This treatment took place on three different occasions it was successful because we treated him with respect and sensitivity.

In the year 2005 we went to London to have a Consultation with an English patient who was non verbal. His mother and sister did most of the talking to fill us in on the problems that David was having in his life. They told us that he was attacked by some of his peers and was beaten and sexually abused and he is now in his early forties. Jack, after listening to what the relatives had to say that he was not sure whether David was actually schizophrenic or perhaps just traumatized into not talking because of the fear that he experienced. It really doesn’t matter what the diagnosis was and never has made any difference with Jack. What Jack cares about is the person and not the diagnosis.

David went to a psychiatrist because his parents thought that he needed some help solving some of his problems. David told the psychiatrist what had happened and the psychiatrist thought that David’s story was so bizarre that the psychiatrist thought he was schizophrenic. Everywhere we have been including the USA if you have a problem and go to a psychiatrist they take a look at you for that all important 15 – 20 minutes and make this discovery that you are mentally disturbed and must come under some of the DSM codes whether it’s the first book or the last book on mental illness. And that definitely you are schizophrenic.

Over the years Jack and I have seen so many people misdiagnosed. When a young person is under a tremendous amount of stress this sometimes can cause schizophrenic like symptoms.

After talking to David’s relatives for quite some time, Jack told the relatives that he thought that David was a treatable case and thought that David was a good fellow.
Also, the family and the NHS the system in England had someone come to see David once a month to see if he was doing OK. Sometimes, that person would not come to see him and it would be a month and a half more or less for someone to see David.

Jack talked to David and made that all important contact the therapeutic alliance. Treating him with respect and a caring attitude it comes through with Jack’s voice and his attitude. Jack also told him that he would never hurt him nor would he make fun of him in any way nor would he ever lie to him. David responded to some questions that Jack would ask, but was reluctant to give too much information. Jack at that time decided that David was not schizophrenic but perhaps suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The relatives were surprised at his response in talking to Jack because David didn’t really talk at home. I also entered into the conversation with Jack and David responded to me as well with short hesitant answers.

The treating psychiatrist at the time of his onset in his teens, told David after giving him some medication to ‘go home and rest’. “Don’t do anything at all, he told him not to play his guitar, just relax” and basically not giving him direction or purpose. In his frequent many times seeing his psychiatrist there was no change in the psychiatrist’s message. He had many follow ups with his psychiatrist.

This young man sat around for years mind you without doing anything. He was fed, had clothes to wear but was literally taken care of however, he was not allowed to go out of the home alone, his parents were getting older and it was difficult for them to keep up with the stride of his walking. They wanted to protect him, any parent can understand that. If he were arrested for doing anything improper, he would have been hospitalized and medicated. He didn’t even play his guitar which he was good at, we were told.

In 2006 we returned to England to help treat this young man. He was silent and hadn’t taken a shower for a long time. Jack on the first day made that all important contact as I said in the beginning that he told David that he respected him, would not make fun of him and treat him as he deserved to be treated, also that he would never lie to him. At this time, David did look at Jack to see if he were telling him the truth. The eye contact with a person with this condition is so very important to make sure that the person sees that you are telling the truth and whether or not he can trust you. Of course this also comes with time and consistency.

The next day after talking to David for a long time, Jack told David to go and take a shower, he immediately got up and went upstairs and took a shower. No problem, not even a refusal he just went upstairs and it seemed natural for him to do this. You say remarkable? No not at all, because I believe if you expect someone to do something that is good for them they want to do it. Sitting idle for so many years he was ready to do something constructive.

We have found over the years that people with any mental condition want to be helped but they don’t know how and our responsibility is to show them. They sense if they are hearing the truth and if you really mean it. By that I mean, if you will follow up or is this just for a 15 minute interview and give you a diagnosis which is not necessarily correct.

Jack talked to David from morning till the late afternoon every day I too started to talk with David as well, he was hesitant but responsive. The next day, Jack told him to take a shower no hesitation whatsoever just to make sure that this was an acceptable part of his routine. This went on every day the whole time we were there in 2006. When we left England David was talking a little more and taking showers every day.

Jack and I both trained the family to take over when we left. He must continue to take showers and try to encourage him to do things around the home. We determined that if you couldn’t count on the professionals then the family had to be responsible for helping the person normalize his life.

We all must remember that you cannot take giant steps although it sometimes happens. Small consistent steps no one is cured in one day. Compassion, warmth and most of all that all important step the relationship without that, there is no treatment.

After we left, we went to a small English town and stayed for a fortnight and when it came time to leave England the family wanted to meet us at the train station which we did. We were interested to see David walk about freely, but his father was in tow because they didn’t want him to get into any trouble. He was interested in the people and what they were doing and the stores etc. It was a wonderful reunion we had a tea and a good conversation with David included. He was a bit silent and reflective, that we did in fact help him somewhat and we were leaving.

