0:00:05 > 0:00:06ALARM RINGS
0:00:06 > 0:00:08This is the McGuinness Unit in Manchester,
0:00:08 > 0:00:12one of the largest teenage mental health units in the UK.
0:00:12 > 0:00:14GIRL SCREAMS
0:00:14 > 0:00:17It's the place of last resort for teenagers with eating disorders
0:00:17 > 0:00:22or psychosis, who self-harm, or have OCD -
0:00:22 > 0:00:28an in-patient facility that takes in the suicidal and disturbed
0:00:28 > 0:00:32to try and turn their lives around.
0:00:36 > 0:00:38For a year, we were given unparalleled access
0:00:38 > 0:00:39to film the patients...
0:00:39 > 0:00:42- NO!- Just calm down.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44..and the staff...
0:00:44 > 0:00:47In the last five minutes, I've had a cup of water thrown over my head.
0:00:47 > 0:00:49..in the good times...
0:00:49 > 0:00:50SHE BELCHES
0:00:50 > 0:00:51LAUGHTER
0:00:51 > 0:00:53..and the bad.
0:00:58 > 0:01:02This is the reality for some of the half a million young people
0:01:02 > 0:01:04in Britain who have to deal with mental illness.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06THEY SCREAM
0:01:06 > 0:01:093,500 young people pass through units like this each year.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15This is the chance for some of them to tell us what it's really like
0:01:15 > 0:01:20on the inside and how others see them on the outside.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22Me brain's a bit...!
0:01:46 > 0:01:4814-year-old Crystal has just arrived on the ward.
0:01:48 > 0:01:51Making a mess on the floor.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54- I'm not making a mess! - You all look messy!
0:01:56 > 0:02:00She sees people and animals that no-one else can.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03They have been with her for six years.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Most of them are her friends.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10They're the people. I'm not a very good drawer.
0:02:12 > 0:02:18That's 75, that's the dog and then that's 200 and that's the cat.
0:02:18 > 0:02:22That's the land where they live.
0:02:22 > 0:02:27And then there's Seven, and she's the little girl I see.
0:02:27 > 0:02:32But some of them are sinister and they frighten Crystal.
0:02:32 > 0:02:38That's one of the rats called Autumn and its teeth are really long.
0:02:52 > 0:02:56Recently the scary characters have been appearing more often
0:02:56 > 0:02:59and have made her feel suicidal, which is why she's been admitted.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06These characters tell Crystal to do things
0:03:06 > 0:03:09and she believes she has to obey.
0:03:11 > 0:03:15It's dinner time on the ward and the patients are in the canteen.
0:03:16 > 0:03:18But Crystal is not eating.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22She appears preoccupied, glancing back at the floor,
0:03:22 > 0:03:26looking at something the other patients cannot see.
0:03:28 > 0:03:30'I was hungry.
0:03:30 > 0:03:35'If I eat, then the rat will get mad and he can bite and scratch
0:03:35 > 0:03:39'and hurt me
0:03:39 > 0:03:41'and then he can get the other rats.'
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Scary. I don't like it.
0:03:45 > 0:03:48A patient like Crystal, who has hallucinations,
0:03:48 > 0:03:52raises particular challenges for the staff in the unit.
0:03:52 > 0:03:57They need to explore the causes and there are many possible reasons.
0:03:58 > 0:04:04On admission, the first thing we did was carry out a blood test,
0:04:04 > 0:04:07making sure that her liver, kidney,
0:04:07 > 0:04:12the thyroid glands that they're all functioning well.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Because if there are difficulties with these areas,
0:04:15 > 0:04:19you might end up having problems with seeing things
0:04:19 > 0:04:23that are actually not there and the result of this...
0:04:23 > 0:04:26they came out as all being normal.
0:04:26 > 0:04:29Since nothing showed up in her blood test,
0:04:29 > 0:04:33it's clear that Crystal's problems are psychological.
0:04:33 > 0:04:37- Oh!- Charlotte the art therapist
0:04:37 > 0:04:41has been using drawing to find out more about Crystal's imaginary world
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and what might have caused it.
0:04:43 > 0:04:46These are kind of the good guys, aren't they?
0:04:46 > 0:04:48- Yeah, they're the good ones.- Yeah.
0:04:48 > 0:04:50We sometimes think about what happens in your world
0:04:50 > 0:04:52and what happens in this world.
0:04:52 > 0:04:56- We get confused sometimes, don't we, as well, Crystal?- Yeah.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00- This is Seven? Yeah? - Yeah, but it doesn't look like Seven.
0:05:00 > 0:05:02What was it that didn't look like Seven?
0:05:02 > 0:05:04She looks older.
0:05:04 > 0:05:06Because you wanted her to look about four, didn't you?
0:05:06 > 0:05:09- Yeah, because she is four.- Yeah.
0:05:09 > 0:05:13Crystal was also four when something significant happened to her.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15She was adopted.
0:05:15 > 0:05:17We started to think about some of the bad things
0:05:17 > 0:05:19that came in as well, do you remember?
0:05:19 > 0:05:21Like the man, he's just really scary.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25His eyes are just big, black circles, so he doesn't have eyes.
0:05:25 > 0:05:30He's just scary and he looks like my real dad as well,
0:05:30 > 0:05:32and that's a bit weird.
0:05:33 > 0:05:36Crystal is 14
0:05:36 > 0:05:41and the hearing of voices started around the age of eight.
0:05:41 > 0:05:45Every week, the senior staff meet to discuss each patent in detail.
0:05:45 > 0:05:50This is someone who had a very, very traumatic upbringing.
0:05:50 > 0:05:53She was being neglected.
0:05:53 > 0:05:59There was physical abuse going on and Social Services had to step in.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01Crystal and her younger brother,
0:06:01 > 0:06:04they were both adopted since about the age of three.
0:06:04 > 0:06:07She's gone through a lot.
0:06:07 > 0:06:09In Crystal's assessment,
0:06:09 > 0:06:14the team need to understand her past to know how to help her.
0:06:14 > 0:06:16It's very, very early stages.
0:06:16 > 0:06:19We've thought a little bit about these bad characters
0:06:19 > 0:06:24and the rats and how they relate to angry feelings
0:06:24 > 0:06:27and jealous feelings sometimes as well
0:06:27 > 0:06:30and getting between relationships.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39During her first week, Crystal's characters are with her
0:06:39 > 0:06:44from first thing in the morning to last thing at night.
0:06:44 > 0:06:46Seven's there.
0:06:52 > 0:06:56She's there. She's hugging Barlum.
0:07:00 > 0:07:06Barlum's her toy, it's a sheep and it's called Barlum
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and she holds it everywhere.
0:07:09 > 0:07:12She always wants me to read her a story.
0:07:14 > 0:07:17She says she wants a princess story.
0:07:18 > 0:07:23She said Barlum's a princess.
0:07:35 > 0:07:40The ones I can see, they sometimes have a line around them,
0:07:40 > 0:07:45like a white line that glows.
0:07:45 > 0:07:49They're always saying that they'll be there for me all the time.
0:07:49 > 0:07:55So, that's why I called them 24/7, 24 hours and Seven.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58I don't want the good things I see to go away
0:07:58 > 0:08:04because they're like my best friends and I wouldn't want them to go away.
0:08:29 > 0:08:3217-year-old Beth has been on the McGuinness Unit for three months,
0:08:32 > 0:08:35suffering from depression and an eating disorder.
