About Willow Grove - St. Patrick`s Mental Health Services

 YOUNG PERSON’S HANDBOOK Willow Grove Adolescent Unit St Patricks University Hospital, James’s Street, Dublin 8,  01 2493687 / 01 2493690 About Willow Grove… Willow Grove is an adolescent unit that caters for young people aged between 14‐17 years who experience mental health difficulties. Young people can attend Willow Grove on either an inpatient and day patient basis. The purpose of the Unit is to help young people manage their thoughts, feelings or behaviours so that they can cope better with everyday difficulties. These difficulties may take the form of depression, anxiety, psychosis, obsessions, eating disorders or for others just finding the experience of day to day living hard. The Unit has the capacity for 14 young people to attend as inpatients and 5 young people to attend as day patients. The length of stay at Willow Grove Adolescent Unit varies and is dependant on the individual needs of each young person. Our Aim and Philosophy… The aim of the Willow Grove team is to form trusting relationships which can help young people and their families to build on existing strengths and develop new skills that may allow them to manage themselves and their feelings in a more appropriate way in the future. Central to this belief is the concept of the therapeutic milieu. The therapeutic milieu is a structured, safe and supportive environment where staff engage not only with the distress and problems of the young person and their family, but also their strengths and assets. What to expect? Your stay at the Willow Grove Adolescent Unit will involve attending a variety of activities including school, therapy groups, family meetings, individual sessions and recreational sessions. There will also be free time for activities of your choice. A sample copy of the Unit’s timetable is outlined below. TIME
MON
TUES
WED
THURS
FRI
9.30
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
10.am
Games Group
Creative Art
Creative Gaming
Mindfulness
Gardening Project
11am
Coffee Break/Snack
Coffee Break/Snack
Coffee Break/Snack
Coffee Break/Snack
Coffee Break/Snack
11.30
Psychotherapy
Group
Gastronomic Times
Psychotherapy
Group.
OT Open Group
Gastronomic Times.
12.30
My Space/key worker
time
My Space/Key
Worker time
My Space/
Key worker time
My Space/
keyworker time
My Space/key worker
time
1.00
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
Lunch
2.00
Assertiveness Group
Social Skills
Self Esteem Group
Games Group
Creative Group
3.00pm
Coffee break/snack
Coffee break/snack
Coffee break/snack
Coffee break/snack
Coffee break/snack
3.30pm
Sports/Activity
MDT Review
Sheets/individual
Project Group
Creative Art.
Sports
4.30
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
Community Meeting
5p.m
Tea
Tea
Tea
Tea
Tea
6p.m
Relaxation Session
Relaxation Session
Midweek Discussion
Relaxation Session
Relaxation Session
7p.m
Homework/
leisure time
/visiting.
Homework/
leisure time/
visiting
Homework/
leisure time/
visiting
Homework/
leisure time/
visiting
Homework/
leisure time/
visiting
At the weekends the routine is much more relaxed as many young people go on overnight leave or else spend time off the Unit with family members. Routinely all young people spend there first weekend in hospital and in this instance staff will work with you to develop a plan about how to spend your days. Spending time off the Unit is dependent on your needs and will be discussed with you before each weekend. Sometimes at the weekend we arrange to go on outings to the movies, museums, parks etc. The Willow Grove team is made up of a variety of professionals including doctors, nurses, cognitive behavioral therapists, a clinical psychologist, social worker/family therapist, occupational therapist, psychotherapist and dietician. Some of whom work on a part time basis. The term used to describe this collection of people is “The Multidisciplinary Team”. Who will work with me? On admission you will be assigned two key workers both of whom will meet up with you on a regular basis. Throughout your admission your key workers will work with you to develop an appropriate care plan, treatment goals etc. We recommend that you link in with your key workers regularly about any worries or concerns you may have. An associate nurse will also be available to you at times when your key workers are not on the Unit. What does everybody on the team do? Nurses… Nursing staff care for all young people on the Unit and are available to support, involve and encourage young people in any way possible. Nursing care is provided 24 hours a day and at least one of your key workers will always be a nurse. Using both individual and group work nursing staff can help you to recognize your current needs and then work with you in addressing them as effectively as possible. Doctors… Willow Grove has a Consultant Psychiatrist and two other doctors on the team. You will meet one of these doctors on admission and again regularly throughout your stay in order to discuss your progress. Doctors help you to understand and overcome your mental health difficulties as well as help clarify your diagnosis. If you need to go on medication one of the doctors on the team will discuss this with you and your parents and this will be monitored closely during your admission. Occupational Therapist… During your stay at Willow Grove you may meet the