Marcie is 38 and lives with her partner. She has various ongoing mental health issues, sleep issues, and other physical health needs. She was very concerned about an upcoming review with her psychiatrist and wanted an advocate to attend with her.  She self-referred to POhWER for help with this matter. Marcie was extremely anxious about her upcoming review as she was currently stable and did not want anything to change.  

Rufus, a POhWER advocate, met with Marcie at her home. Marcie explained that she wanted to keep her medication and her care support hours as they were and did not want anything to change. She also wanted to see her updated care plan, receive support to attend the depot clinic, and to know who her lead practitioner was. Marcie asked Rufus to attend alongside her so he could be her voice if she was unable to convey her wishes. She expressed fears that everything could change and that this would upset her current stability. 

Rufus tried to reassure her and advised that he would be there with her during the appointment and would speak up on her behalf if she wanted him to.   

It was important for Marcie to understand that Rufus was completely independent, was there just for her, and would use his voice to amplify her wishes if needed but would not be able to direct or instruct the psychiatrist’s medical decisions, which she understood. 

At the meeting, Rufus supported Marcie in explaining why she felt it was important for her medication and care hours to stay the same. He also supported Marcie to ask the psychiatrist questions about her care plan, depot injections, and her lead practitioner.

The Psychiatrist kept Marcie’s medication and care hours the same, which made Marcie feel heard and increased her confidence in engaging with the service. The psychiatrist also took time to answer Marcie’s questions. Rufus encouraged the psychiatrist to explain things more clearly when there were times that he used jargon or complex terms that Marcie was not familiar with. Having Rufus by her side to support her helped reduce Marcie’s anxiety and stress, and allowed her to engage in her review and achieve the outcomes she wanted.