" I was transferred to Vincent Square at the age of eighteen after a previous year of inpatient treatment elsewhere. I arrived, not only completely hopeless, but entirely disinterested in recovery and, in fact, anything other than pursuing my eating disorder. I had completely rejected treatment up to this point and had every intention of doing the same in Vincent Square. My parents were similarly despondent, feeling that I would indeed just retreat further into the arms of my eating disorder, and were exhausted from trying to navigate their way around the seemingly complex mental health system. I think it’s safe to say, we were all pleasantly surprised.
On arrival I was slightly confused to hear the nurses asking me questions about myself and not my illness- there had been very few people up until this point that had been even slightly interested in who I was behind the walls that my eating disorder had built up. More confusion was yet to come, specifically, during my first ward round, in which I was asked for my opinions and feelings about treatment plans and how I would like to begin taking steps towards recovery. I was being spoken to like an actual human being- an individual with a brain and a set of emotions. I had never experienced treatment or care in this way before. Similarly, my parents were included in my recovery process and their opinions and ideas valued and taken on by the team. For the first time since I had been admitted, my parents felt safe leaving me in the care of others.
Put simply: Vincent Square acknowledged me as an individual, who, although was suffering with an eating disorder, was in no way defined by it. The staff, from nurses and OTs to psychiatrists and therapists, were interested in who I was as a person beneath my eating disorder and worked hard to pull the real Georgi back up to the surface, teaching me how to cope without relying on starvation and self-destruction. The team worked closely with both myself and my parents, attempting to find ways in which I could move forward, and gave me the unique support I required to do this safely. When I had lost hope in fully recovering from anorexia, the team held it for me until I was ready to believe that I could too.
The team at Vincent Square saved my life, both in the literal sense and in the way that they helped me to envisage a life without my eating disorder: they reminded me that I could live rather than just exist.
"Throughout my years of treatment, Vincent Square has provided me with a safe and supportive space in which I can be open and honest about my struggles, my fears and even my triumphs. They have always treated with me with the utmost respect and kindness and given me as much of an input into my care as is possible. They have worked with me and treated me as an individual, understanding that for some people it can take time and that the journey is not a linear process. But above all, they have treated me as me, as a human being, rather than just as a patient."