>> Voiceover: Psychosis can happen to people in any country
in the world, whoever they are, whatever their background or walk of life.
Symptoms can include hearing voices that can be frightening, telling you what to do, or
feeling that weird things are going on around you, or losing contact with reality.
>> Dave's voice: I'd just come out of hospital, lovely, and
I didn't feel like doing too much, just being left alone to chill out and maybe celebrate
a little.
>> Voiceover : Early intervention teams were set up to work
with people aged 14 to 35 experiencing first episodes of psychosis.
[Letter drops through letterbox]
>> Dave's voice: It was just another appointment with the early
intervention team and I decided to give it a miss.
It was much too soon after leaving the ward.
I was ok, I just wanted to be left alone!
And I wasn't taking that lot again, no way!
[Knock on door, Dave's friends wait on doorstep]
>> Friends: Just leave her shoes alone.
She seriously can't wear them!
Leave my shoes alone, I'm wearing them.
You can't!
[Door opens]
>> Friend: Hey Dave, you all right, how you been?
Look, do you want to come to Jim's party tonight?
>> Dave: Leave me alone.
[Dave slams door shut]
>> Friends: Hey, what's your problem mate?
Hey, easy on him Look, he's just been in the hospital, he's
not right Let's leave it.
[Dave leaves house, music playing from his headphones.
Scene changes to Dave sitting with his key worker.]
>> Dave: Psychosis, anxiety, depression, I've been
there mate.
And it can be devastating.
>> Key worker: It can be, but it's not your fault or your
family's.
>> Dave: I wish you could tell my mum that.
In that letter, it said you're my key worker, what does that mean?
>> Key worker: All that means is that I'm going to be the
person that's working with you most closely most probably, so your main contact point.
>> Dave: How long's all this going to take then?
>> Key worker: It's different for everybody, but sometimes
we work with people for up to three years.
>> Dave: Three years!
>> Key worker: Well, as I say, it's not for everybody and
it depends on where you're at and what you want.
>> Dave: So what if I don't want to see you.
>> Key worker: Well that can happen sometimes.
>> Dave: What if it does?
>> Key worker: We know that you need to be getting something
out of this and what would usually happen is hopefully we'd be able to talk…
[Key worker's voice fades out and is replaced by voice over spoken by Dave]
>> Dave's voice: He was all right, but I hadn't told him everything.
>> Dave: I don't just want to take medication, I need
to talk to someone about what's happened to me.
>> Key worker: I think it would be good for you to talk about
what's happened and you can meet with Lorna, she's a psychologist in our team and see how
you feel after that.
>> Dave: Yeah, I'd like to do that.
>> Voiceover: Early intervention teams can link up with
colleges, universities, employment and benefits agencies, and drug and alcohol services, and
offer practical support with healthy lifestyles, social activities and relationships.
[Dave meets with Lorna the psychologist]
>> Dave: My family are doing my head in.
How can I get them to leave me alone?
>> Lorna: Ok, that's tough.
Families often find it really hard to understand psychosis and think how best they can help,
but the Early Intervention Team works with families as well, so we can help them with
that.
>> Dave: What if they think I'm just lazy and making
it all up.
>> Lorna: Well, low energy and difficulty doing things
are the things families find hardest to understand and deal with and sadly sometimes their best
efforts to help come over as criticism, but often it's really well intentioned.
>> Dave: So how can you help me with that then?
>> Lorna: Well, I think the best place to start is if
we can all get together, and then we can listen to each others' points of view and think together
about the best way forward.
>> Dave: What if that doesn't work for me?
>> Lorna: Well, we can try something else.
Often you have to try different things before you find the thing that works best for you.
The important thing is to keep trying and to remember that the Early Intervention Team
will be there with you until we find something that does work.
>> Dave: What else can you do for me?
>> Lorna: We can talk about anything that's troubling
you.
The important thing is for us to work with you to find a shared understanding of what's
going on for you and them we can think about what might be helpful by way of therapy.
>> Dave: What do you mean, therapy?
>> Lorna: Ok, well there's different kinds of psychological
therapy.
The therapy I use is called cognitive behavioural therapy and that's reckoned to be the most
effective one for people with psychosis.
It's really about understanding the links between the experiences we have and what we
make of them.
It's the sense we make of things that determines how distressed they make us feel.
So that's something we can work together on in sessions.
Is there anything else you wanted to talk about today?
>> Dave: Yes, medication, I don't just want to take
medication, I want to talk about what's happening to me.
>> Lorna: Sure, well we can start the process of talking
about what's happening to you anyway.
It's important to talk to your psychiatrist about medication, but I'd also be happy to
think through with you the pros and cons.
At the end of the day it's your choice what you want to do about medication and the team
will work with you whatever you choose to do.
Ok?
>> Dave: Ok.
Thank's for that.
[Dave's conversations with his key worker and Lorna play over in his head]
>> Key worker: I think it would be good for you to talk about
what's happened.
>> Lorna: At the end of the day it's your choice what
you want to do about medication.
>> Key worker: It's different for everybody, but sometimes
we work with people for up to three years.
>> Lorna: The team will work with you whatever you choose
to do.
>> Dave's voice: I was going to another meeting, this time
with the doctor.
I'd met him before when I was in hospital.
[Dave telephones his mother while waiting to see the doctor]
>> Dave: All right Mum?
Yeah, not too bad.
Yeah, it's all right.
Well, they said we could all meet up as a family and talk about things.
What, Dad would come?
Yeah, that would be really great if Dad came.
Right, look I've got to go, I'll speak to you later, bye.
[Dave is in the doctor's room]
>> Dave: I need you to know I'm not happy with my diagnosis.
>> Doctor: Well that's ok.
Maybe it's helpful not to focus on labels at the moment.
>> Dave: But I've already got a label!
>> Doctor: Diagnoses frequently change in the early stages.
What is important is to focus on what's troubling you and what we can do to help you with it.
>> Dave's voice: To be fair, he admitted he wasn't sure yet,
it was too soon to say.
I was happy about that.
Then came the bit I didn't want to talk about, but I knew it had to come up.
>> Dave: I suppose you want me to take medication?
>> Doctor: So you're not taking medication at the moment?
>> Dave: No!
I suppose you're going to send me to hospital now?
>> Doctor: No, we want you to stay out of hospital.
We do work with people who've chosen not to take medication, but a lot of them have said
it's really helpful.
>> Dave: Well, it didn't help me.
What about all the side effects?
>> Doctor: There are lots of different things we can
try.
>> Dave: What if none of them work?
>> Doctor: We will take things one step at a time.
[Dave's conversations with his key worker, Lorna and the doctor play over in his head]
>> Lorna: The important thing is to keep trying.
>> Key worker: It's not your fault or your family's.
>> Doctor: We will take things one step at a time.
>> Lorna: Remember that the Early Intervention Team
will be there with you until we find something that does work.
[Music and credits]