0:08:35 > 0:08:36Why don't you want to do this?
0:08:36 > 0:08:38Because there's nothing wrong.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40- There's nothing wrong?- People...
0:08:40 > 0:08:42- What did you have for your dinner? - Nothing!
0:08:42 > 0:08:46- What did you have for breakfast? - Nothing!
0:08:46 > 0:08:48She was admitted voluntarily,
0:08:48 > 0:08:52but wouldn't eat for days at a time and rebelled against staff.
0:08:52 > 0:08:56All the fat on my hips, like all the fat on my arms there.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59I like to see the bone.
0:08:59 > 0:09:01Still reporting that she wants to die
0:09:01 > 0:09:04and saying it will be easier that way, then no-one has to worry.
0:09:04 > 0:09:08Her refusal to eat enough forced staff to consider drastic action.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11They keep warning me with section, but it won't happen.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14They're just trying to scare me.
0:09:14 > 0:09:17But three months after being admitted, Beth was sectioned
0:09:17 > 0:09:21under the Mental Health Act and she has lost the ability to say no.
0:09:21 > 0:09:25Now they can physically pick me up and restrain me
0:09:25 > 0:09:27and put me on the scales.
0:09:27 > 0:09:30They can do whatever they want and whatever they can.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34Apparently, it's in my best interests and because I'm too ill,
0:09:34 > 0:09:39I can't see what's right for me or something like that.
0:09:39 > 0:09:41Which sucks.
0:09:46 > 0:09:47Beth now has the choice -
0:09:47 > 0:09:51to comply with the doctor's orders or continue to rebel.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54The way things are going with Beth,
0:09:54 > 0:09:58I'm thinking that this girl is going to be with us for quite a while.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04Vegetarian... It's only half a portion, isn't it?
0:10:05 > 0:10:08- Very, very few chips.- No, no.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13Take a bit few more off... Just that...
0:10:13 > 0:10:15Yeah, that's fine.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Just a tiny bit of peas.
0:10:18 > 0:10:21Beth's on a treatment called the Rainbow Programme,
0:10:21 > 0:10:24which means she has to consume a set amount of calories every day.
0:10:24 > 0:10:26Breakfast, lunch and dinner
0:10:26 > 0:10:29are eaten under the watchful eye of a member of staff.
0:10:29 > 0:10:32I just...I can't...
0:10:32 > 0:10:34SHE SOBS
0:10:34 > 0:10:35Come on.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40You don't feel like...?
0:11:06 > 0:11:08A few mouthfuls of peas is not a lot,
0:11:08 > 0:11:11but it's an improvement on recent weeks.
0:11:11 > 0:11:15They don't see it as progress, they just want me to eat everything
0:11:15 > 0:11:16and that's when it will be progress,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19but as soon as you start eating everything, they'll just up it
0:11:19 > 0:11:21and they'll give you more.
0:11:35 > 0:11:38You've got a choice of strawberry, vanilla or jam.
0:11:38 > 0:11:43- They're strawberry, they're vanilla and these are jam.- Strawberry.
0:11:45 > 0:11:48Lucy, do you want a cake?
0:11:48 > 0:11:51Oh...strawberry, vanilla and jam.
0:11:51 > 0:11:55It feels a bit hard, you sure it's not a rock cake?
0:11:55 > 0:11:56No, it's all right.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09THEY LAUGH
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Why do you keep laughing about what you've hidden in these cakes?
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Onions, mayonnaise...
0:12:15 > 0:12:19- Garlic...- ..toothpaste.. - ..tomato puree.
0:12:26 > 0:12:29While much of the McGuinness Unit has a relaxed atmosphere
0:12:29 > 0:12:32with patients socialising together,
0:12:32 > 0:12:33it also has an acute wing
0:12:33 > 0:12:36for its most disturbed or disruptive patients.
0:12:36 > 0:12:40Here, young people are observed by staff 24 hours a day.
0:12:40 > 0:12:43As kind of streetwise as these kids are,
0:12:43 > 0:12:44they are kids, you know,
0:12:44 > 0:12:47the average age is about 13 or 14
0:12:47 > 0:12:51and they've been left in, essentially, a strange environment
0:12:51 > 0:12:55with lots of strange people in a strange situation
0:12:55 > 0:12:58and the vast majority have no inkling
0:12:58 > 0:13:01as to how quickly they'll be able to go home,
0:13:01 > 0:13:04whether they'll be able to go home or whether they'll move on
0:13:04 > 0:13:06to another area of the service or what have you.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09So it is, it's quite a difficult...a difficult time.
0:13:14 > 0:13:1816-year-old Gill is one of the acute wing's longest-standing patients.
0:13:22 > 0:13:24She suffers from depression
0:13:24 > 0:13:27and her moods can change radically at a moment's notice.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35In the six months she's been here,
0:13:35 > 0:13:37she's been restrained countless times...
0:13:38 > 0:13:40SHE SCREAMS
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Gill!
0:13:41 > 0:13:43ALARM BLARES
0:13:43 > 0:13:45..and even managed to escape from the unit.
0:13:45 > 0:13:51She's been found having taken another overdose.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53Watch your fingers, OK?
0:13:53 > 0:13:56She spends a lot of her time kept down the acute corridor
0:13:56 > 0:13:58or ECA, as it's known.
0:13:58 > 0:14:01Right, you need to move. Move, move.
0:14:06 > 0:14:08Today, she's locked down there again.
0:14:10 > 0:14:12I cut myself last night,
0:14:12 > 0:14:15cos I was really struggling and I've not cut for ages.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16My mood just got so low
0:14:16 > 0:14:19and I was just really upset and I don't know why.
0:14:19 > 0:14:22I think I first did it when I was 12 years old.
0:14:22 > 0:14:26My mum was ill with cancer... I'm not blaming my mum,
0:14:26 > 0:14:29but I think everything just got on top of me,
0:14:29 > 0:14:31cos I was busy with school work,
0:14:31 > 0:14:34looking after my mum and my little brothers,
0:14:34 > 0:14:37just doing quite a lot for my age
0:14:37 > 0:14:39and I just couldn't cope with it.
0:14:39 > 0:14:41And then, one day, I don't know why,
0:14:41 > 0:14:44I just thought it my head, "I'll cut myself."
0:14:44 > 0:14:48Many of the patients on the unit have complicated home lives.
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Gill has not seen or spoken to her mother for six months.
0:14:53 > 0:14:56Having no contact causes Gill huge pain and distress.
0:14:59 > 0:15:02She has been rejected, I think, throughout her life.
0:15:02 > 0:15:03Her last admission here, I think,
0:15:03 > 0:15:06she had one visit from one family member.
0:15:06 > 0:15:08She was asking members of staff
0:15:08 > 0:15:10if they would think about fostering her,
0:15:10 > 0:15:13or...you know, I mean, she even asked me at one point
0:15:13 > 0:15:17and she promised me faithfully that if I would agree to...
0:15:17 > 0:15:21to give her that option and give her a chance,
0:15:21 > 0:15:24that she would promise faithfully she would never self-harm again,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26cos all that she wanted was a family.
0:15:26 > 0:15:28Somebody who could care for her and give her that normal life.
0:15:30 > 0:15:34Rebuilding her relationship with her mum is key to Gill's recovery.
