Transitioning on from Calvert Reconnections
One of the areas we feel is essential for a successful service and to ensure good outcomes for clients is the transition process on from Calvert Reconnections.
If this is done well, clients will feel supported throughout the process and able to maximise the use of the new skills they have developed while at Calvert Reconnections.
We feel one of the key points is that the change does not just suddenly happen. It must be a gradual transition that is talked about and planned for throughout their stay with us. We will have regular goal review meetings with the client and those that are most important to them, whether that be family, carers, case manager, support workers or clinicians. This support team will also be encouraged to join the client on activities to see and experience the progress being made. How powerful would that be if the client could teach their family member or case manager all about how to plan, organise and carry out a sailing trip safely?
At Calvert Reconnections we have a homely, purpose renovated independent living flat. We hope that all the skills that clients develop during their programme of outdoor activities and tasks of everyday living can be put into practice in a graded way, with the same encouraging support from the Reconnections team. This will make an ideal stepping stone for the transition forwards in their pathway of recovery.
The client will be supported with visits to the home and/or work environment. It is important to experience first-hand how their new environment feels to them and how it can be made best to work for them. And this will be best done by joined up support through our clinical team at Reconnections, working closely in partnership with other organisations in the community. This close partnership will help with the smooth transition of information regarding experiences and progress to date and required support for future goals and plans.
Following completion of the programme and transition from the Centre, participants will be able to access support via an online community managed by the Trust’s senior staff team. Participants will be welcomed back to the centre for ‘top-up’ stays, where their progress can be reviewed, and new goals set and planned. At the Calvert Trust participants have found this service invaluable for maintaining their progress but most importantly for their mental wellbeing and the boost this provides. So many participants have told us how much they look forward to return trips to visit all the friends and community they have made here and get their outdoor boost!
Femke van Schelven, Specialist Neurological Physiotherapist, Calvert Reconnections