Occupational Therapist on either on an individual or group basis. The focus of these meetings is to look at your strengths and limitations in managing your daily routine and lifestyle. The aim is to find ways to improve your ability to manage this through activity and educational based treatment. Clinical Psychologist… Clinical Psychologist’s are trained to assess and provide therapy for behaviors and emotions that can be difficult for young people. This can occur by working with young people individually and/or with their families. During your stay at Willow Grove you may see the Clinical Psychologist on an individual or group basis. The groups focus on improving relationships as well as learning techniques to cope in stressful situations. The overall goal of the Clinical Psychologist’s work is to help you gain a better understanding of the difficulties that brought you to the Unit and also find ways to overcome these difficulties and learn more about the strengths that you possess. Education… The Willow Grove Team believe continued access to education is an important part of the treatment and recovery process. We are currently in the process of recruiting a teacher and are hopeful this appointment will take place shortly. In the interim the other staff at Willow Grove are available to support you in continuing your studies where possible. This can include liaising with your school teachers if desired and/or identifying different times throughout the daily schedule that you can dedicate to study. CBT Therapist… Depending on your current needs you may or may not meet with the CBT Therapist during your stay at Willow Grove. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy focuses on the important role our thinking has on our feelings and what we do. Sometimes we can have upsetting thoughts or images going through our minds which can make us feel bad (e.g. sad, anxious, afraid) and affect how we feel and what we do. The CBT Therapist at Willow Grove will work together with you to help you find the link between your individual thoughts, feelings and behaviours. It is hoped that this work will assist you in identifying more helpful ways of thinking and to try out new ideas to help you feel better. CBT Therapy involves helping you to figure out how you would like your life to be better and what you might need to learn or achieve to get there. CBT sessions take place once a week for an hour with some "therapy work" to do in‐between. The CBT Therapist will also meet with parents to answer any questions they may have and perhaps include them in the therapy work. Sometimes CBT continues after you are discharged. Dietician… A dietician visits Willow Grove on a weekly basis. Decisions about meeting with the Dietician are made on a case by case basis. The role of the Dietician includes assessing your nutritional needs, designing healthy meal plans and providing information and advice to both you and you family members. Social Worker … The role of the social worker on the team is to meet with the young person ‐ and with family members as may be appropriate ‐ to consider with them how relationships (within the family and with friends and others), educational or training experiences and leisure interests are impacting on the young person’s mental health and wellbeing. From this can come ways of dealing positively with difficulties there may be in such areas of life. The Social Worker takes a strengths‐based approach, helping young people and their families to identify and value positives that there are and to learn ways of dealing effectively with difficulties. The role also involves helping people to access services and resources outside of hospital that can benefit them. Systemic Family Therapist The Social Worker on the team, in addition to operating as a social worker is a qualified psychotherapist who specialises in systemic family therapy. Thus, in cases involving young people where it is judged that a family therapy service may be particularly helpful, this can be provided. Family therapy focuses in particular ways on the young person in the context of their relationships and social setting, it is primarily concerned with present time and its objective is to promote action towards change so that distress being experienced by the family may be reduced or erased. Care Plans Each young person is actively involved in all aspects of their care from planning to implementation. Shortly after admission to Willow Grove a care plan will be drawn up with you and will be reviewed regularly throughout your stay. These reviews include looking at the progress made since admission, goals achieved etc. and usually take the form of an evaluation form which you will be asked to complete weekly. Topics covered on the form include how you feel, your views, opinions and any questions you may want answered. Your response to these questions is then discussed at the weekly team meeting and feedback provided afterwards by your key worker. Community Meetings An alternative space where some concerns or issues can also be discussed is the Community Meetings. Community Meetings are small get‐togethers that take place on the Unit twice a day. These meetings involve catching up with staff each morning to check how things are going for you, discussing your plan for the day, identify goals and drawing staffs attention to any other areas of concern for you.