0:15:36 > 0:15:39Despite their differences, both want to try again.
0:15:40 > 0:15:44It began with a phone call between the two
0:15:44 > 0:15:46and then her mum came to see her on the ward.
0:15:46 > 0:15:48Hello, Mum! Are you all right?
0:15:48 > 0:15:50Now, a few weeks later,
0:15:50 > 0:15:53the relationship is beginning to blossom.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56Today, her mother is paying another visit to the hospital.
0:15:56 > 0:15:57Whereabouts are you?
0:15:59 > 0:16:01OK, five minutes. All right, then.
0:16:01 > 0:16:04All right, brilliant, bye!
0:16:04 > 0:16:07Love you! Love you! Love you more!
0:16:07 > 0:16:09Bye!
0:16:09 > 0:16:10SHE CHUCKLES
0:16:10 > 0:16:11Bye!
0:16:14 > 0:16:19Family often are the key relationships through childhood
0:16:19 > 0:16:21that help influence
0:16:21 > 0:16:23how you understand relationships,
0:16:23 > 0:16:25how you feel about yourself,
0:16:25 > 0:16:26how you interact with others,
0:16:26 > 0:16:29how you interact with the social world.
0:16:29 > 0:16:30So our relationships with family,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34right from the moment we're born, and arguably before that,
0:16:34 > 0:16:35are absolutely fundamental.
0:16:35 > 0:16:41Helping young people understand how they relate within their family
0:16:41 > 0:16:45can often give us the best chance of positive outcomes.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47Oh, you remembered the games...
0:16:47 > 0:16:50Yes, that one is crackers.
0:16:50 > 0:16:52I can't get to grips with that one.
0:16:52 > 0:16:54So you can have fun enjoying yourself and...
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Thank you.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02There you go. How's that, babe?
0:17:02 > 0:17:04You remember when me and the kids went to Blackpool
0:17:04 > 0:17:06- and you wasn't with us?- Yeah.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12That's for you.
0:17:16 > 0:17:17Wow!
0:17:19 > 0:17:22Afterwards, Gill and her mum go for a walk though the hospital grounds.
0:17:22 > 0:17:26It's so nice to be out.
0:17:26 > 0:17:28- Oh! It's good that you're out with me as well.- Yeah.
0:17:28 > 0:17:32Next week, I've got 25 minutes and we can go up to the barrier.
0:17:33 > 0:17:36Because Gill has a history of absconding,
0:17:36 > 0:17:39the pair are not allowed to be alone.
0:17:39 > 0:17:41What time is it? Can you check what time it is?
0:17:44 > 0:17:47- You've got four minutes. - Four minutes, come on!
0:17:51 > 0:17:54If staff feel Gill and her mum are getting on well
0:17:54 > 0:17:56and Gill continues to improve on the unit,
0:17:56 > 0:17:59they may agree to some home leave in the next few weeks.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05'If she can keep her temper,'
0:18:05 > 0:18:07then, she can outdo most of her problems,
0:18:07 > 0:18:09so...do you know what I mean?
0:18:09 > 0:18:12She's great, she's such a placid kid,
0:18:12 > 0:18:14but things have got on top of her
0:18:14 > 0:18:17and when she kicks off, she kicks off.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19BELL RINGS
0:18:19 > 0:18:22Just having my mum there helped a lot.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24Cos I didn't want to run off in front of my mum,
0:18:24 > 0:18:27cos my mum would get upset worrying about me.
0:18:27 > 0:18:30I need my mum now more than ever, really.
0:18:30 > 0:18:33Because of all this, being stuck in hospital.
0:18:33 > 0:18:36So I need her now.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37And she's there for me.
0:19:11 > 0:19:15Gill has become good friends with the unit's newest patient,
0:19:15 > 0:19:1814-year-old Crystal, who has been having hallucinations.
0:19:20 > 0:19:21SHE LAUGHS
0:19:23 > 0:19:25I'm really bad at burping.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28I want to be able to burp, like, really loud.
0:19:28 > 0:19:30You know, those big, fat loud ones?
0:19:30 > 0:19:32I've got one coming, I can feel it.
0:19:32 > 0:19:35Come on, give the bottle to me, please...
0:19:35 > 0:19:37Gill, give the bottle to me, please.
0:19:39 > 0:19:40Thank you very muchly.
0:19:40 > 0:19:44Ah, I've got pains, it's the rush of caffeine through my body.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47I need to burp...
0:19:47 > 0:19:50Can someone tell me how Gillian got a full bottle of Coke?
0:19:52 > 0:19:53Who let you in?
0:19:53 > 0:19:54SHE BELCHES
0:19:54 > 0:19:56THEY LAUGH
0:19:56 > 0:19:58Who let you in, Crystal?
0:19:58 > 0:20:01I don't know, I snuck it in.
0:20:01 > 0:20:02SHE BELCHES
0:20:10 > 0:20:13Gill is making great efforts to get reacquainted with her family,
0:20:13 > 0:20:16it's something Crystal would love to do.
0:20:16 > 0:20:19She never really knew her birth parents,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22but that doesn't stop them preying on her mind.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I get jealous of them a lot.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27There's my little sister
0:20:27 > 0:20:32and my older brother live with my real mum and dad
0:20:32 > 0:20:36and I'm kind of jealous cos I don't
0:20:36 > 0:20:39and I think I'd like to.
0:20:39 > 0:20:40It's kind of expected.
0:20:40 > 0:20:43It would be a bit weird if you weren't jealous, though.
0:20:43 > 0:20:47Because if they're your really mum and dad and they're living with them,
0:20:47 > 0:20:49you're bound to be jealous.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54We wrote to her a few years ago and then she replied
0:20:54 > 0:20:56and I was really happy about that.
0:20:56 > 0:21:01And then we wrote to her again and she didn't reply, so...
0:21:01 > 0:21:03And I got my hopes up.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12She had symptoms of depression
0:21:12 > 0:21:20and when I was little, some social worker people came to my house
0:21:20 > 0:21:25and, like, she shouted at me in front of them
0:21:25 > 0:21:29and then, when I was little, I had a bruise on my leg from her
0:21:29 > 0:21:32and that looked like a bite mark and she said I fell
0:21:32 > 0:21:36and I had a few bruises and stuff on me.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39It was like she didn't want me
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and a lot of times, I feel like I am not wanted
0:21:43 > 0:21:46and, like, I feel really bad about myself a lot.
0:21:52 > 0:21:55But Crystal has a loving adoptive family
0:21:55 > 0:21:57who have visited her every day.
0:21:57 > 0:22:01Today, she's being picked up for her first night at home in five weeks.
0:22:01 > 0:22:03Hello, darling.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05Hello, Bill.
0:22:05 > 0:22:07Right, are we ready?
0:22:07 > 0:22:09- Slippers.- Slippers.
0:22:09 > 0:22:14- This is great, this, isn't it? - I don't want my slippers.- OK.
0:22:14 > 0:22:18Right, let's shut the door. Do you want your door locked, darling?
0:22:18 > 0:22:19- I don't mind.- OK.
0:22:19 > 0:22:22- I'll lock it up afterwards. - Thank you very much.
0:22:25 > 0:22:29Bill and Helen adopted Crystal and her brother Dillon 11 years ago...
0:22:29 > 0:22:31Sit!
0:22:31 > 0:22:35..and they're excited to be taking her home again.
