Rosemary first started suffering from severe depression after the birth of her daughter and was experiencing several panic attacks a day.
It was the start of a mental illness that lasted more than 20 years. Despite attempting to get professional help, she felt nobody was really listening and couldn’t escape from a destructive cycle of mood swings, paranoia and hallucinations.
In 2013 she embarked upon a course of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) – more commonly referred to as a talking therapy – for psychosis at South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust (Slam). It turned her life around.
“I was extremely unwell for a long period of time and I felt like I had nowhere to turn,” she says. “I tried various medications and a number therapists but I always felt they were quite cold and lacked compassion or real understanding of my condition.
“There were periods over the years when I could barely get out of bed in the morning and the majority of my day was spent suffering crippling anxiety. By the time I was introduced to CBT, I had given up hope but it was literally the best thing I have ever done. It gave me my life back.”
CBT for psychosis is offered as part of the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme for people with severe mental illness (IAPT-SMI) initiative to improve provision of psychological therapies to people with bipolar disorder, personality disorders and psychosis. South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust is one of two national IAPT-SMI demonstration sites for psychosis, with additional funding from the Department of Health and NHS England.
Since starting the demonstration site in November 2012 and expanding therapy provision, access to psychological therapies at the trust has increased by 169% a year and waiting times reduced by 38%. Patients have reported developing a better understanding of their problems, learning to deal with anxiety and paranoia and being able to manage negative thoughts more effectively.
Rosemary, now 53, says: “The therapy gave me the tools to cope. It got me to change my way of thinking so that if I feel a panic coming on I am equipped to deal with it. It showed me recovery was possible and that I didn’t need to be controlled by my illness.”
Dr Louise Johns, IAPT-SMI project lead for Slam, adds: “Our findings indicate excellent recovery rates in terms of symptoms, wellbeing and achieving personal goals. Satisfaction with therapy is extremely high.”
Psychosis is a mental health condition characterised by unusual experiences such as hearing voices or holding beliefs that others consider unusual. The symptoms often cause significant distress and disability to those with the condition and their caregivers. CBT for psychosis intervenes with the psychological processes that are maintaining distress and preventing recovery.
Rosemary is one of more than 37,000 people treated at Slam through a range of inpatient services, outpatient treatments and home treatment teams. The trust’s 4,800 members of staff manage, treat and care for people with a wide range of mental health conditions. The most commonly diagnosed mental health conditions in the UK are depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, schizophrenia and personality disorders.
One in four adults in the UK will experience a mental health problem in any given year; statistically this means most people are likely to know someone who will have a mental health condition at some point in their lifetime. Unfortunately, nine out of 10 people with mental health problems still experience stigma and discrimination.
Slam’s aim is to combat that stigma, by caring for people like Rosemary and also providing treatments and tools for people to be able to take care of themselves.
The organisation has a rich history and international reputation in mental healthcare. Its employees have access to professional development and learning opportunities and the chance to work alongside people who are leaders in their field.
Slam is looking for community mental health nurses; newly qualified mental health nurses; psychiatric nurses and care co-ordinators to join the trust and make a difference to the mental health and wellbeing of its local population of 1.1 million people.
The trust’s resourcing and branding manager, Max Barnard, says: “The work can be challenging but the outcomes are worth it: knowing that you are helping people at their most vulnerable to be their best and stay at their best. It’s why you went into mental health nursing in the first place. And it’s why we want you.”
Visit our website for more information on recruitment opportunities; follow us on Twitter.
Mental Health Awareness Week runs from 11 – 17 May 2015.
Content on this page is produced and paid for by South London and Maudsley NHS foundation trust
