Michael's story

My name is Michael. At the age of 13, my daughter was diagnosed with anorexia. She had been a happy child with boundless energy and enthusiasm. We had seen signs that she was getting thinner, eating less, and experiencing anxiety in school but could never have expected what was to come next.

We struggled to access mental health support for her until things became critical. She was hospitalised over Christmas and then sectioned in an in-patient unit some distance from home. This was the first of three such sections. This was traumatising for her and she struggles to talk about this period. As a family, we struggled to understand what was happening and felt we had little say or influence. Her experiences of in-patient services were dreadful and she has recently had counselling to try and process what she experienced in these services.

For over 6 years, we battled for access to services that were supposed to help. It was exhausting on top of trying to support our daughter and my partner had to give up work. Staff in the services struggled to do their best in a system that they privately acknowledged to us was on its knees. We learnt how to navigate a complex bureaucracy that felt designed to exclude. Education services abjectly failed to cater for our daughter’s needs and passed us from pillar to post. She had very little education from the age of 13.

Now aged 19, my daughter has begun to take some positive steps. She has a part-time job and is looking to start an outdoor education course. Our experiences gave us a glimpse into the reality for so many young people and families. Not everyone has the time & energy to fight the system in the way we did. We are committed to working with others to transform the conditions and systems to support our young people.