I will have a new client this week. His intake was completed a couple weeks ago. But just barely. He nodded off, but the office decided he answered the minimum required questions to submit the authorization.
But we didn't have an opportunity to schedule him quite yet. He soon had an episode that went on for days, maybe off and on for over a week. I can't be sure it's come to any real end either. He's likely using, off his meds, or both. [As I'm editing, I see I'll touch upon that again.]
But a couple days ago, our supervisor assigned him to me for two reasons: 1) We finally reached a critical need for more client hours. We're sharing clients to fill in gaps as it is, and two or three of us are increasing hours or changing schedules, so we gotta get going. And 2) I'm the most experienced, and we don't want a noob in this. More than that, I think, this is the right time for me to step up. This will be a challenge, however it shakes out. Hopefully, results will not be the deciding factor in judging my work. I'll have to both maintain the right amount of optimism, and manage my own expectations. I feel like in the past I underestimated a client's risk-level, and was a little to quick with the motivational talk. This is a theme, actually, that I'm considering in my MO. I assumed that I naturally used the right level of promoting, when I needed to take my time. It's a delicate balance that I don't always achieve, so I wouldn't expect most rookies to totally get the nuance. Hell, some of my predecessors were pretty clumsy about it. Understated is better than stumbling.
So I looked at our care plan for him. I will remind, prompt, and encourage him to keep up with his appointments with his PO and court dates. It also lists medication reminders, help with housekeeping, laundry, grocery shopping, food prep, all the usual. He has SUD history, a diagnosis of schizophrenia-unspecified type, and he is HIV positive.
I looked him up further. Criminal mischief, trespassing, and unlawful use of a weapon. Oh, and every cop's favorite, "resisting arrest."
So this guy's a handful. I mean, that's my studied prediction. We've seen him around the building. Manic, maybe. High on stuff, almost definitely. That's why we held off on scheduling him.
I'll check on him at least three times a week before he's technically on my schedule.
We do like a challenge, but when you see someone headed for the shit, running outta brake fluid... We still do all we can. And if there's a minor success here and there, then we'll take those wins over a quiet, dull day, any day.
