable with men and felt very intimidated by strange men in particular. My DH had to write to her to tell her to stop and I've been discharged - with a cc letter going to a GP I haven't seen for at least 4 years and the recommendation I join... wait for it... group therapy!!!

Then there's the CPN who recently told me that she thought I was neither anxious nor depressed (but she'd give me the PTSD!) and that the best course of action would be for me to go home and open a bottle of wine!!! I'm on 3 different painkillers and 2 anti-depressents along with other medication that contra-indicates alcohol. She also knows that my self-harming is at its worst when I've been drinking.

So, for now, I'll stick to my GP and private counsellor for support. The local NHS MHT have done me no favours, though I have had one appointment recently with a psycho-sexual counsellor (made when I had my smear done at the local GUM clinic when the receptionist could see me having a mini meltdown!) that has allowed me to talk about things that have been with me a very long time and has made me hopeful. I left that appointment feeling lighter than I've felt for years. Maybe there'll be a happy ending to my miserable, extremely well-buried beginnings (not to mention the sh!tty stuff that's happened/is happening since).

Good luck - I can see you're having a lot of helpful posts - and good luck to all those dealing with MH issues.

Does anyone know where Daisee is?
Or how she is?
She normally posts during the night.

Hi Evans - glad to see you've also had some positive experience amidst the less useful - and so sorry about your loss :(

It never once occur to me that actually a really useful referral point for psychosexual counselling could be GU clinic :) Hope that proves useful, and very very good luck for the future - hope this thread may provide some links etc which may be useful :)

I've not heard amillion - but I hope seh, and everyone, or a good nights rest in this heat :)

x post with Ow.
Still think it very much looks like non caring.

Aesop mentioned Daisee's points about police restraint last night as being a valid concern.

It's not about non-caring but absolutely about not wanting anotion 1000 post bundight which helps very few people, or another thread about 1 person's possible health, and more about wanting to pool ideas, resources, thoughts, feelins and experiences - as well as links, reading suggestions - in a positive space where people may well find a useful bit - either a resource, book or link, and approach they've not tried (for staff and others) or generally supportive acknowledgement.

I think it's started really positively, and will link some bits later when on PC.

I think that is unfair amillion. THis thread wasn't supposed to be about a particular poster, and I think other posters have been very careful to make sure it doesn't become a rehash of old threads.

Not sure if this is the sort of thing you mean with this thread Ow but I would like to know. My Exp was mentally ill, never diagnosed (afaik) but was in in hospital voluntarily 13 years ago. He was there for 3 weeks having been removed from his parents on Boxing Day. When he came home he had no follow up care which I wasn't surprised about as his parents don't "believe" in MHI so wouldn't have pushed for it and I was a new girlfriend.

3 years ago he was hospitalised again for a month. He rang me from there regularly to speak to our DS then again went home, had 2 visits but no follow on care. Back into hospital for a further month, allowed home again. Again, 1 visit then no follow on care. I had tried to speak to his Dr/CAHMS/my Dr and a few other agencies that I can't remember because I knew something wasn't right. But as he was my Exp nobody could tell me anything. his family refused to believe there was anything wrong so would not advocate on his behalf. What would you suggest in a situation like that? I felt as though I hit a brick wall every which way I turned. What is the answer in a situation like that?

Another and bunfight....I was up til very late being hot and tired!

Hi elephants - that sounds really very very tricky for you, with even less support and voice than other carers/family/friends. I'm not sure what an answer is bar trying to re-engage with ExP in order to provide support Abd be more involved - but aware this is wildly and rightly inappropriate or not possible in many circumstances.

I do think people's right to confidentiality is very important but could also see sometimes how desperate family, friends etc were to help, and how frustrated they would rightly be by our responses of 'Im really sorry, but he/ she doesn't want us to share any information currently'. I do think most MH staff will (or at least should) listen to your concerns or point of view which can be part of building a bigger support plan and picture of what's happened, even if they can't share info if that makes sense?

Though it perhaps doesn't seem as though you were listened to. Conflicting perspectives on cause, treatments and involvement of services can be a huge difficulty within families and services.