Jan Garratty

NAME Jan Garratty
JOB Mental health social worker
AREA OF WORK Mental health
EMPLOYER Warwickshire County Council, Warwickshire Home Treatment and Crisis Intervention Team
QUALIFICATIONS BA psychology, University of Sheffield (1995); DipSW and MA social work, University of Birmingham (2002); ASW, University of Birmingham (2005)

I’ve long been fascinated by mental health, the power of the mind and the consequences this can have for an individual. Prior to qualifying I worked with people experiencing a variety of mental health problems. I applied for my current job straight after graduating from my DipSW/masters course.

The team I work for aims to enable individuals experiencing mental illness/distress to live as fulfilling a life as possible. My everyday tasks include formulating and co-ordinating care plans in response to mental health assessments; providing intense treatment and support to individuals at home as an alternative to admission to a psychiatric hospital; one-to-one crisis resolution sessions and providing out-of-hours support.

I enjoy seeing individuals make progress and overcome relapses, as well as the high level of autonomy and responsibility – knowing that I can always seek advice and support from my colleagues. My shift pattern does, however, make balancing work and social life difficult!

My most unforgettable moment...

...was when after assessing an individual following a serious suicide attempt, I agreed he could go home and that I would see him the next day and arrange a psychiatrist appointment. He failed to attend his appointment the following day and information obtained from relatives and friends made me conclude that he had probably attempted suicide again. I therefore reported the man as a missing person to the police. After two sleepless nights and numerous phone calls, the man contacted me to say that he was safe but that he had needed time to think. He told me that if I had tried to persuade him to go into hospital, he would not have felt able to engage with the mental health services. The incident reinforced the need for me to continue to take positive risks that are reasonable.