Stories of Transformation from our Localities

Case Study: Finding the Way with Samantha

Samantha, a 56-year-old woman living alone in a rural community, faced several complex challenges. She has a long history of bipolar affective disorder, experiences hearing voices, and recently received an autism diagnosis. Feeling isolated in her rural home, Samantha wanted to find a way to access resources and connect with others in nearby communities. She also needed help with a transition to Universal Credit.

Our team worked with Samantha to address both her social isolation and her practical concerns. We first helped her to access community transport, which gave her the freedom to explore opportunities outside of her immediate area. We then helped her research and communicate with local groups and activities that matched her interests. The team provided support by attending initial sessions with Samantha until she felt comfortable and confident enough to go on her own. For her Universal Credit issue, we referred her to Citizens Advice Somerset, part of the OMH alliance, where she was able to get prompt, helpful advice.

Samantha’s hard work paid off in some amazing ways. She’s now a regular at a Tai Chi class, where she’s started building new connections right in her community. She also goes to a weekly ecotherapy group in a local town, enjoying the hands-on work and making some great friends. She also became a member of the Women’s Shed in another town, where she participates in craft activities. These new connections and activities have helped her feel much more engaged and a lot less isolated.

Case Study: A New Beginning for Sarah

Sarah, a 49-year-old single mother, was going through a difficult and overwhelming period in her life. Having recently separated, she was raising her two neurodiverse pre-teen children while also managing her own anxiety and depression. On top of it all, she was on the waiting list for an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessment and had the challenging task of handling her late father’s estate.

Sarah is well-educated and highly intelligent, but she found that a common challenge for people on the ASD pathway—executive function difficulties—made it tough to manage her emotions and the practical details of life. She sought support to help her process her grief and to tackle the complex process of probate and her father’s estate.

Her support involved a two-path approach. First, she received emotional support to help her cope with the loss of her father. At the same time, she engaged in psychoeducational work that gave her strategies to improve her executive functioning, manage feelings of overwhelm, and set a more manageable pace for herself. She also received practical guidance on how to break down the daunting administrative tasks into smaller, more manageable steps. Throughout this process, she was also supported as she completed her own ASD assessment.

By the end of her sessions, Sarah had made significant progress. Probate had been granted, and she had completed most of the associated administrative tasks, feeling much more confident about tackling the remaining long-term duties, including selling the property, on her own. She also completed her ASD assessment, gaining a greater understanding of how her neurodivergence impacts her daily life. With new strategies to manage overwhelm and anxiety, Sarah felt better able to face the future.

Case Study: Mike’s Journey

Mike, a 31-year-old living at home with his family, is currently on the waiting list for an ADHD assessment and has been working to improve his mental health. He shares care of his four-year-old child with his ex-partner, with support from his current partner, and has a history of severe depression and anxiety.

Having found the support of his OMH locality team helpful in the past, Mike decided to return to address some new challenges. During his sessions, he focused on managing feelings of being overwhelmed—particularly around his potential ADHD diagnosis—and setting firmer personal boundaries. The team worked with Mike to explore practical strategies he could apply directly to his daily life and work environment.

By the time of his last session, Mike had a much clearer grasp of how to set boundaries in his work relationships, which really helped him feel less overwhelmed. He made some great changes at his job, started using new tools, like AI, to help him with his focus and organisation, and, thanks to his hard work, now feels equipped to better manage his professional and personal life.

Case Study: Helping Keisha Find a New Community

Keisha, a 49-year-old living alone, has faced a lifetime of trauma and loss, leading to significant family challenges. Following intensive support from other services, she was referred to our team to help her settle into a new community after a recent house move. The goal was to help her find local resources and make new connections.

It quickly became clear that Keisha wasn’t stable enough to start this work just yet. We saw her go through a number of crises, including an overdose and some hospital stays. But we worked closely with other services to make sure we could keep supporting her. We offered emotional support and helped her go over anxiety management techniques. This steady care helped Keisha get to a point where she could start on her original plan.

Keisha was keen to improve both her mental and physical wellbeing, as she also deals with physical health conditions that impact her mobility. We supported her in attending a weekly gentle movement class with a group offering inclusive activities for people with physical health issues.

Keisha tried out activities like yoga, tennis, and Ring Fit, and she connected well with the staff and other participants. By the end of our work together, Keisha felt confident enough to attend independently and was considering joining a local Boccia group and a beginner’s walking group.

Case Study: Finding Connection for Maria

Maria, a 59-year-old woman, has been through a lot. She has a history of major trauma and lives with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. She also deals with physical health issues that cause chronic pain and affect her mobility. On top of that, she has a recent autism diagnosis, which can make social situations and organising her life particularly challenging.

She was referred to our team because she wanted to find activities that would allow her to connect with others, but her anxiety about new social situations was holding her back. Maria, who finds nature-based activities beneficial for her mental wellbeing, hoped to get involved with a local nature project she had admired for years but had been too afraid to approach.

We provided support by helping Maria contact the local nature group and accompanying her to the first session. We also helped her connect with an ecotherapy course and were there for her on the first day.

As a result, Maria now attends the local nature group on a weekly basis and has completed the ecotherapy course. This experience has had a powerful impact, improving her mental wellbeing and growing her confidence in connecting with others. Maria is now considering a weekly volunteering role with a faith-based group that offers nature-based activities like farming and market gardening, giving her a renewed sense of purpose and a feeling of making a positive contribution to her community.

Case Study: Exploring with Alan

Referred by Talking Therapies after 20 sessions, Alan, a client in his thirties, was struggling with severe agoraphobia and panic attacks, experiencing up to six in a single day. He was effectively housebound, only leaving his parents’ home at night in their car, where he often still suffered from panic attacks. His anxiety was so intense that even the presence of a stranger in the house was a source of stress. He was keen to reclaim his independence and wanted to be able to go out alone, travel by bike, and, most importantly, meet his son and accompany him on outings. He also recognised that his weight and lack of fitness contributed to his panic and wanted to address this.

Our work to support Alan began with small steps, meeting him at his house and taking short walks in the surrounding countryside, gradually extending the distance at a pace he was comfortable with. We encouraged him to use his bike, a treadmill, and weights to improve his fitness and discussed how a change in diet could help, focusing on reducing his carbohydrate intake.

An essential part of our progress was building a trusting relationship with Alan, given his extreme anxiety around new people. By gradually widening his comfort zone and extending his range, we saw Alan’s confidence grow. A shared interest in nature and wildlife also helped, turning what could have been a difficult task into an enjoyable experience.

The outcomes speak for themselves. In just over six months, Alan lost 20kg and gained around 6kg of muscle. He’s now able to face his fears head-on, even standing on a motorway bridge and experiencing rising panic, but recovering on his own. He can meet his son further and further from home, and they’ve even built a camp together. The number of panic attacks he experiences has fallen dramatically. Alan has now asked to pause our work, with the intention of returning to establish new goals.

“I’ve been walking around the fields and the other day there was travellers down the road towards the bridge camping so I went down. It was nice talking to some new people and seeing their dogs and horses!”