Kyle's story

Kyle had been ‘in the system’ for more than seven years. He was a typical ‘revolving door’ patient, in and out of psychiatric care acute wards, unable to sustain improvements once he was back in the community.

He was first admitted as a schizophrenic with delusions, verbally hostile, violent towards his parents, a regular cannabis-user too. Out of hospital he was inconsistent with his prescribed medication, leaving himself vulnerable – he had been found wandering naked in the street on occasions.

The hospital care he received in those seven years was a long way from the nurturing environment that he needed so desperately in order to move forwards on his path to rehabilitation.

‘Out of bed, medication, dinner, tea, medication, back to bed – that was how it was in the other place. We were second-class citizens. They talked down to us like we were kids.’

The major obstacle to managing his mental health - an obstacle for Kyle himself, and for the professionals in whose care he was placed - was his belief that cannabis did him no harm. He was convinced it enhanced his perception. ‘It made me relaxed. I had ideas coming through. It was like meditating.’

The drug awareness therapy he has received at a Cambian hospital has given him new insight. ‘I know it makes my brain misfire’ he says now. ‘I understand what’s going on in my mind better, and I’d like to pass the advice on to others.’

He’s not there yet, but is slowly buying into the idea that, with his underlying psychiatric condition, his system simply cannot tolerate cannabis. Until that reality sinks in, he’s at risk of relapsing. The long-term, carefully measured rehabilitation programmes and the support of multi-disciplinary professionals provided by Cambian give him the time and the space to come to his own conclusions.

In the meantime, he’s attending a motorbike maintenance course at college. His ambitions are to live independently, to work as a forklift truck-driver, to buy a motorbike and to travel the world on it!

The first part is well on the way to happening. Kyle is destined to move to supported accommodation near to another Cambian hospital – a further step-down in care that will bring him another stage closer to realising his dreams for the future. The rest will be up to him but he won’t be alone on his journey to get there.