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post as a staff nursery nurse which she was still holding three months after her discharge.
2. A young nan in his late twenties attended the day centre for 7 months. He had been in a
mental hospital for a short while suffering from an anxiety state which prevented him from
working. When he first attended he was quiet, passive, showing little initiative or emotion,
and unwilling to accept responsibility. During his time at the centre he showed a noticeable
increase in self-confidence and the ability to make use of his potential working qualities.
The Task Force project proved an ideal working situation for him to test out his confidence
and ability as a leader. It was felt that his previous job was below his capabilities and had
contributed to his breakdown so with the help of the D. R.O. he was offered a place at an
Industrial Rehabilitation Centre. There he was assessed in different kinds of work and left to
take a job which has since proved successful.
Examples of cases where the Day Centre has been unable to help
1. 28 year old girl suffering from schizophrenia. This young woman attended the centre for
several weeks and eventually left because she became too anxious. She was unable to make more
than superficial contact with the group or gain any support because she was so frightened of
mental illness and unable to bear hearing of other people's problems or admitting that she had
any herself. The social worker worked with the patient and family at home but the girl felt
too anxious to return and shortly after took an overdose and was admitted for hospital care.
2. A young man, recently discharged from hospital after his first schizophrenic breakdown.
This boy is an example of the destructive influence of a mother-child relationship. He himself
obviously gained much help from the centre and the group, but was torn by his mother's
possessiveness and insistence that he was mad. He rapidly fitted into the group, began to
express himself and become more of an individual. His conflict with his mother increased as
his personality strengthened, and resulted in him attacking her one week and being admitted
to hospital. The day centre kept a place for him on his discharge but his mother fetched him
away prematurely, and in spite of all efforts on the part of his social worker refused to let
him return to the centre.
Rosemary Junior Training School
This school, with its special care unit, has made steady progress and is now well
established. The school participates in the training of teachers from the NAMH Training
courses and from the courses run by the Training Council for Teachers of the Mentally
Handicapped. A wide variety of visitors, from many parts of the world, has continued to visit
to observe the activities of the children and to admire the building, and many have commented
on the cheerful atmosphere which prevails.
Selected boys and girls were allotted a weekly session at the local swimming bath, which
was an extremely popular activity. A group from The Rosemary Junior Training School joined in
a holiday at St. Mary's Bay holiday camp organised by the Inner London Boroughs.
We were most fortunate in receiving generous gifts of toys for the school from local
voluntary organisations.
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