"Hillbrook CAMHS saved my life"

I first attended CAMHS as a young teenager, where it was identified that I was struggling with Anorexia. I was quickly transferred to the eating disorders team. I worked with several members of the team who over the course of several years battled to get me back into health.

They supported me through several hospital admissions as the depression and later diagnosed PTSD I was suffering had got to much for me to cope with in the community. Once I was discharged the team helped me to re adjust to life at home with my family after I had been away for 7months.

Hillbrook supported me through the worst years of my life and helped me to come to terms with the abuse I had suffered as a child. They not only supported me but my parents, grandparents and my brother as it was a difficult and distressing time for all the family.

People are often quick to judge CAMHS and other mental health services, but 9/10 times if the patient doesn't want to be helped then there isn't a lot they can do. My family saw this in the first few years of me being under the care of Hillbrook, I withdrew from therapy and didn't engage, it felt frustrating for my family at the time as they wanted CAMHS to help but they can't if the patient won't talk or engage in therapy.

What Hillbrook did for me is something I will never be able to thank them enough for. I'm now happily married adult with a baby on the way, and my life could not be better. Without the support of all the team at Hillbrook I probably would not have been here today to experience all the joys that my life has to offer. At times I couldn't see how I was going to live through the next few minutes never mind the rest of my life.

But they never once gave up hope and tried everything to get me all of the support I desperately needed. To them I owe my life.

Thank you