Julie: A forensic mental health case study

Forensic Mental Health

Case

study: Julie

Julie is a lady in her early 50s who was transferred to Heatherwood Court from a prison environment.

Julie was well known in her home town and described as the ‘scourge of her community’.

Homeless and alcoholic, Julie was the subject of ASBOs and restraining orders and had been involved with the police and the prison system for many years for a wide variety of offences including robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, and threatening and lewd behaviour.

Julie had had a mental health assessment and, whilst she was identified as being alcohol dependant, she was not diagnosed with any mental health disorders.

Whilst in prison Julie was observed to be neglecting her hygiene and health, struggling with the prison regime and displaying challenging behaviours.

Pathways to recovery through transformative care

•

• Development of a treatment and rehabilitation

• To address her health and hygiene issues

• To improve her socialisation so that she could reintegrate back into the community

What did we do to achieve these goals?

After being transferred to Heatherwood Court on the recommendation of the Court, Julie received a full assessment including an investigation of her multiple health issues and was diagnosed as having a personality disorder and alcohol dependency syndrome.

Personalised care and treatment plans were developed with a particular emphasis on addressing her personal hygiene issues.

What were the outcomes for Julie?

After admission to Heatherwood Court, Julie responded very well to her treatment plan and her care team and her mental state improved rapidly. She started to take a pride in her appearance, was amenable to staff requests, was showing empathy for others and was regularly having escorted community leave.

Within 12 months Julie was assessed as no longer needing to be detained in a secure environment. Her clinical team and her commissioners worked closely to find a step-down home in a locality of Julie’s choosing, and also created a detailed transition plan to ensure that there was plenty of time for familiarisation and relationship building with her new support team.

Julie was delighted to be moving into her step-down facility as it was the first time she was going into a “real home” for many years.

How to refer

What did Julie and her commissioners want to achieve?

A full re-assessment of her condition

plan

Heatherwood Court is part of the Ludlow Street Healthcare Group.