0:22:35 > 0:22:38Sit. He's not trained.
0:22:38 > 0:22:40I haven't planned anything,
0:22:40 > 0:22:43so I'll let Crystal decide what she wants to do and...
0:22:50 > 0:22:54On the way home, Crystal sees one of her characters.
0:22:54 > 0:22:58- 75's there.- 75's there?
0:22:58 > 0:23:00Yeah, he's chasing the car, cos he's super fast.
0:23:04 > 0:23:08At home, she sees another vision in the front garden.
0:23:09 > 0:23:10- 75's there.- OK.
0:23:12 > 0:23:15- He's asleep!- Right.
0:23:15 > 0:23:18SHE LAUGHS
0:23:18 > 0:23:19OK.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28A baby puppy!
0:23:28 > 0:23:30- A what?- A baby puppy.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32- Oh, really? Where?- There!- Right.
0:23:33 > 0:23:35It's called Ten!
0:23:35 > 0:23:37Ten? I've not heard of Ten before!
0:23:39 > 0:23:44He's white and...but he's called Ten.
0:23:44 > 0:23:48Right. OK, well, do you want to go in and see your own dog in a minute?
0:23:52 > 0:23:55Yeah, 75 wants to take Ten to Cranelli.
0:23:55 > 0:23:57OK, shall we go back inside, darling?
0:23:59 > 0:24:01- Yeah!- OK.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06Initially, it disturbed me.
0:24:06 > 0:24:11Initially, you want to say, "There's nothing there, don't be so silly."
0:24:11 > 0:24:15It's irrational, but there's no point telling her it's irrational,
0:24:15 > 0:24:18there's no point telling her to make them to go away,
0:24:18 > 0:24:20because they won't go away,
0:24:20 > 0:24:22it's as simple as that.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25Bill and Helen find it surreal talking to their daughter
0:24:25 > 0:24:28about the people and the animals that she sees.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31But they need to deal with it in a very matter-of-fact way.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Mum, there's a new puppy.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36Yeah, called number Ten.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Cos you've not had any new characters for a while?
0:24:39 > 0:24:42- I've had 27.- 27?
0:24:42 > 0:24:45- Yeah, the bird?- Hey?
0:24:45 > 0:24:48The bird, the black bird.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51And is 27 nice or nasty?
0:24:51 > 0:24:53- Nasty...- Oh, dear.
0:24:53 > 0:24:56It's a big, scary, black bird and it lives in the forest.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59I don't think we needed any more nasty ones.
0:25:00 > 0:25:02Her adoptive parents have no idea
0:25:02 > 0:25:05what has brought on their daughter's hallucinations,
0:25:05 > 0:25:08whether the condition has a name or even if it can be treated.
0:25:08 > 0:25:12It would be nice to be able to label it as something, you know,
0:25:12 > 0:25:14some kind of condition.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17But we haven't got a label for it yet.
0:25:17 > 0:25:20But I know that this is something quite deep-seated
0:25:20 > 0:25:23and it's not going to go away in a hurry.
0:25:27 > 0:25:29CRYSTAL SINGS ALONG TO SONG
0:25:29 > 0:25:32# But you can't hold on to water
0:25:32 > 0:25:34# It fills you up but never stays
0:25:34 > 0:25:38# It's only good to wash away today
0:25:38 > 0:25:44# And you're loving me Like water... #
0:25:44 > 0:25:46The past few weeks have been relatively calm
0:25:46 > 0:25:49on the McGuinness Unit, even harmonious.
0:25:49 > 0:25:52- Shall we sing our song to her?- Yeah.
0:25:52 > 0:25:56# I love you, you love me We're a mental family
0:25:56 > 0:26:01# In a mental home at Prestwich and it's called the McGuinness Unit. #
0:26:01 > 0:26:03We made that up.
0:26:03 > 0:26:05Right, it's really good, apart from the end bit.
0:26:05 > 0:26:07You need like a bit of action.
0:26:07 > 0:26:09It's good wording, though.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12- M...Mc, like...- M-C-G...
0:26:14 > 0:26:15It's like...
0:26:24 > 0:26:28It's five o'clock - dinner time on the ward.
0:26:28 > 0:26:31Since she was put on a section, Beth has started to comply a bit more,
0:26:31 > 0:26:35she's beginning to eat at meal times.
0:26:35 > 0:26:38They think one of the reasons why I've got an eating disorder
0:26:38 > 0:26:41in the first place was cos I try to control things in my life
0:26:41 > 0:26:45and now they're taking the control of food away from me...
0:26:46 > 0:26:51..I, you know...I don't like it.
0:26:52 > 0:26:56Beth may be eating more, but it's making her feel guilty.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59So she's developed a way of punishing herself.
0:27:01 > 0:27:04I cut when I've eaten as a punishment.
0:27:04 > 0:27:08That's when the voice is more in control.
0:27:08 > 0:27:11It makes me feel better because it's like...
0:27:13 > 0:27:15..it's all just coming out in the blood,
0:27:15 > 0:27:17all the thoughts are just coming out in the blood
0:27:17 > 0:27:19that comes out of your body.
0:27:21 > 0:27:24One day, I walked into the room and she was cutting herself
0:27:24 > 0:27:27and I took it off her to stop her cutting herself.
0:27:27 > 0:27:29I'm such a good friend.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32I did thank her the day after, I hated her that day.
0:27:32 > 0:27:35But they day after, I did thank her.
0:27:35 > 0:27:39Around one in 12 young people deliberately self-harm,
0:27:39 > 0:27:42around 25,000 are admitted to hospital every year
0:27:42 > 0:27:44due to the severity of their injuries.
0:27:46 > 0:27:50It's a continuous problem for staff on the McGuinness Unit.
0:27:50 > 0:27:53As soon as they confiscate something the patients could self-harm with,
0:27:53 > 0:27:56the young people find new ways of hiding them.
0:27:56 > 0:28:00The most sort of common things are sharpener blades,
0:28:00 > 0:28:02razor blades...
0:28:04 > 0:28:08Make sure nothing's been concealed anywhere.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10The young people sort of think
0:28:10 > 0:28:11that we're not that clued up,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14so, you know, you'll come to do
0:28:14 > 0:28:16a search of a poster
0:28:16 > 0:28:19and you'll get a piece of Blu-Tack and have a look through
0:28:19 > 0:28:23and you'll find like a blade stuck inside it.
0:28:23 > 0:28:27So I think now they're not actually allowed Blu-Tack in the bedrooms.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30We encourage them to use sort of sticky tape.
0:28:36 > 0:28:38When I'm in the outside world,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40I do anything to hide my scars.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44Like, I wouldn't even get changed in front of everyone.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47When we was getting changed for practical at college
0:28:47 > 0:28:49in case anyone saw it...
0:28:50 > 0:28:53That helps it fade.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56I had that bandage today and that's all there is to it today.
0:28:58 > 0:28:59It's fine now.
0:28:59 > 0:29:01'It feels more normal in here.'
0:29:01 > 0:29:05Like, literally everyone has done it.
0:29:05 > 0:29:06They don't judge you.
0:29:06 > 0:29:11People on the outside, they judge you on the way you look.
0:29:11 > 0:29:13Like, if they saw me,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15sitting here like this, they'd probably say,
0:29:15 > 0:29:18"You're too fat to have an eating disorder,"
0:29:18 > 0:29:20like cos I am, I'm...I'm fat. I'm...
