This week our Individual Placement and Support Service is celebrating securing over 1,000 paid jobs for people with mental health difficulties. Meet Kathryn – one of our amazing success stories.
Mum-of-three Kathryn Murphy always dreamed of crafting a life “filled with purpose and meaning” despite struggling with her mental health for years.
Now, after receiving specialist support from Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV), her dreams have finally turned into reality, and she is using her lived experience to help others as a member of staff.
“I have faced many difficult events in my life, and it had been 19 years since I’d last had paid employment,” said Kathryn, who lives in Stanley, County Durham.
“But, since getting support from TEWV, and then a job too, I’m a completely different person. I’m just pleased to be doing something that makes a difference.”
Overcoming tough life challenges
Kathryn was diagnosed with clinical depression, panic disorder and generalised anxiety disorder as a teenager, but tried to ignore the “feelings of being different.”
In her thirties, however, her mental ill-health started to stop her from living the life she wanted – and from 2017 her world fell apart, starting with the death of her dad.
“Losing my dad really affected my mental health and I suffered a relapse. Then I was diagnosed with cervical cancer, lost my mother and Covid hit,” Kathryn, 53, recalled.
“It was awful; everything just happened at once. At the same time, I had a growing sense of unease that I’d never craft a life for myself with purpose or meaning.”
Seeking support to find new career path
Kathryn was referred to TEWV’s Individual Placement and Support Service (IPS) in late 2020 – just a few months after receiving the all-clear following cancer treatment.
The service helps people with severe mental health difficulties to get into work.
She received Dialectical Behavioural Therapy, which provides practical skills to deal with life, people and relationships, as well as support and guidance with job seeking.
“It had long been a wish of mine to work in the NHS, in a post where I could use my lived experience to help improve patient care and outcomes,” said Kathryn.
“My advisor, Kim Hodgson, was instantly supportive. She had no doubts as to my ability and believed all along I could achieve this goal. She was with me all the way.”
Using her lived experience to support others
Kim helped Kathryn to explore her employment goals and, when a post came up at TEWV as a peer trainer for positive and safe care, she applied – and got the role.
“I use my lived experience to train staff. I’ve had many people thank me, as it has helped them understand their patients and what they are going through,” she said.
“Sharing my personal lived experience provides a different perspective on situations, which our staff might not get from others who haven’t been through it themselves.”
Kathryn’s new career is not only helping others, however – it has also had a positive impact on her family and helped bring financial security for the first time too.
Looking forward to brighter future
“I’ve always been open about my mental health and family members have commented on the change in me, and are very proud of my achievement,” she said.
“This is something I love to hear, because they’ve had to watch me struggle for so long. It feels like I’ve transformed into someone different and found the real me.
“The IPS team have not only helped me, but my family too. They believed in me and have changed my life. I’m finally looking forward to the future and life is really good.”
Mark Fryett, IPS service lead at the Trust, said: “We know that 90% of people with severe mental illness want to work, but only 8% have a job.
“Working can give people more confidence and a sense of purpose. The feedback from the people we have supported has been really positive.
“We are over the moon that we have helped so many local people into employment.”
- Look out for more amazing stories and successes from our IPS team this week. Find out more about IPS and how it can support you at: www.tewv.nhs.uk/services/individual-placement-support-adults
