Minisaurus

Summary for 10-12-11

Mini — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 00:07:23 +0000

Found out client is being sexually exploited by a “boyfriend”—who himself could be a client over here
Called the local PD and had a very uncomfortable discussion with the responding officer
Called adult protective services to report this exploitation
Had the local PD call us and let us know there was some weird looking dude stalking around the neighbourhood with a gun.

I’d like to say this was my weirdest day at work but I’d be lying.

Court

Mini — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 23:53:50 +0000

I suppose it’s a bad week when two clients are successfully civilly committed. One was committed because he just refuses to take any anti-psychotics and had decided to fight the forces of communism in the middle of the street. He fought these battles in his hospital robe, frequently barefoot, hair wild—put Einstein in a wind tunnel to get an approximate visual—punching and kicking at ghosts. I personally saw him tackle a bush the other day. I’ve never thought of foliage as being particularly socialist.

The other client can’t stop smoking in his room. This doesn’t sound so bad at first but he frequently forgets he’s smoking while still holding the lit cigarette. This leads to him putting the lit cigarette on the floor, on his dresser, or in his dresser because he’s so disconnected and unaware of what’s going on around him.

Both individuals were deemed to be a danger to themselves and will be stabilized and will return to us on a “trial visit”. Hopefully we’ll see more success.

my mads

Mini — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 23:25:53 +0000

This post is out of chronological order because I want to obscure some dates. I want to write about what I do and, technically, I am allowed to do just that so long as I endeavor to protect the identity of my clients. If at any point it seems that is not possible I’ll probably have to nuke the site.

I work as a clinical lead at a facility that treats individuals who are severally and persistently mentally ill (SPMI). For those unfamiliar, this primarily includes individuals who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia—and its handful of soon-to-be-obsolete-if-the-DSM-V-ever-comes-out subtypes. We’ve come a long way in 500 years when it comes to treating “madness”. My role is that of a counseler and case manager.