0:29:23 > 0:29:25I'm just fat.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30I just don't think that'll ever change.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34And now I've got to go and eat dinner.
0:29:36 > 0:29:39Here, she says she hates herself
0:29:39 > 0:29:43and she definitely believes that she will end her life,
0:29:43 > 0:29:45that that will be the only way out.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48And nobody actually understands her.
0:29:48 > 0:29:50Nobody.
0:29:50 > 0:29:55The senior team are meeting to discuss new fears for Beth's safety.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58She's written a letter to staff that has made alarm bells ring.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00And...and she says,
0:30:00 > 0:30:02"I really do need to die.
0:30:02 > 0:30:06"I just really don't know how to do it in this place.
0:30:06 > 0:30:08"Overdosing," she says, "didn't work.
0:30:08 > 0:30:11"Using ligature didn't work.
0:30:11 > 0:30:15"Using sharp objects has not worked."
0:30:15 > 0:30:20You know, she says all these terrible things about herself,
0:30:20 > 0:30:25but if you observe her, you don't get that sense
0:30:25 > 0:30:30that she's going through a lot of this, you don't get it at all.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32But once we discharge her,
0:30:32 > 0:30:37then she will do something terrible whilst out in the community.
0:30:39 > 0:30:42It's a very sad letter. Very, very sad.
0:30:43 > 0:30:48We'll sit down with her, try to review her antidepressants
0:30:48 > 0:30:53and the sleeping tablets with a view to increasing it.
0:30:57 > 0:31:00Just like Beth has a price to pay for eating her meal,
0:31:00 > 0:31:04so does the ward's youngest patient, 14-year-old Crystal.
0:31:13 > 0:31:15Some of her imaginary characters, the rats,
0:31:15 > 0:31:17are not happy when she eats dinner.
0:31:24 > 0:31:28The rats, you see, told me not to eat and I've been eating,
0:31:28 > 0:31:33so they'll come and be mean and they'll hurt me a lot.
0:31:34 > 0:31:37Those are the recent ones
0:31:37 > 0:31:40and the rats were trying to get me to scratch,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43so I scratched through a vein,
0:31:43 > 0:31:46but it didn't really work
0:31:46 > 0:31:51and then, on my other arm, I did most of that yesterday.
0:31:51 > 0:31:53And then, I did that a few days ago.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58But Crystal doesn't just want to harm herself.
0:31:58 > 0:32:03She's told staff at the unit that her imaginary characters, the rats,
0:32:03 > 0:32:07want her to kill her adoptive father, Bill.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09I don't know how it came about,
0:32:09 > 0:32:13but she...she said she felt like killing me sometimes.
0:32:13 > 0:32:15She felt like killing me.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18My fears are it's schizophrenia.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21- I don't think at the moment she would do something.- No.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24But, sometimes, I don't know if it's a look on her face
0:32:24 > 0:32:27that makes me feel, "No, you're not being silly here,
0:32:27 > 0:32:30"this is actually quite sinister."
0:32:30 > 0:32:34And then it'll pass and it's almost like that person's gone again
0:32:34 > 0:32:36and she's...Crystal's back.
0:32:39 > 0:32:42My dad gets scared of them sometimes.
0:32:42 > 0:32:49They make me feel like I want to kill him and stuff, even if I don't.
0:32:49 > 0:32:51But, like, they make me feel like I do.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57She's very settled on the ward at the minute,
0:32:57 > 0:32:59she spends time in communal areas with others.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01The unit's senior staff are concerned
0:33:01 > 0:33:03about Crystal's change in behaviour.
0:33:03 > 0:33:07Perceptual, er...disturbances.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10Art therapist Charlotte reports back on something
0:33:10 > 0:33:12that came out of their sessions.
0:33:12 > 0:33:14Her hamster died at the weekend.
0:33:14 > 0:33:16Crystal actually got the clay
0:33:16 > 0:33:19and was stamping it and saying, "That's like my dead hamster,"
0:33:19 > 0:33:22and she laughed about it and was saying
0:33:22 > 0:33:26that it was funny when people...when her hamster died, really,
0:33:26 > 0:33:30and talking about ideas of people being harmed
0:33:30 > 0:33:32and it's all right for people to be harmed
0:33:32 > 0:33:34and we tried to explore that a little bit
0:33:34 > 0:33:36in terms of, perhaps, her own experiences,
0:33:36 > 0:33:41thinking that she's been hurt and that it's OK for others to be hurt.
0:33:41 > 0:33:44But her reaction to it was quite incongruent, really.
0:33:44 > 0:33:49I just wanted to mention that. But, otherwise, work sort of is ongoing.
0:33:50 > 0:33:52It's not just the art therapist Charlotte
0:33:52 > 0:33:55who is trying to work with Crystal on her aggression,
0:33:55 > 0:33:57the occupational therapists Vicky and Matt
0:33:57 > 0:34:01talk to her about wanting to kill her adoptive dad.
0:34:01 > 0:34:05I said I don't like my dad because I don't get along with my dad.
0:34:06 > 0:34:10And I think...I think there's some concerns about...
0:34:10 > 0:34:13- I said I want to kill him.- Yeah.
0:34:13 > 0:34:17I want to love my dad and get along with him,
0:34:17 > 0:34:19but, like, my voices won't let me.
0:34:21 > 0:34:25So is a lot of it driven by the voices, do you think?
0:34:25 > 0:34:26- Yeah.- Yeah?
0:34:26 > 0:34:29It's about how we can support you to keep you safe,
0:34:29 > 0:34:32but also to keep your dad safe as well.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42Crystal is on another weekend visit home.
0:34:43 > 0:34:44I've got two guinea pigs.
0:34:46 > 0:34:48But I don't like them.
0:34:49 > 0:34:52That one's the oldest.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Cos, like, we had that one and another one
0:34:56 > 0:34:59and then the other one died and then we got another one
0:34:59 > 0:35:03and that one died and then we got her and she's...alive.
0:35:14 > 0:35:16Crystal's latest changes in behaviour
0:35:16 > 0:35:18are causing tensions with her mother, Helen.
0:35:18 > 0:35:20Give it to me now.
0:35:20 > 0:35:21Give what to you?
0:35:21 > 0:35:25The hair clip that you've pulled the plastic off and it's now sharp.
0:35:25 > 0:35:28- It never had plastic on it. - Give it to me.
0:35:28 > 0:35:30- Give what to you?- The hair clip. - I've not got anything.
0:35:30 > 0:35:33- It's in your hand, Crystal, give it to me, please.- I've not got hands.
0:35:35 > 0:35:37No...
0:35:37 > 0:35:41- Crystal, open your hand.- No. - Look at this, look.
0:35:41 > 0:35:42You did that months ago
0:35:42 > 0:35:44and you've still got marks.
0:35:44 > 0:35:45Thank you.
0:35:49 > 0:35:54Without an answer, it's very difficult to get help and support.
0:35:54 > 0:35:57With an answer, that's the only reason, really. With an answer,
0:35:57 > 0:36:00with something that you can put a name to,
0:36:00 > 0:36:03comes the support and the extra help.
0:36:03 > 0:36:05- Why are you doing that, Crystal? - I don't know.
0:36:05 > 0:36:09And we've gone through the gamut now of not eating,
0:36:09 > 0:36:13well, you can see the evidence of the self-harm.
