"Structured Clinical Managment"

After years of wrongful meds, misdiagnosis and appalling care under a previous team, I moved home to Scotland, was diagnosed with EUPD and experienced amazing care from the team at Howgill. Glynis, Stephen and Jeannie are amazing people, who do a fantastic job. I credit them with helping me come back from a horrific low period! 

After a period of support and treatment I was put forward for SCM.

SCM has been an amazing experience so far. 

Emma, Stephen and Kath have been great, creating a relaxed, supportive, educational environment to help learn these skills to self manage this tricky diagnosis. They each have a different teaching style and bring different perspectives, which really helps when you find the modules as challenging as I do. No question is too daft, no subject is off limits, there is no judgment. Group is a safe space.

Emma as a cpn has been great, helping me decipher my emotions, encouraging me to PROBLEM SOLVE and is good at getting me to manage myself, but is still there if I need support. I initially felt a bit abandoned after the intense support of my previous cpn after a family member died, but I feel Emma is helping me (as is group) to take command of my EUPD and learn to manage it myself, rather than hiding or becoming its victim. Although she has not been tested (by my pet who met all the other cpns) I can tell she’s AWESOME. 

Stephen and Kath are also fab, they’re great at helping untangle the woolly mass of randomness that is my brain with EUPD, and all together I can’t imagine any team more perfect to teach this group. 

But enough about those amazing people, don’t want their heads to get too big lol!

Group is great. I’ve met so many people and we’ve become friends. It’s fab not feeling so isolated and alone. 

The material is explained well, although I do take issue with the handouts. There’s so much paperwork. I think it could be streamlined so that instead of getting sheets each week, and then duplicates when we recover the subjects, maybe creating a workbook would help cut down on all that? 

The room we meet in is pretty crap. The facilitators make the best of it, but other people barge in, or barge past noisily. There was building work going on, so lots of noise and people clomping past on scaffolding. The tables are moved, removed, our board goes missing, at one point we didn’t have a room as they had double booked us and given the room to someone else.... in normal circumstances this is annoying but when you’re dealing with sensitive issues it becomes a huge issue. It impacts on the safe space of the group and is a big distraction. 

The group focusing on self management rather than being a support group is great. It means the environment is much more positive, and it actually makes me hopeful for my future. I like the little mindfulness minute thing we do at the beginning as it opens up your mind to other coping strategies that you might not usually consider.

So in short SGM and the CMHT are fab, and worth their weight in gold.

The one thing I do miss and struggle with is my art. I’d love to have some sort of art therapy available in this area, as it’s something I believe would really help with this and other mental health diagnosis’s.