We also agreed to talk over the phone once in awhile or send a tape of each other’s voices which we did and it was a good connection because of our departure. We continued to care and be in contact.


The fall of 2008

We had been emailing the family whenever they needed help and kept in contact with them. We told them to be firm but gently prod him into doing more around the house and to encourage him to talk to family members.

In the spring of 2008, they ‘got stuck’ as to what to do with David. They asked us to return to England.

In the fall of 2008 we returned to England. When we saw David he was happy to see us and naturally we were delighted to see him and how well he looked and continued with his personal hygiene. We picked up the conversation and treatment immediately started and talking to him as though we had never left. He remembered Jack and I, also it seemed that he was not too verbal but more pensive.

After some time of talking, he talked a little about himself. We filled him in on how we really enjoyed our taped conversations and some of our telephone calls and our trip to see him and hope that we could help him once again. This went on for some hours the first day we saw him.

The next day, after Jack talked to David for some time, we went into the kitchen to have a cup of tea. Later the family and Jack got up and went into the living room and David just stayed with me. David and I were sitting in the kitchen and I kept saying off and on pointing to his chest that he had so much to say and some day when he felt like it, all of these wonderful things that he had in his mind would come up and out of his mouth. He looked at me every time I would say this. As I was sitting alone with David I told him that I was not going to talk to him and just wanted to give him a rest, after all, he had talked to Jack most of the morning and I wanted to give him a rest. He seemed surprised and perhaps shocked by this turn of events. I told David I was going to sit quietly and read the paper and just be with him, I made a point of saying I am with you. It must have made some impact on him. After a half hour or so, he started talking almost as if awaken from a dream and he started telling me of his classmates in school.
He picked up some of his class pictures that he had on one of the shelves and told me about his head master, his name, he was a nice man and proceeded to tell me of his tales of some of his classmates and then asked me if I could find him in the picture. But he continued to talk all the while they were not broken sentences but formed sentences, it was repetitive what he said, but it all made sense. What he was saying was true and concise and coherent. As I look back, he wanted to talk about something pleasant in his past and was willing to share his good experiences with me. I sat and let him do most of the talking. I agreed with him that he went to a splendid school and that his classmates looked like a good bunch of fellows. He agreed and kept talking about how wonderful he felt about those years. He then said something really important ‘you know I was young and didn’t know any different I was just so young things happened to me and just didn’t know any different’. I told him that I understood because I was young once and didn’t know about such worldly things and with that I took him by the hand into the living room and let him talk to Jack. He seemed that he wanted to tell Jack the same story. Jack told him that he knew that he was a good fellow and that he respected him and he was sorry that some things happened to him. Jack didn’t go into specifics I suppose he didn’t want to open up old wounds. David seemed to cry softly and so some of the truths had come out of what had happened, as I said he was young and didn’t know any better. He really didn’t talk about any molestations, it was there still hidden.

Is it so important to uncover the past I asked myself, he has punished himself so much over the years. Sometimes I believe that perhaps it’s best to leave the past in the past and get on with the future. After this day ended, David seemed more relaxed.

David was literally a prisoner in his own home. They had to lock the door to keep him safe as he would go outside sometimes and get into trouble, just taking something from a store and this store was kind enough to call the family and they would go a fetch him.
One day however, David bolted by Jack and went outside we were all amazed at this sudden event because he had never done this before. However, we couldn’t let him just wander around and perhaps get into some sort of trouble. Jack, his mother and I went out after him and I followed him up to the grocery store area, he went in and Jack told his mother to go and get the car. I followed him into a card shop and I just let him browse around, he lifted up some cards and put them back, the owner of the shop told me that he does this quite often and that he was OK. After a bit, he left and I followed him by that time his mother had the car and was waiting at the end of the street with Jack. They called to David and he got into the car and we all drove home.

Jack explained to David that we were all worried about him and to let us know when he goes out and to come back for tea or dinner. From then on David made progress and it was decided to unlock the doors and give him access to the world. This measure of freedom seemed to give him a sense of well being as normal as the rest of the world. We felt that it was an important progressive step i.e. to allow him to feel like he was part of life and it led him to a more responsible measure of normalcy. Of course it is understandable that being denied access to the world makes you feel like you don’t belong or there is something wrong with you. This measure of freedom led to a much more normal course of behavior on his part and he began to relate to people in the family and those people he made contact with on the outside.

To confirm we recently received a letter from his mother stating that he had become very verbal and spent hours talking to her about his life. We believe that when you treat a person with respect and consideration they feel like they are like the rest of the world. It is our pleasure to have participated in this wonderful young man’s change from what might be called abnormal to acceptable. This is a good person like many who are labeled mentally ill and are never given a chance to feel like they are acceptable human beings.

His treatment was without medication. It was successful because he was accepted as a member of the family that loved him and wanted him to be a part of their lives.

We have found that in the absence of qualified professionals (by qualified I mean caring) that the families can be taught to act in a manner that is therapeutically effective.
 

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