0:36:13 > 0:36:16So it's quite scary at the moment.
0:36:17 > 0:36:19I don't sleep very well at night.
0:36:28 > 0:36:30Winter is drawing in.
0:36:35 > 0:36:37Inside the McGuinness Unit,
0:36:37 > 0:36:4115 young people are spending weeks or even months of their lives
0:36:41 > 0:36:44trying to find a way to deal with their illnesses.
0:36:55 > 0:36:58My week's been shit, I've not got discharged,
0:36:58 > 0:37:04my leave has been cancelled and I'm very sad.
0:37:06 > 0:37:07You can tell this place is mental
0:37:07 > 0:37:10when there's people lying on the floor.
0:37:11 > 0:37:13You got me a pressie?
0:37:13 > 0:37:17My mum's amazing, she brings me in loads of stuff.
0:37:20 > 0:37:21- Oh, yeah.- Yeah?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24Gill is continuing to make good progress.
0:37:24 > 0:37:28She has had more visits from her mum and they are getting on well.
0:37:28 > 0:37:29Thank you.
0:37:29 > 0:37:32Oh! Thank you! I needed one of these.
0:37:34 > 0:37:37And now I want you to gently bring your attention to your breathing...
0:37:39 > 0:37:41..and the sensations in your body.
0:37:41 > 0:37:43She's also no longer being restrained,
0:37:43 > 0:37:47thanks, in part, to what's called mindfulness therapy.
0:37:47 > 0:37:50Just notice what's taking your mind away.
0:37:50 > 0:37:51Let it be...
0:37:52 > 0:37:56..and gently bring your attention back to the breath.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03I had a very insightful day the other day,
0:38:03 > 0:38:06I just realised that I just need to concentrate on myself
0:38:06 > 0:38:09and getting myself better and getting myself out of here.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12I think seeing my mum more helps.
0:38:12 > 0:38:16I'm never, ever going back to 24 hours on the ECA.
0:38:16 > 0:38:18I'm determined not to go back to that.
0:38:18 > 0:38:21I just need to keep on the right track.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25The review team have given Gill a leave plan,
0:38:25 > 0:38:28which allows her increasing amounts of time in the hospital grounds
0:38:28 > 0:38:30as long as everything goes well.
0:38:33 > 0:38:38It started yesterday, when I had five minutes out and again today
0:38:38 > 0:38:40and then tomorrow I've got another five minutes,
0:38:40 > 0:38:44but then, on Thursday, it goes up to ten minutes.
0:38:44 > 0:38:48Then next week, on Monday and Tuesday, I get 20 minutes.
0:38:48 > 0:38:51Then, Wednesday and Thursday, I get 25.
0:38:51 > 0:38:53Friday and Saturday, I get 30 minutes
0:38:53 > 0:38:57and then, hopefully, I'll be able to go home for Christmas.
0:38:58 > 0:39:00PIANO PLAYING
0:39:03 > 0:39:06# Rocking around the Christmas tree
0:39:06 > 0:39:09# At the Christmas party hop... #
0:39:09 > 0:39:11At this time of year, the staff go to great lengths
0:39:11 > 0:39:13to make the ward feel festive for the inpatients.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19In the week before Christmas,
0:39:19 > 0:39:23there are a number of events organised on the unit.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26# All is calm
0:39:26 > 0:39:29# All is bright... #
0:39:29 > 0:39:33In the art class, there is an award ceremony for the patients.
0:39:33 > 0:39:37One of the prizes is for the best writing in an English class.
0:39:37 > 0:39:39The person who did win it, overall, is here
0:39:39 > 0:39:41and that was Gillian, well done!
0:39:45 > 0:39:46I got a pen!
0:39:48 > 0:39:50That's rather funky, that
0:39:50 > 0:39:53and then chocolate, you can tell that's chocolate. Feel it!
0:39:56 > 0:40:00While Gill is enjoying herself at the Christmas concert,
0:40:00 > 0:40:01the review team is deciding
0:40:01 > 0:40:03whether she'll be allowed home on Christmas day.
0:40:03 > 0:40:08Risk to self - there was a self-harm incident over the weekend
0:40:08 > 0:40:11where she got a needle from the clinic room and self-harmed.
0:40:11 > 0:40:14Because the last review was a bit more positive,
0:40:14 > 0:40:16including from college as well, isn't it?
0:40:16 > 0:40:19So this is a week period almost where we had...
0:40:19 > 0:40:21It's deteriorated rapidly...
0:40:21 > 0:40:24Yeah, and it's triggered by Christmas coming up
0:40:24 > 0:40:25and of feeling that...
0:40:25 > 0:40:29I think she probably knows we're not going to give her leave.
0:40:38 > 0:40:40- I don't care!- I do.
0:40:43 > 0:40:46The risk has been deemed too high
0:40:46 > 0:40:48for Gill to leave the unit on Christmas Day.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04ALL: Bye!
0:41:04 > 0:41:06But it's not bad news for everyone.
0:41:06 > 0:41:08Crystal has been allowed home leave
0:41:08 > 0:41:10for the whole of the Christmas period
0:41:10 > 0:41:12and she's heading off this afternoon.
0:41:21 > 0:41:25No-one wants to spend Christmas Day on a psychiatric ward.
0:41:25 > 0:41:28But eight young people are waking up to this one on the McGuinness Unit,
0:41:28 > 0:41:31away from their families, and that includes Beth.
0:41:33 > 0:41:34It's stupid!
0:41:39 > 0:41:43It don't really feel like it's Christmas, because, at Christmas,
0:41:43 > 0:41:45you're supposed to be at home
0:41:45 > 0:41:47and stay in bed all day, like, with your pyjamas on
0:41:47 > 0:41:49and spend it with your family.
0:41:49 > 0:41:53Run downstairs in the morning and just, like, jump on your parents.
0:41:53 > 0:41:55You feel more lonely because
0:41:55 > 0:41:58you know other people have gone to see their families
0:41:58 > 0:42:03and enjoy Christmas as it is, not just sitting here, waiting.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06Oh, this is wicked! Merry Christmas!
0:42:09 > 0:42:11THEY LAUGH
0:42:23 > 0:42:27This time last year, I was running away from home.
0:42:27 > 0:42:29But this time, it's like, yay!
0:42:29 > 0:42:32I've got my family back, we're all talking again and it's brilliant.
0:42:34 > 0:42:36- I love you.- I love you too.
0:42:45 > 0:42:49Just after Christmas, a friend of Gill's sadly dies.
0:42:49 > 0:42:53It has a profound effect on her, but the tragedy inspires Gill
0:42:53 > 0:42:56to stop self-harming and look to the future.
0:42:56 > 0:43:00Yeah, I've got this bobble and when I feel like doing it,
0:43:00 > 0:43:02- I'll just do that...- Ping it.
0:43:02 > 0:43:05Ping it and it reminds me of her
0:43:05 > 0:43:07- and not to do it for her.- Yeah.
0:43:07 > 0:43:11- I need to live the life that she's not got any more.- Yeah.
0:43:13 > 0:43:15- It was very distressing, wasn't it?- Yeah.
0:43:15 > 0:43:18So, for me, you're in a very good place at the moment.
0:43:18 > 0:43:22Do you kind of feel that you're now probably engaging more and...?
