Bob, Julie and Jason

Jason was reluctant to seek help for his depression and anxiety until he built a trusting relationship with a peer worker who had experience living with mental illness and recovery.

Bob, 67, was concerned about his grandson Jason, 17, who had dropped out of college and spent most of his time in his bedroom in the home he shared with his mother, Julie. There were ongoing tensions between mother and son, mainly relating to Jason's withdrawal from family and other social activities, his irritability, and his lack of motivation in engaging with education or employment.

Bob wondered if Jason's behaviour might be symptoms of depression. He tried talking to Jason, to see if he was OK. Jason refused to see a GP and said that there was nothing wrong with him.

Bob was not reassured by Jason's response and phoned the Mental Health Foundation ACCESS Information and Referral line for assistance. He was referred to the Personal Helpers and Mentors (PHaMs) program. The PHaMs Team Leader spoke with Bob and told him that she was prepared to accept a referral from Bob with Jason's approval. Bob managed to convince Jason to agree to the referral and to meet with a PHaMs peer worker, a young man on the team with personal experience of mental illness and recovery.

Over time, Jason developed a trusting relationship with the PHaMs worker. He was supported to access public mental health services and was diagnosed with clinical depression and anxiety. Jason saw a psychiatrist at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service and trialled various anti-depressants. Jason also commenced seeing a psychologist through a referral from a GP at the Junction Youth Health Service. His mobility was limited by his anxiety and the PHaMs worker arranged some community transport options for Jason, to enable him to attend his appointments.

Despite the supports put in place for Jason, tensions between him and his mother continued. The PHaMs worker referred the family to CatholicCare's FACES counselling service for young people and their family members and carers, where Jason and Julie were able to discuss their difficulties with an impartial third party and to resolve some long-standing conflicts.

Jason's functioning is still severely impacted by his mental illness. With the support of his PHaMs worker, though, he has developed a recovery plan and is working towards his goals at a pace that he is comfortable with.