Samantha was referred to us by her Work Coach at the Department for Works and Pensions (DWP). Samantha needed support in contacting her GP as she was struggling to make an appointment herself, due to suffering intense anxiety. Her condition had almost completely stopped her from leaving her home and it was impossible for her to initiate communication with vital services.
When the advocate contacted Samantha, she was very anxious and apprehensive, although she did her best to share all of the information she could. At the point of contact, Samantha found the courage to contact the GP and she was prescribed medication to help stabilize her anxiety. However, she still could not rely on herself to make further phone calls or to leave her home.
During the initial assessment, it became apparent, that Samantha was not able to engage with services that could offer her therapy and together with her advocate, they agreed that she would continue with her medication and receive fortnightly calls from her advocate to help build repour and a trusting relationship.
The calls became an opportunity for Samantha to discuss her emotional difficulties and her challenges in leaving her home independently and the exhausting impact of her anxiety had upon her everyday life. This space helped Samantha realise that the medication alone could not resolve her difficulties with going out and communicating independently. She realized she needed to seek further support other than medication.
Samantha agreed to advocacy support to access a further GP appointment to explore a talking therapy referral and the advocate proceeded to coordinate the appointment with their availability. Due to Covid restrictions the GP appointment went ahead without the advocate’s support and Samantha struggled to assert her position and was given a telephone number to call, which she could not do independently.
Samantha was determined to make progress and pursue access to a therapy service with the advocate making a direct referral on her behalf. After discussion with her advocate and consideration, she agreed for the advocate to make a formal complaint in which her difficulties had not be acknowledged by her GP. Again, her advocate worked with her in drafting the complaint to raise awareness of her experiences.
The calls between Samantha and her advocate continued but she required them at a lessor frequency than what was previously agreed and she was beginning to build her self-confidence and belief in her ability to overcome her challenges. It was during one of the calls, that Samantha shared she had managed to empower herself enough to be able to go out to a shop on her own to purchase something she needed. Both she and her advocate celebrated her successes and acknowledged a milestone within her own recovery journey.
During Samantha’s engagement with our service and her advocate, she began to experience an optimistic and positive outlook for her future. Over time, she became less and less reliant on our service, more open about her strengths and challenges as well as more independent within herself. Well done Samantha your success is your own!
