K’s story: Learning to manage Bipolar Disorder

K has been detained under the Mental Health Act many, many times. Chaos, vulnerability, violence and risk have been constants throughout his life.

Traditional mental health services have struggled for years to work with K, and things got progressively worse. K’s mental illness finally drove him to try and burn down his neighbours flat, and he was detained in forensic services following court sentencing.

But things did begin to improve for K, and after some years, he had reached a point where such a secure service wasn’t needed. It would have been normal for K to step down through several layers of NHS services, before reaching a setting fully in the community.

K’s forensic consultant psychiatrists had worked with us before, and together we were able to work with K and his family so that K could live with us. A hugely experienced psychiatric nursing team, and realistic yet accepting approach to risk, means K gets a much broader sense of freedom, while the psychiatrists are reassured that K is nursed by people who will help him manage that freedom safely. Our approach has even enabled K to look at reducing his medication.

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Case studies

The following case histories give an idea of the type of person we work with. These people have all received care at our sister home, Thomas Owen House – and those who come to John Sturrock will receive the same standard of compassionate, specialist care from our dedicated team.

J’s story: living with personality disorder

J has struggled with a personality disorder for much of his life. In previous placements, his self-harm and parasuicidal actions have meant that staff struggled to work well with...

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D’s Story: Coming to terms with Schizophrenia

D has had lots of different placements in care settings, and all of them have sadly broken down – until she started working with us. D experiences hallucinations that...

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