To not want them in my home?

[decorativecushions]

Ok I'll try to keep this short

I have a 10 month old baby and I'm under the perinatal team due to history of OCD and depression. Worth noting i am absolutely fine on the whole! No one has ever raised concerns over my parenting or anything like that.

As well as the psychiatrist team I have a support worker whose role, as i understand, is to provide less medicalised support and a person to talk to.

The first time we met up we had the meeting as a home visit at my house. I'm not a massive fan of having people i don't know that well in my house, especially health professionals. My house is a safe place for me and I would always prefer to meet at a children's centre or out for a walk. Growing up my family had to have visits from health professionals due to my sister being unwell so it makes me feel like my privacy is being invaded and I'm being 'watched' if that makes sense. Basically it makes me really on edge! I explained all this to her.

Anyway, i was hoping to continue doing walks and meeting up with my baby out of the house but the support worker now seems insistent that there needs to be more home visits??! She mentioned that she wanted to visit at home and I told her I'd prefer to meet elsewhere so we arranged a meet at the local park, but when I arrived she called me saying she was at my house and where was i?! It was very confusing. This evening she's texted me saying that she and 'a new care coordinator' would like to visit me at home next week. I've replied back once again asking if we could meet at a park or even the local children's centre as I'd find this easier and more helpful. No reply yet.
As I said earlier there's never been any safeguarding concerns. I live with my husband and our baby. When the support worker visited the house was tidy and well presented. No one has ever raised any concerns and I'm doing absolutely fine aside from occasionally having obsessive thoughts and being a bit low.

Can anyone shed any light on why the support worker is being so insistent on meeting in my house even though I've made it clear on several occasions I'd rather not?

Thanks x

You’re still under their care. And it isn’t just social workers tasked with safeguarding.

That’s really reassuring, op isn’t it?

I hope all continues to go well for you and your baby.

But there are no safeguarding concerns. Her declining a mental health worker coming into her home is not enough to be a concern. Seriously people need to stop posting this stuff to a vulnerable mum when they don’t know what they’re talking about.

Surely if the support worker is there to support me then if they know a visit at my home won't be helpful to me then they should say they're not visiting to support me but to assess the condition of my home?

I think yabu

Exactly this, and what’s more they have no right to assess the condition of your home.

They want to make sure your baby is well cared for and not living in utter chaos, seeing washing on the radiator the smell of cooking in your home shows you can care for yourself and baby. I’d let them in, they’ll think you’re hiding something.

Honestly I'd consider whether the support is doing you more harm than good. Their role, as you've described it, is to support you and they should do so in a way which is comfortable and not-triggering for you, the client.

Again, you’re missing the fact they are a support worker for the OPs mental health. That’s not within their remit. They aren’t social services.

No they don’t. Unless the threshold of risk of significant harm is met. Which is high.

That’s silly scaremongering.

the op is engaging with a MHSW and not social services. Different thing and also it’s a bit alarmist to say stuff like that.

almost all intervention is done by consent.

The only good reason I can think that they would want to visit in the home is so they can discuss OP's needs away from the public. It can be hard to have personal conversations outdoors or in a family centre (I've done it though, lots). They aren't there to assess her parenting. They are there to support her mental health needs. Obviously they have a duty to raise any concerns they see but that's not what they are there to do!

Yes, very irresponsible to scaremongerOP in this way, but it seems like people don’t bother to read and understand posts these days. They just ease in with their “wisdom” no matter how wrong or harmful it could be.

Some of the advice given on this thread is incredibly dangerous. OP you are entirely within your rights to ask for a different support worker or no support worker - the clue is in the title "support". They are there to support you.

Thanks so much for all the responses x

Her turning up at my house when we'd arranged a walk was really unsettling? Like we agreed to meet at a park so I dont know why she turned up. It's made me scared to open the door for deliveries as I'm worried she will send someone round unannounced!

This. The most important person in all this is your defenceless baby. If you can suck up a hone visit it will be worth it in the long run.

If it's a MH thing, perhaps they want to see how you are in your home environment. Not to assess your home, but to see how you are when you are in it. It seems you not wanting them there is a part of your MH issues, and perhaps they want to see how you react in that situation. Sometimes having someone in their own space helps them open up more easily, although with you it would do the opposite. Could you offer to see them in a clinic setting instead?

You have the right not to have home visits if you wish, but I would start by asking why they feel it is important to see you at home.

But as I stated in the OP, she's already visited my home. It was tidy and baby was playing happily on her rug

No. She doesn't have to do that. And they don't have to see her house. It's not part of their role. They aren't there to assess her parenting.

Even if you're fine, they're obviously doing their due diligence, as they don't know how fine or not you are. They're doing what they think is best for you and you're baby - let them x

They are a MH support worker. They are there to support OP with her wellbeing. They aren’t there to see how her baby is doing or what her house is like or anything of the sort. They’re just supposed to help her in any way she feels useful. Jesus Christ.

OP, you should consider taking this post down or getting it moved to a more appropriate board because people just aren’t understanding what your support worker’s actual role is, and they’re reading into you having one, things that just aren’t there.

I’m guessing it’s about privacy there’s certain things you can’t talk about in public. As others have said as well they need to know your day to day routine and what your home circumstances are like.

But they are assessing you. Not wanting people in your home is a concern and from the child’s point of view could constitute low level concern.

They are NOT assessing her. They’re are support workers there to SUPPORT her mental health.

But they aren't assessing her. Why is this so hard to understand? They are mental health support workers not social workers. They are not there to assess her parenting.