Mental health service users who live in residential care settings are often in danger of never being able to realise mainstream goals. For various reasons it turns out that the initial exposure to mainstream life is the key factor in determining an individual's further progress into that milieu.
Residential care covers a range of bases. It could be a residential home or a family setting, even the setting of a marriage or a personal relationship. Carers and support workers do not always have their charges' independence as a key priority. Sometimes carers or family members derive more support for themselves by living or being with the 'cared-for' member than vice versa. Even staff within the clinical teams are often geared to providing support at the expense of encouraging mainstream development. What this can lead to is a form of unnecessary and intrusive over-protectiveness.
The results of enabling people to access mainstream are frequently nothing short of amazing. When this access is based entirely on clients' own choices the results can become formidable.
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