0:43:22 > 0:43:24Yeah, yeah, I am trying a lot more.
0:43:30 > 0:43:32For the patients on the McGuinness Unit,
0:43:32 > 0:43:34it's the beginning of a new year.
0:43:36 > 0:43:39Kim, is there a chicken tikka on there?
0:43:39 > 0:43:42I'll put both out and then you can decide.
0:43:43 > 0:43:48Beth is continuing to comply with the eating plan,
0:43:48 > 0:43:52although she may still hide the odd piece of food at meal times.
0:43:56 > 0:44:00They don't know, but I break it up,
0:44:00 > 0:44:03put it in my hand and then put it in my pocket when they don't look
0:44:03 > 0:44:07and I'll hide it underneath more food.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09Because that way, they're getting what they want
0:44:09 > 0:44:11and I'm getting what I want, so everyone's happy.
0:44:13 > 0:44:14We have to speed up a bit.
0:44:14 > 0:44:17- Zip.- Boing.
0:44:17 > 0:44:19- Zip.- Zig...boing.
0:44:19 > 0:44:20- Zip.- Boing.
0:44:20 > 0:44:22- Zip.- Boing.
0:44:22 > 0:44:24Zip. Boing.
0:44:24 > 0:44:25Zip.
0:44:25 > 0:44:28- Zip.- Boing.
0:44:28 > 0:44:31- Zip.- Zip.- Zip.- Zip.
0:44:31 > 0:44:34Ever since she arrived at the McGuinness Unit eight weeks ago,
0:44:34 > 0:44:37Crystal's doctors have been trying to establish
0:44:37 > 0:44:40whether her visions are caused by psychosis.
0:44:40 > 0:44:43- Zip.- Zip.- Boing.
0:44:43 > 0:44:44- Boing.- Zip.
0:44:44 > 0:44:47Boing. I'm wondering when this game finishes...
0:44:47 > 0:44:49THEY LAUGH
0:45:05 > 0:45:08That assessment is complete
0:45:08 > 0:45:10and her adoptive parents, Bill and Helen,
0:45:10 > 0:45:13will shortly find out the reality of Crystal's condition.
0:45:15 > 0:45:20As long as she could come home and live a reasonably normal life -
0:45:20 > 0:45:24the worst-case scenario is that she can't manage
0:45:24 > 0:45:28and that she would either be institutionalised
0:45:28 > 0:45:33or she wouldn't manage life on the outside at all
0:45:33 > 0:45:35and the worst of the worst would happen.
0:45:37 > 0:45:41They have been called to a meeting with Dr Acho,
0:45:41 > 0:45:42Crystal's psychiatrist.
0:45:44 > 0:45:46Since her early life, you know,
0:45:46 > 0:45:50she's experienced this neglect, physical abuse.
0:45:50 > 0:45:55She's always been feeling worthless and unwanted.
0:45:55 > 0:45:58She has then developed some protective strategies
0:45:58 > 0:46:03to help her and stop her from feeling lonely and unloved.
0:46:03 > 0:46:06In terms of child development,
0:46:06 > 0:46:09it's something that we all went through.
0:46:09 > 0:46:13At a point in our life, we live in fantasy world.
0:46:13 > 0:46:17Usually, between the ages of three and five,
0:46:17 > 0:46:22but for some children, it becomes bigger and bigger
0:46:22 > 0:46:26and they tend to lose that sense of reality.
0:46:26 > 0:46:30Are we looking at her following any medication?
0:46:30 > 0:46:33She is not psychotic,
0:46:33 > 0:46:37- this is her way of coping...- Yeah.
0:46:37 > 0:46:42..and that she could, with time, be able to destroy those characters,
0:46:42 > 0:46:45because it's something that she has created
0:46:45 > 0:46:50and it's something which she can work towards getting rid of.
0:46:50 > 0:46:53- OK, thank you very much, doctor. - Cheers.- Thank you.
0:46:53 > 0:46:55Thanks for coming.
0:46:58 > 0:47:00Huge relief, there's nothing worse
0:47:00 > 0:47:03than knowing a little bit about something,
0:47:03 > 0:47:05cos you tend to build it up in your own mind.
0:47:05 > 0:47:11So all we want is for her to come home and be able to manage happily
0:47:11 > 0:47:13and go back to school and be happy at school.
0:47:13 > 0:47:16- Maybe I'm expecting too much there. - Yeah.
0:47:16 > 0:47:19- Hi!- Hello, darling! Are you OK?
0:47:19 > 0:47:21Look, Look!
0:47:21 > 0:47:24Kirsty did that before she left and I found it in...
0:47:24 > 0:47:26- Oh, that's nice! - I found it in maths.
0:47:26 > 0:47:28"To Crystal. Love, Kirsty."
0:47:28 > 0:47:30- Oh!- That's really nice, that.
0:47:36 > 0:47:37Ugh!
0:47:37 > 0:47:39THEY LAUGH
0:47:39 > 0:47:41I won't actually do it, you know.
0:47:41 > 0:47:42# Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah! #
0:47:42 > 0:47:45THEY LAUGH
0:48:14 > 0:48:16- Hiya!- You all right?
0:48:16 > 0:48:18- Yeah, are you?- Yeah.
0:48:18 > 0:48:20When a friend visits Beth later in January,
0:48:20 > 0:48:24she has made a big improvement in terms of her eating plan.
0:48:24 > 0:48:26It was my CPA yesterday
0:48:26 > 0:48:30and they said they're going to keep reviewing my section every week,
0:48:30 > 0:48:33so maybe in the next few weeks, I'll be taken off that.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35That's good, then.
0:48:35 > 0:48:38Yeah, and my meal plan's been increased again.
0:48:38 > 0:48:40And I've moved from... I'll show you.
0:48:49 > 0:48:54I've moved from the anorexia nervosa band to the underweight band.
0:48:54 > 0:48:56Where did you start off?
0:48:56 > 0:48:59In the green band - anorexia nervosa,
0:48:59 > 0:49:01now I'm just the underweight!
0:49:01 > 0:49:03So what's after that?
0:49:05 > 0:49:06Fat!
0:49:06 > 0:49:07THEY LAUGH
0:49:07 > 0:49:10It's not fat after that, though, is it?
0:49:10 > 0:49:12- It is!- No, it isn't!- Yes.
0:49:12 > 0:49:15- Well, I'm happy you're getting better, anyway!- Oh, Gabby!
0:49:19 > 0:49:22- Oh, I've missed you, I actually have. - I've missed you too.
0:49:22 > 0:49:25- Everyone at college misses you as well.- Do they?- Yeah.
0:49:29 > 0:49:32Beth believes she has made so much progress in the last few weeks,
0:49:32 > 0:49:34she should be allowed to go home,
0:49:34 > 0:49:37but she cannot leave while she is still sectioned.
0:49:37 > 0:49:39So she's taking the matter to a tribunal.
0:49:39 > 0:49:42You can also get discharged there as well,
0:49:42 > 0:49:45so that's what I'm hoping will happen.
0:49:45 > 0:49:47I really want to go home,
0:49:47 > 0:49:49so I'm packing now.
0:49:52 > 0:49:55The law allows patients to appeal against sections
0:49:55 > 0:49:57if they feel they have a case.
0:50:00 > 0:50:03I don't really want to kill myself any more.
0:50:03 > 0:50:06There's things everywhere that you can actually self-harm with.
