The gatekeepers to 'talking therapies' are as principled as nightclub bouncers, less truculant, maybe more passive-aggressive. Or at least, that has been my experience.
I basked under a fleeting sunrise of optimism following my return to Basingstoke. My excursion along the South Coast Path had surely convinced the community mental health team at The Bridge Centre that I was seriously unwell. I was wrong.
Laura Jones called me late in the morning on the 4th of May, 2022 to discuss the outcome of my mental health assessment. It became almost immediately apparent that I was being dismissed, fobbed off with barely disguised contempt and an itinerary of illaudable recommendations.
The advice that she offered included 1) attend the Wellbeing Centre, 2) sign up to the Recovery College and 3) another referral to iTalk!
Yes! iTalk!
I had already been referred to iTalk following my first mental health assessment and refused their service because I was suffering from suicidal ideation. Indeed, medical records confirm written communication from 'IPT therapist' and 'gatekeeper' of iTalk, Kylie Salholm, addressed to clinicians at CMHT, The Bridge Centre dated 7th April, 2022, explaining the rationale for refusing me their service. Medical records also refer to a 'professionals meeting' that took place on the 9th February, 2022 and the aknowledgement by Nicola Hoyle that 'iTalk 'are incredible risk adversed so he' ( me ) 'would be brought back to CMHT'. It was later revealed by Farayi Nyakubaya, the Head Of Nursing at CMHT, that iTalk had NOT been accepting ANY patients who were expressing suicidal ideation during the time that I was being referred. Yet, here I was, being recommended to iTalk for the second time. I protested this recommendation. Laura Jones response to my protest was that I should now ‘self-refer’ to iTalk, as if that was going to make any difference.
Laura Jones then tried to justify the recommendations of the Wellbeing Centre and the Recovery College.
The Basingstoke Wellbeing Centre, delivered by Andover Mind, ‘offers a relaxed and friendly base, where a range of services are provided to support people with mental health problems. We offer help to all who need it. This could range from aiding people in their recovery from a serious mental health issue to providing advice, services and information to those wishing to prevent the onset of a mental health condition from starting.’
Likewise, ‘the Recovery College which is based within the adult mental health services of Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, and are part of a national chain of Recovery Colleges, aims to help increase awareness and understanding of recovery and self-management whilst challenging stigma related to mental health…The Recovery College takes an educational approach to equip you with the knowledge and skills to get on with your life, despite mental illness. The skills learned are relevant to all of us whether we’re health professionals, service users, or carers – the Recovery College welcomes all.’
I argued that I was in immediate crisis, that I needed access to talking therapies and that ‘wellbeing services’ and ‘recovery colleges’ were an inappropriate recommendation. Laura Jones insisted that psychology wasn’t available to me.
I fought hard to manage my frustration with Laura Jones. I told her about my walk along the South Coast Path and my extreme suicidal ideation which led to my being ‘sectioned’. Laura Jones scoffed at my words. ‘You were never ‘sectioned’, she replied with absolute contempt. My frustration warmed to a simmering anger. Was she insinuating that I was lying? ‘I was detained under section 136 by Dorset Police the day after my mental health assessment with YOU!’ I barked back. ‘ I was detained because I was deemed a risk of harm to myself. I had been suicidal. I was STILL suicidal!’ She wouldn’t back down but I refused to be mollified. I told her that a diagnosis and psychiatric help was my only hope. She wouldn’t back down and I became increasingly distressed. She told me to stop shouting but I refused to be patronised. She told me to stop ‘threatening’ suicide. I refused to be placated. Surely it was her job as a mental healthcare practitioner to expect and manage suicidal ideation in patients? Her attitude was unprofessional, unsympathetic and highly infuriating. Laura Jones mental health assessment was a travesty, an affront to common sense and a shining, radioactive example of appalling incompetence. Laura Jones, another 'gatekeeper'.
She eventually gave up and suggested I speak to one of her ‘team lead’.
Later that day I was telephoned by Laura Jones’ ‘team lead’, Sean Dale Malloy. We spoke at some length about my experiences at CAMHS and at CMHT and my expectations from services. Initially he told me that psychotherapy was not available to me through CMHT. I argued my point, robustly, explaining that I had insight into my mental health issues and knew that I was suffering from Complex-ptsd and suspected that I might also be suffering from a personality disorder, maybe BPD. After much debate, Sean Dale Malloy finally said to me, ‘If you attend the Wellbeing Centre and complete ALL of their courses AND attend the Recovery College and complete ALL of their courses then I MAY consider you for psychotherapy!’ So, psychotherapy WAS available to me but Sean Dale Malloy was just another ‘gatekeeper’ and I had to jump through his hoops.
I told him that I could not accept his conditions. I was already familiar with the Wellbeing Centre and the courses provided by the Recovery College. I knew that neither of these recommendations were appropriate. It was shortly after this that Sean Dale Malloy lost his professional patience. Our conversation had turned back to my experiences at CAMHS and the ‘art therapy’ with Sally Mungall. What he said next might have been born out of frustration though I am inclined to believe he was inspired by malice. What he said next caused me very real psychological harm.
‘I have seen documents that have passed across my desk that say that decisions have been made to cut you off from Sally Mungall!’
I was knocked down by that information. I barely listened to Sean Dale Malloy’s conclusion of our conversation, being dimly aware of thanking him for his time and hanging up the phone.
Sean Dale Malloy’s revelation troubled me no end for the next 24 hours. Wanda Reynolds had made no such reference to Sally Mungall being deliberately ‘cut off’ from me. She had told me that the meeting that Sally and I had mutually agreed for the 3rd February, 2022 had been over-ruled because Meg had been discharged from CAMHS services.
I was so distressed that I telephoned Sean Dale Malloy back the next day and asked for confirmation of his words and further details. He was a little sheepish second time around. Maybe he realised that he had overstepped and was trying to minimise the damage he had obviously caused. Regardless, he reiterated that ‘documents’ had indeed ‘passed across his desk ‘ confirming that Sally Mungall had been ‘cut off ‘from me. Access to my medical records also reminds me that he discussed ‘patterns of thinking and behaviour which have not helped Mark to soothe and regulate his feelings. Mark has autistic traits and as such can be fixated and obsessive about things. We considered alternative ways of thinking and behaving.’ I take exception to his use of the phrase ‘autistic traits’ and the words ‘fixated’ and obsessive’. Those words are loaded and have been used to misrepresent me and malign my good character. I will expand upon this in later blog posts posts but it is worth mentioning at this point that there was a meeting at CMHT, The Bridge Centre on the 29th April, 2022, convened to discuss Laura Jones mental health assessment of me. In attendance were Vicky Long, Sean Dale Malloy, Laura Jones and Kendall Howard. The only ‘outcome’ listed in the records comes from Vicky Long who requests that she ‘would like Laura Jones to reach out to CAMHS to let them know that Mark is still fixated on Sally.’ This is the second such request, the first having been made by Sally Mungall herself, requesting that Kirsty Henry’s mental health assessment be used to assess my ‘feelings’ towards Sally Mungall. Two mental health assessments HIJACKED by outside interests.
‘A mental health assessment is a conversation between you and mental health professionals to help decide what kind of support you need.
You'll need to have a mental health assessment when you go to any mental health service for help.
A mental health assessment is not a test or an exam. It is about helping you. You only have to talk about what you want to talk about. The more open and honest you are, the easier it will be to get you the right help.’ - https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/social-care-and-your-rights/mental-health-assessments/
Both my mental health assessments should have been about helping me. Vicky Long, was a ‘service manager’ at the time and was not qualified to make clinical interpretations nor authorised to share her opinions with others outside Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust. To do so was wrong and squarely outside the realm of medical ethics and principles enshrined in the NHS Constitution. I dispute Vicky Long’s opinion that I was somehow ‘fixated’ with Sally Mungall. I was psychologically damaged by Sally Mungall. Vicky Long’s request alludes to an agreement to share information with clinicians and leadership at CAMHS that should have remained confidential. It wasn’t until the truly shocking details were revealed following my access to medical records that I was to understand just how ‘fixated’ and ‘obsessed’ were being used to misrepresent me.
I needed to complain about Sean Dale Malloy later that year. He is on record denying using the actual words ‘I have seen documents that have passed across my desk that say that decisions have been made to cut you off from Sally Mungall!’ I have somewhat paraphrased his words but he did allude to letters or documents, did actually say ‘passed across my desk’ and did actually say ‘cut you off from Sally Mungall.’ He denied having access to any letters or documents and put that denial in writing following an investigation by the Head of Nursing at CMHT The Bridge Centre. Actual evidence was disclosed following an access request made by my daughter, Meg around a year and a half later which proved that Sean Dale Malloy DID have access to physical letters, MY personal hand-written letters to Sally Mungall. I will publish the evidence that proves Sean Dale Malloy was in communication with Sally Mungall and accepted custody of those letters. Sean Dale Malloy conveniently ‘lost’ those letters but records prove that he lied to me and lied to the Head of Nursing at CMHT The Bridge Centre when being investigated. As far as I understand Sean Dale Malloy continues to work at CMHT The Bridge Centre. It is my informed opinion that Sean Dale Malloy is a thoroughly immoral man and a liar.
On the 10th of May I received a letter from IPT therapist Kylie Salholm confirming that I had been discharged from iTalk.
Medical records confirm ‘Originator Susan Stock admin date 11 May 2022 14.40 Attached assess sent to mark and emailed to GP ‘Referral closed’. The second mental health assessment carried out by Laura Jones had been made following an urgent referral by my GP, Dr Dougan. For the second time, since February, 2022, CMHT, The Bridge Centre had ‘closed’ a referral made on my behalf.