Admission to acute MH services via A&E

Please describe a relationship, service intervention, program implementation, policy, or other that you initiated or know about that would be considered trauma-informed:

- I presented to an A+E with chest pains and palpitations whilst in a fugue state and mute.

- I was treated with kindness and respect

- My written communications (in very large, scrawled writing) were valued and accepted

- I was investigated with consideration for my state of mind

- my psychiatrist was contacted from a card I carried, and his advice followed

- my distress at being in a mixed assessment ward was accepted and responded to

- although the doctor and nurse admitting me to the MH ward had not heard of DID, they listened very carefully and respectfully, asking appropriate questions

- with my permission once I was more lucid the staff encouraged students on ward placements to come and talk with me to learn more about complex dissociation

 

What was the outcome?

The fugue state resolved overnight, and I went home after a ward review meeting.

 

What supported the positive outcome? (Systemic supports? Organizational supports? Interpersonal supports?):

In both A&E and on the acute MH ward staff were respectful; enquiring and open to learning from a patient; this greatly assisted my rate of recovery.

 

In what way has your example changed you, your practice, or your goals:

This was in sharp contrast to my only other visit to a different A+E, which had convinced me at the time that acute services were not a source of help at all

 

Tell us more about what motivated you to bring this example to discuss:

That responding helpfully to people in acute states of trauma related distress need not be rocket science! Treat others with an open mind and in a way in which one would like to be treated if the boot was on the other foot.

 

Whose needs are met in the example that you outline:

My need for safety and respite from the triggering situation were met.

 

Was there any one person or factor that was central to the success of your example and why:

The most pervasive difficulties for me were:

-Hopelessness

-Isolation

-Powerlessness

-Voicelessness

-The non-judgemental acceptance of the validity of my experiences seeded recovery.

 

What can you or others do to spread this good practice to colleagues and services:

Listen expecting to learn, and with Empathy and Respect.