Recovery and Rehabilitation

Hannah Mills unit provides assessment and psychiatric rehabilitation for people with complex mental health problems including psychosis, self harm, substance misuse including alcohol abuse, dual diagnosis and mood disorders (eg anxiety, depression, bipolar affective disorder and complex PTSD).

Hannah Mills is a 14 bedded unit for males and females of working age with separate sleeping and relaxation areas. This includes individual rooms as well as a bedsit and two training flats, allowing patients to try out their newly acquired skills in a separated but supported therapeutic environment.

We work collaboratively with patients to understand the problems that cause repeated or ongoing hospital admissions by formulating with them the development and maintenance of their mental health problems.

Aims and goals of unit

We use evidence based treatments with personalised programmes that enhance engagement.
By being flexible and responding to individual need we can work with patients who may fail within other systems.
Patients work with the MDT and each other, acquiring skills and testing them out both within the unit, the wider Retreat and in the community.
Patients develop security through their attachment to the unit, creating a stable base
that allows them to test the world around them. From this developing sense of security within themselves they can then translate their knowledge and skills into community settings.
Maintaining and developing life skills is central to recovery. As recovery progresses people are supported to take increasing amounts of responsibility for looking after themselves, that means doing their own laundry, self catering, self medicating and managing their environment. Some will move on to live in the flat off the unit before discharge.

Special Features

Average length of stay of people admitted over the last two years and discharged (2009 – 2011) is 288 days.
In 2010 90% patients were discharged into a community setting.
Multidisciplinary team composed of Psychiatrist, Clinical Psychologist, Nurses trained in Psychosocial Interventions, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, Dual Diagnosis.

Patient Profile

People using our service may have used alcohol, drugs, self harm or suicide attempts as a way of managing their experiences.
They may have psychotic experiences or be detained under the Mental Health Act and have spent time in Psychiatric Intensive Care Units (PICU).
Often our patients have been given a range of diagnoses – Schizophrenia, Dual Diagnosis, Mood Disorders, Personality Disorder, Complex trauma.

Vignette and Testimonial

Anna was admitted to Hannah Mills after a sustained period on an acute ward and a PICU. Presenting with psychotic experiences, hearing voices, delusional ideas, self harm and suicidal ideas and attempts, alcohol and drug abuse.

Anna experienced a serious sexual assault at the age of 14. There were difficulties in relationships at home and during this time Anna started to hear voices. Anna responded to her experiences with suicide attempts. She also started to self harm and was being bullied by her peers who saw the self harm cuts to her arms. Anna used a range of alcohol and drugs to manage her distress.

Anna continued the self harm and attempted suicide.

She was admitted to an acute unit at age 16 under Section 2 MHA and then moved to a PICU due to attempts to abscond.

Anna was discharged at age 18 but was readmitted to an acute ward 1 month later. 11 Months after this Anna was admitted to Hannah Mills unit at The Retreat detained under Section 3 MHA.

After 15 months on Hannah Mills, Anna was succesfully discharged to living in the community.

Anna’s view of her time on Hannah Mills: One of the reasons I came here was because I hear voices, now I know I’m not on my own, Inner Vision Inner Voice group taught me the voices are not the problem it’s how I react to them. Attending the groups really helped me, from CBT to DBT, every session I came away with something new.

For information about accessing treatment, please click here.

You may find the following websites useful:
Royal College of Psychiatrists
MDF The BiPolar Organisation
Rethink
ISPS website