Ryan’s Story

Ryan, 23, attended our Parkland Place rehabilitation unit following the abuse of cocaine and adverse mental health, low and depressive mood. Ryan did not attend detox prior to admission and engaged with therapeutic treatment for 21 days.

Prior to admission, Ryan was using cocaine in the solitude of his home following the breakdown of a long-term relationship. Ryan reported poor mental health, feelings of low self-worth and frequent anxiety. He also faced other challenges including difficulty with motivation, poor concentration at work and financial problems as a result of his excessive spending on cocaine. Ryan was also struggling with feeling isolated at work as he primarily worked alone and had little interaction with colleagues throughout the day.

Upon admission, Ryan appeared low in motivation and mood, and was keen to settle into Parkland Place and spend time alone in his room. One of the primary issue for Ryan was coping with and managing his recent relationship breakdown, which had resulted in low, depressive mood as well as excessive cocaine use. This issue was mainly addressed during the counselling sessions, during which Ryan wrote a goodbye letter to their former partner.

Ryan had a good support network surrounding him on admission and discharge, including his parents, friends and work colleagues. During the care planning stage these support networks were highlighted, as well as priority areas Ryan wanted to focus on including emotional wellbeing and self-esteem, addictive behaviour and work. Ryan’s main aim was to not return to the relationship that had recently broken down as he had been finding the ‘on/off’ situation detrimental to his emotional and mental health and quite stressful.

During Ryan’s time at Parkland Place, he fully engaged with the therapeutic programme provided, including group sessions, 1-2-1 sessions, counselling and Saturday outings. Ryan also engaged with daily meditation sessions and journaling. Across 1-2-1 sessions

Ryan and his therapists worked on improving his self-esteem, anxiety, overcoming relationship breakdown and managing cravings. He was encouraged to engage with his support network and reduce times of isolation and social withdrawal.

Prior to discharge Ryan reflected on his time spent at Parkland Place and felt his emotional and mental health had improved and he was keen to return home and put their newly developed coping skills and management to practice.

Following discharge, Ryan engaged with welfare calls from our therapists and attended aftercare sessions. Despite facing some challenging situations once returning home, including parental separation and a brief period of homelessness, Ryan reported that he felt settled and engaged in recovery and he is abstinent from substances since leaving treatment, as well as returning to his childhood home. Furthermore, Ryan has received a promotion in work and is happy in a new relationship and continues engagement with aftercare sessions.