Activities There are a number of recreational areas available to young people who attend Willow Grove and various planned activities take place on the Unit daily. These activities are intended to be pleasure based and are viewed as equally important as the structured groups that take place. The team believe that participation in both the serious and the fun elements of the group programme is what leads to recovery and wellbeing. Activities include: Arts and Crafts Going to the movies Football Baking Table quizzes Karaoke Table Tennis Board games Basketball Gardening Cooking Going to museums/parks Nintendo Wii Watching films/TV And many more… What to bring, what not to bring, that is the question!! As part of the admission process at Willow Grove each young person’s items will be searched in order to ensure that any potentially hazardous items are sent home or else taken and stored in a locker for you. Each young person is responsible for his/her own property. The following are suggested items only, neither list is exhaustive. What should you bring for your stay at Willow Grove?  Appropriate clothes for day and night including jacket for outdoor activities  Toiletries including roll on deodorant (sprays not allowed)  Books/Magazines you enjoy reading  Some items to personalise your bedroom  Small amount of pocket money (maximum €20) What should you not bring for your stay to Willow Grove?  TV sets, laptops, cameras or DVD players. A laptop will be assigned to you upon admission to Willow Grove which you can use for educational purposes. There are also two stationary computers in the lounge area of the Unit which are available to all young people in order to access the internet etc.  Inappropriate viewing material (magazines, computer games, CD’s, DVD’s over 16, etc)  Any sharp items (knives, scissors etc)  Any items of high value  Belts or cords  Aerosols  Stimulant drinks, beverages in cans (bottles only please)  Alcohol, Street/Illegal substances or “Headshop” products Frequently asked questions… What are the visiting times? It is preferred that no more than 3 nominated people visit at the one time, as this can cause the Unit to become very busy and may prove difficult for some young people. All visitors must be been pre‐approved by your parents and individually named on your list of agreed visitors. Any visitor under the age of 18 must Monday ‐ Friday 6pm‐8pm Saturday ‐ Sunday 2pm‐5pm & 6pm‐8pm be accompanied by an adult already named on your visitor list. Am I allowed to use my iPod? You will be allowed your ipod in between the times you attend the group programme and again throughout the evening. Special earphones will be provided upon admission which you can use to safely listen to your ipod in your bedroom. Ipods with access to the internet or a camera facility are not permitted. Can I use my mobile phone? Personal mobile phones are not permitted on the Unit. Instead you will be provided with a mobile phone without a camera facility during your time at the Unit which you can insert your own SIM card into in order to make calls, send messages etc. Mobile phone usage is restricted to certain times throughout the day in order to avoid disruption to the group programme. What about confidentiality? The staff at Willow Grove all work as part of a Multidisciplinary Team which means that information about you will be shared between all team members. We do this in order to ensure that you receive the best possible care and treatment. Sharing information with a person outside the team will only happen in consultation with you and in accordance with our child protection policy. We are required to share information about you with your parents/carers and where possible aim to do this in conjunction with you. Can I make a suggestion or complaint? Absolutely. The staff at Willow Grove aim to provide care and treatment of the highest standard and therefore require constant feedback from young people about what’s helpful and what’s not. Comments on both the positive and negative aspects of the service are welcome and all information gathered is used to evaluate and improve our service on an ongoing basis. Nursing staff can provide you with instruction regarding these procedures. What time do I have to get up/go to bed at? During the week morning wake up calls usually start after 8am with breakfast being served at 8.30am. At night bedtime is at 10.30pm with lights out at 11.00pm. During the weekends these times are more flexible as we know young people like to get up late and go to bed later! Do I have my own bedroom? All young people who stay at Willow Grove have there own bedroom with en‐suite facilities attached. Upon admission you will be assigned a fob which you can use to open and lock your bedroom door exclusively. The only other people with access to your bedroom are Unit staff. The bedroom corridor will be closed off during the day while you are attending the group programme. Young people are not allowed to enter each others bedrooms at any time. Am I allowed to smoke? Willow Grove encourages a policy of no smoking. However we realise that some young people may be smoking prior to admission and in this instance if your parents/carers give written consent then you can continue to smoke whilst at Willow Grove. You can only smoke at designated times which one of your key workers will explain to you in more detail. Cigarettes are you own responsibility and may be kept in your room, cigarette lighters are not permitted instead a lighter facility is available in the designated smoking area. Advice and information is also available if you wish to give up smoking. Will I be safe? The team at Willow Grove work very hard to ensure that this Unit remains a safe space at all times. Nursing staff routinely carry out checks throughout the day. These checks ensure that all young people are present and okay whilst also ensuring that no items that could potentially be unsafe have entered the Unit. Nursing staff will also go through any items/property brought into the Unit after admission/overnight leave. You can help us with this process by remembering to go through any new items you bring onto the Unit with a staff member before returning to you room and also making sure that your visitors do likewise. If for any reason you feel unsafe on the Unit please approach any member of the multidisciplinary team as soon as possible. Please note if there are any issues that have not be addressed in this booklet that you continue to wonder about, please ask any member of the team and we will gladly clarify things for you. Notes: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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