Case Studies

Home » Case Studies

All Case Studies

24-hour Supported Accommodation

Overview

Carla had previously had multiple admissions to hospital under the Mental Health Act.

She had a substance misuse issue; a history of trauma linked to her childhood; traits of Emotionally Unstable Personality Disorder and a previous Head injury.

Challenges

Due to her substance misuse, Carla could be verbally aggressive with staff and other SUs increasing when intoxicated (Carla used alcohol to self-medicate due to the past traumas she had experienced)
Propensity to disengage with house rules
Difficulty with developing trusting relationships with staff
Not always compliant with her prescribed medication
History of placements breaking down due to non-engagement with staff and the support offered, and consequently feeling rejected

What Did We Do?

Risk Management Plan
Support Plan
Behavioural Support Plan
Self-Medication Assessment level
As Carla was using substances as a way of self-medicating, staff supported her to attend GP appointments to discuss her pharmacological needs.

Delivering Interventions

We carried out 1:1 key work sessions with her initially 3 times a week, reducing to weekly as she progressed towards her goals. During these sessions, the Key Worker focused on methods to safely reduce her alcohol intake such as:

Keeping an alcohol Diary
Using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (Audit) tool
Documenting her thoughts and feelings in a thoughts-diary
Referring her to the local Community Drug and Alcohol Service
We educated her about drinks that had lower alcohol percentages, i.e. when staff accompanied her to the shops, they pointed out lower alcohol-percentage options.

Once she was able to reduce her daily alcohol intake and started regularly taking her medication, we were then able to focus on providing interventions for her mental health needs, which included:

1:1 appointments with a Neurological Occupational Therapist
Supporting her to engage in daily tasks such as attending to her personal care without prompting, preparing healthy meals and eating regularly
Socialising and repairing relationships with other SUs in her Home through communal co-production groups and residents’ meetings (where she took the Minutes)
Volunteering in a community shop
Support with increasing her self-esteem through writing positive affirmation statements to herself in her thoughts-diary
Supporting her to identify healthy and adaptive methods to address her craving for alcohol and to relieve stress and anxiety. This included taking a walk outside, reading a book, listening to music, interacting in physical exercise activities

Positive Outcomes
As a result of the interventions we put in place and Carla’s hard work, she has made significant progress towards her goals. The outcomes achieved include:

She has moved out of 24-hour supported accommodation to her own accommodation, where she lives independently
Her daily alcohol binge drinking has reduced to twice a week
She can prepare healthy meals independently
She can prepare healthy meals independently
She undertakes personal care for herself without prompting
She has a full-time voluntary position in an area of her interest – art designing
Her emotions are more regulated and understood by herself
She is in a romantic relationship
Her family are supportive of these developments

Case Studies

All Case Studies

24-hour Supported Accommodation

Referral/Enquiry Form

Southcroft Healthcare Lodge Ltd.

Useful Links

Address