0:50:06 > 0:50:08Like, you can self-harm with this.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13I'm not really that desperate to do it any more.
0:50:20 > 0:50:23Beth cannot leave of her own free will,
0:50:23 > 0:50:27but Crystal is being discharged today.
0:50:27 > 0:50:31Now, I feel that I can talk to my mum and dad more and...
0:50:31 > 0:50:34I can tell them when I've been having a bad day.
0:50:34 > 0:50:38And I can, like, trust them to not get mad.
0:50:38 > 0:50:41I used to never tell them anything.
0:50:44 > 0:50:48The doctors are confident she does not have a psychotic illness,
0:50:48 > 0:50:50which means she is not a threat to herself or others
0:50:50 > 0:50:52and can go home.
0:50:52 > 0:50:55- You're just excited to go home, I hope.- No!
0:50:55 > 0:50:57- Pardon?- No!- No? Yeah.
0:51:01 > 0:51:04She and her parents understand what's going on inside her head
0:51:04 > 0:51:07and now know how to manage it.
0:51:07 > 0:51:09I'm actually going to have a future.
0:51:11 > 0:51:15Like, I do think more of the future now, like,
0:51:15 > 0:51:18when I first came in here, I just thought that was it
0:51:18 > 0:51:22and I was never going to get better and I'd be in here forever
0:51:22 > 0:51:24and I just wanted to die.
0:51:24 > 0:51:28I think it's a case of coming to terms
0:51:28 > 0:51:32and learning to live with stuff - it doesn't go away.
0:51:33 > 0:51:35It's just about coping.
0:51:35 > 0:51:37When you can't cope, you tell people.
0:51:43 > 0:51:46- Bye, Crystal!- Bye!
0:51:46 > 0:51:47Bye!
0:51:58 > 0:52:00Gill has made a remarkable breakthrough.
0:52:00 > 0:52:03She's finally been moved off the acute corridor
0:52:03 > 0:52:06and now has a room on the general ward with all the other patients.
0:52:06 > 0:52:10Mind the mess. I'm a bit untidy.
0:52:10 > 0:52:13One minute.
0:52:13 > 0:52:15Dirty clothes, dirty clothes,
0:52:15 > 0:52:18clean clothes in the dirty wash basket.
0:52:20 > 0:52:23Yeah, and just a heap of junk on there.
0:52:23 > 0:52:26SHE CHUCKLES
0:52:26 > 0:52:27For the past six weeks,
0:52:27 > 0:52:30Gill has been slowly building up her leave away from the ward.
0:52:30 > 0:52:33- What's in it? Hydrogen peroxide? - Uh-huh.
0:52:34 > 0:52:38It may have started only as five minutes in the hospital grounds...
0:52:38 > 0:52:39What do you think? Let me see.
0:52:39 > 0:52:42..but now Gill is preparing to go out into the community
0:52:42 > 0:52:44for the first time in six months.
0:52:48 > 0:52:50On a trip with Vicky and Matt,
0:52:50 > 0:52:53she is trying to show she is well enough to be taken off her section,
0:52:53 > 0:52:55and eventually be discharged from the unit.
0:52:57 > 0:52:59It's really good, cos I get time off the unit
0:52:59 > 0:53:02and I can, like, just be out with normal people.
0:53:04 > 0:53:06Cos, like, when you're out,
0:53:06 > 0:53:09people don't know that you're in, like, a unit or anything.
0:53:09 > 0:53:13So, like, it's a bit strange sometimes, cos it's like,
0:53:13 > 0:53:16"Oh, my gosh, I have to go back there, don't I?"
0:53:16 > 0:53:19This trip is meant to be fun and relaxed,
0:53:19 > 0:53:23but Vicky and Matt are watching Gill closely to see how she behaves.
0:53:23 > 0:53:25Chicken, bacon and mozzarella.
0:53:25 > 0:53:27Treatment at the McGuinness Unit
0:53:27 > 0:53:30is less about finding a cure for the patient
0:53:30 > 0:53:34and more about helping them to find ways of coping in the outside world.
0:53:34 > 0:53:37Any typical adolescent will become distressed at times
0:53:37 > 0:53:40and our task is not to make the perfect adolescent,
0:53:40 > 0:53:44it's actually to support young people to build resilience,
0:53:44 > 0:53:47to build confidence, that when they become distressed, actually,
0:53:47 > 0:53:50they're able to manage it more effectively.
0:53:50 > 0:53:52They're able to feel confident in themselves
0:53:52 > 0:53:56and they can go on and live their life with its ups and downs,
0:53:56 > 0:54:01without some of the negative consequences of...of that distress.
0:54:01 > 0:54:04First, I'd prefer it to be in white...hmm...
0:54:06 > 0:54:08SHE LAUGHS
0:54:11 > 0:54:14Today, Beth's future is going to be decided.
0:54:14 > 0:54:17She has appealed against her section
0:54:17 > 0:54:19and this afternoon a tribunal will decide
0:54:19 > 0:54:21if she's well enough to be taken off it.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23I could ultimately be discharged,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26but I'd need to be taken off my section today.
0:54:26 > 0:54:31It's basically just a court and you've got three independent people
0:54:31 > 0:54:34and they all basically assess you
0:54:34 > 0:54:37and tell you whether you're well enough to go home or whatever,
0:54:37 > 0:54:41but...I think I'm well enough to go home now.
0:54:41 > 0:54:42Good luck!
0:54:45 > 0:54:47If the decision goes her way,
0:54:47 > 0:54:50she could be going home after the meeting.
0:54:52 > 0:54:53Are you coming through?
0:55:04 > 0:55:07The tribunal lasts two and a half hours.
0:55:15 > 0:55:17It's not good news for Beth -
0:55:17 > 0:55:20she must remain on her section and in the hospital.
0:55:23 > 0:55:24On the same afternoon,
0:55:24 > 0:55:27feelings could not be more different for Gill,
0:55:27 > 0:55:29who has reason to celebrate.
0:55:29 > 0:55:31I'm coming off my section tomorrow!
0:55:31 > 0:55:34- You what?- I'm coming off my section tomorrow!
0:55:34 > 0:55:36BOTH: Yeah!
0:55:36 > 0:55:39The first call she makes is to her mum.
0:55:39 > 0:55:41I'm getting taken off it tomorrow.
0:55:46 > 0:55:48I'm so happy!
0:55:49 > 0:55:51One afternoon,
0:55:51 > 0:55:53two completely different decisions.
0:55:57 > 0:56:00Dismay for one patient and joy for another.
0:56:00 > 0:56:03I'm getting taken off my section!
0:56:09 > 0:56:12Crystal returned to school and is doing well.
0:56:12 > 0:56:14For Beth, her struggle goes on.
0:56:14 > 0:56:16Tomorrow's ages away,
0:56:16 > 0:56:19when you've been stuck in here almost six fucking months!
0:56:20 > 0:56:23- No!- Just calm down.
0:56:23 > 0:56:25But she's not the only one with anger issues.
0:56:25 > 0:56:28Just do it. You should kill yourself.
0:56:29 > 0:56:30HE GRUNTS
0:56:31 > 0:56:33Oh! Fucking hell!
0:56:33 > 0:56:35I hate it.
0:56:36 > 0:56:38Really hate it.
0:56:38 > 0:56:39What a tit!
0:57:05 > 0:57:08Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd