{"product_id":"a-letter-to-my-son-gill-holt-9781783825509","title":"A Letter to My Son","description":"\u003cp\u003eThis book describes how the mental health system could not keep our son alive after his ten-year struggle with schizophrenia, despite the best efforts of countless caring professionals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt recognises the most significant underlying issue being the need for mental health to receive a greater proportion of spending - an important message for politicians. And it identifies from a parent's perspective key areas for improvement even within the current system, which should be of interest to mental health professionals.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlthough there is no 'happy ending' there may still be some insights to help parents identify possible early signals of mental health issues in their children, and how to act - quickly.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis book documents our family's experience in supporting our son through a 10-year struggle with paranoid schizophrenia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt explains how difficult it is, in the early stages, of recognising that an illness is developing, and knowing what to do about it - and that this is compounded by the fact that the sufferer often does not want to admit to the illness, even to themself; also how, with a young adult, data protection law can significantly restrict parental influence on intervening; and how the involvement of the significant carer in the sectioning process under the mental health acts can introduce conflict between parent and child.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt highlights some weaknesses in how our mental health system seeks to provide a community care route to recovery - too little supported housing, excessively high caseloads for staff, lack of 24\/7 cover, ineffective co-ordination and continuity across agencies to address the individual's needs, and reliance on the police sometimes as the last resort.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIt provides much evidence of the impact of under-investment in mental health, when compared with physical health, even though the two are so inter-dependent; also demonstrates that the mechanisms for agreeing funding for different intervention options can lead to less than optimum outcomes - both in clinical and financial terms.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Gill Holt\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1783825502\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781783825509\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Chipmunka Publishing\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 08\/20\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 206\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.50lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 0.47d","brand":"Gill Holt","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47001758466303,"sku":"9781783825509","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_6b018315-50dd-4eec-ac4f-61d737c18367.jpg?v=1751602049","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/a-letter-to-my-son-gill-holt-9781783825509","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}