Female case study
Maggie
Maggie is a twenty one year old woman with a history of behavioural
problems. When she was two, her father left her mother, who subsequently had a series
of relationships with often violent men. Maggie had begun to self harm, discovering
that if she caused herself pain it helped distract her from her feelings of distress.
At the age of sixteen she set fire to her room in an attempt to kill herself. She was also abusing alcohol and various illicit drugs. Unfortunately as the fire put others at serious risk, Maggie was bailed to prison and later assessed by the local forensic psychiatrist. She was admitted to The Dene medium secure service, under Section 38 of The Mental Health Act.
At The Dene she engaged well and was able to talk about her problems, which centred on her distress concerning her flashbacks and her unstable mood and impulsiveness.
Following an individual assessment she benefited from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, which helped her to cope with her feelings of distress without resorting to self-harming behaviours or behaviours which put others at risk. In time, she began to understand her flashbacks and other post traumatic symptoms better. Maggie found the prescribed medication helpful in reducing these symptoms. As part of her programme she took part in psychological therapy sessions.
As the programme continued, her level of risk and disruptive behaviour reduced and she was considered to be well enough to move to a rehabilitation ward within the hospital. Here, Maggie concentrated on developing her life skills and began to build on the development of insight related to preventing further offending and her need for illicit substances.
As a final part of her programme she moved on to a low secure facility to continue with her rehabilitation.
Case studies are based on real events, but names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals involved.
At the age of sixteen she set fire to her room in an attempt to kill herself. She was also abusing alcohol and various illicit drugs. Unfortunately as the fire put others at serious risk, Maggie was bailed to prison and later assessed by the local forensic psychiatrist. She was admitted to The Dene medium secure service, under Section 38 of The Mental Health Act.
At The Dene she engaged well and was able to talk about her problems, which centred on her distress concerning her flashbacks and her unstable mood and impulsiveness.
Following an individual assessment she benefited from Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, which helped her to cope with her feelings of distress without resorting to self-harming behaviours or behaviours which put others at risk. In time, she began to understand her flashbacks and other post traumatic symptoms better. Maggie found the prescribed medication helpful in reducing these symptoms. As part of her programme she took part in psychological therapy sessions.
As the programme continued, her level of risk and disruptive behaviour reduced and she was considered to be well enough to move to a rehabilitation ward within the hospital. Here, Maggie concentrated on developing her life skills and began to build on the development of insight related to preventing further offending and her need for illicit substances.
As a final part of her programme she moved on to a low secure facility to continue with her rehabilitation.
Case studies are based on real events, but names have been changed to protect the identity of the individuals involved.
Personality disorder units
|
London and the South East |
|
 |
Kneesworth House Medium secure and rehabilitation (male and female); Low secure (female) |
|
|
The Dene Medium secure |
|
|
Pelham Woods Step down rehabilitation |
|
Eastern |
|
|
|
St John's House
Medium Secure * |
|
|
Burston House
Low Secure * |
|
|
Lombard
House & Richmond House Rehabilitation * |
|
|
Oaktree Manor
Low secure * |
| Midlands | |
|
|
Calverton Hill Medium secure |
|
|
Abbey House Step down rehabilitation |
|
|
Annesley House Low secure |
|
|
Hazelwood House New service due to open June 2009 |
|
|
The Willows Medium and low secure |
| North East | |
|
|
Stockton Hall
Medium secure |
|
North West |
|
|
|
Kemple View Low secure |
|
|
Arbury Court
Medium and low secure, rehabilitation |
|
|
The Spinney Medium secure |
Wales |
|
|
Llanarth Court Medium, low secure and rehabilitation |
|
|
Aderyn Step down rehabilitation |
|
Scotland |
|
|
|
The Ayr Clinic Low Secure |
|
* These facilities provide personality disorder services for patients with a primary diagnosis of a learning disability |
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