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Case Study 1

Patient A is a young lady with a diagnosis of emotionally unstable personality disorder. At times she experiences psychotic symptoms driven by previous trauma dynamics. She has a long history of psychological and mental health problems since 2007 and has had multiple admissions to various inpatient mental health settings during that period.

Patient A was admitted to Surehaven hospital in 2015 after being transferred from a medium secure unit. When she first arrived at our hospital it was obvious that she had difficulty in regulating her mood and had inappropriate emotional responses relating to early life experiences. She had attachment issues which resulted in difficulty trusting others, poor sense of belonging and high levels of anxiety.

During her admission to Surehaven patient A’s mental state has markedly improved and she has built excellent therapeutic relationships with staff and peers, engaging well with her current care and treatment plans.

Patient A has been working well towards her recovery by engaging with the nursing, Occupational therapy and Psychology services. The multi-disciplinary team promotes emotional stabilisation activities such as regular exercise, breathing/deep relaxation skills, mindfulness activities and distraction techniques which has enabled her to manage her own distress helping to achieve her identified goals.

Patient A has come a long way in the recovery process, from a young lady who clearly had longstanding emotional distress and low self-esteem issues she is now able to engage and trust others, regulate her emotions, manage her anxiety levels, whilst tolerating and managing her own distress more effectively.

The team at Surehaven continues to support and encourage patient A to be involved in her own care and treatment as much as possible, re-engage with former friends and supportive family members and to help maintain the progress she has made through her journey of recovery

Case Study 2

Patient B is a young man with a long history of mental illness. He has a substantial history of alcohol and poly-substance misuse which began in childhood which led to various episodes of drug induced psychosis and he was formally diagnosed in 2004 with a paranoid Schizophrenic type illness.

Over the year’s patient B has been admitted to various mental health facilities due to a relapse of his illness. He was transferred from a medium secure mental health unit to Surehaven hospital in 2018.

Initially when patient B was admitted to Surehaven hospital he was highly anxious and had minimal strategies in place to minimise his distress levels. Patient B would often self-isolate and would become withdrawn from staff and peers. He also struggled with impulsive cravings for drugs and alcohol.

Since his time at Surehaven Patient B’s daily functioning has improved substantially due to the multi-disciplinary team establishing a holistic approach to his recovery and rehabilitation. Patient B has been working well towards his recovery by engaging with the nursing, Occupational therapy and psychology services.

Patient B has been involved in his care and treatment, he has successfully engaged in relapse prevention groups and staff continue to provide psychoeducation on drugs and alcohol. Patient B has also been able to engage with our psychologist and is able to discuss historical events and reflect on his own maturity especially in regards to managing his thoughts and emotions.

Patient B has made a significant transformation in regards to engagement and motivation. He adheres to a daily activity planner in which he has long periods of unescorted leave to attend rehabilitation focus groups as well as enjoying his hobbies and interests such as fishing and cycling. Patient B also engages well in ward-based and external activities and groups including the football and walking groups, lunch prep group and pool tournaments.

The team at Surehaven continue to support Patient B in his discharge planning and continue to promote his independence. Patient B will shortly be discharged into the community with the relevant support networks in place so he can lead a healthy and a high-quality life.