Rachel moved into one of Impact’s flats in December 2012.
Before being referred to Impact she had been attending a course at Derby University; however, due to her issues with OCD becoming more prevalent she struggled to maintain the workload.
Her university were understanding and allowed Rachel to take a year out where she tried moving back in with her mum and sister, but due to a lack of understanding of her condition their relationship broke down.
When Rachel moved into one of Impact’s flats in Bradford she was assigned to her support worker.
Rachel had applied for ESA but the jobcentre cancelled her claim as she was no longer entitled to receive it. Rachel received support setting up a new claim for JSA.
Due to delays in receiving payments, Rachel began to struggle financially, her support worker and the Impact finance team worked with Rachel to put in place a budget plan and payment agreements for Rachel to use as a guide.
At this time it became apparent to Rachel’s support worker that she was struggling to adapt to the changes and was feeling isolated and lonely within her flat. Rachel was offered the chance to move into one of Impact’s flats closer to the support office where she could be monitored more closely and would have more access to local services within the community.
Rachel received support accessing support from her GP, her support worker attended appointments with her and provided a detailed report of Rachel’s needs and support issues identified through her support plans.
She struggled to trust and open up to anyone about her condition. With support from Impact Rachel was able to express to her GP the daily struggles she had with her compulsion to constantly brush her teeth, get dressed in a certain routine, as well as daily chores such as making tea and washing dishes, which became so time consuming that Rachel was constantly missing appointments and feeling extremely frustrated with herself.
Rachel was prescribed medication for depression and anxiety and to help her sleep, her GP also offered her CBT; however the waiting list was extremely long so her support worker liaised with ‘Off the Record’ to get support with her mental health needs and additional support for her personal wellbeing.
Rachel regularly attended counselling appointments, was encouraged to continue with her medication, her moods and behaviour were monitored regularly by the Impact support team and was kept in close contact with the University on her progress.
Rachel’s struggles with her OCD became more manageable and she started to show progression in carrying out general daily tasks independently.
Rachel was supported by Impact in contacting Derby University’s GP and CBT services in preparation for her return and ensured that all facilities were in place ready for her.
Her support worker communicated with her course leader to advice on her transition back into university. Rachel was also supported in applying for student accommodation and in monitoring her application for student finance ready for her move back to university.
By the time Rachel was ready to return to university she had a better understanding of her finances and budgeting, had become more open about communicating her issues with OCD and had become successful and confident expressing to others what OCD is and how it affects her.