What Goes Up....

Today Daughter came down, and landed hard. She was slow getting up this morning. In fact, she didn't get up until I asked her if I needed to start locking up the electronic devices. When she got out of the shower, she saw that it was almost 7:00, and she knows I like to be at the church at 7:00. She came out to the kitchen sobbing hysterically. Of course she was crying too hard to tell me what was wrong, but eventually managed to tell me that the voices wouldn't leave her alone.

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I told her I was sorry the voices were bothering her, and urged her to hurry up. As we were leaving the house, I told her to leave the portable DVD player at home. Her case manager was here today, and is getting Daughter in with a therapist who does a great deal of work with individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder. We discussed the voices, and decided that Daughter was hearing her guilty conscience. We talked about her romantic struggles, and she acknowledged that 50% of it is her fault.

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In response to Miz Kizzle's comment, here are some of the reasons why this is an excellent program for Daughter:

1. The program coordinator is a therapist and daughter of someone with Borderline Personality Disorder. She understands Daughter, and recognizes her manipulations.
2. The staff has been well trained by the coordinator on how to manage Daughter. She is not able to manipulate them, and they don't react to her attempts to create drama.
3. Here's how completely they get Daughter: At the Christmas party Daughter sent me a text asking me to come get her because she was overwhelmed by the noise and chaos. When I didn't take the bait, she tried it on the program coordinator. She refused to be hooked. Unable to find anyone to rescue her, Daughter began dancing. I received a picture message from the program coordinator telling me not to let Daughter tell me she wasn't having fun.
4. When there was a party they knew would be too overwhelming for Daughter, they consulted with me and we came up with a plan to keep Daughter from attending.
5. They minimize the drama by keeping Daughter away from her current romantic obsession as much as possible.
6. They have yet to call me to ask me to come get Daughter-- they handle things on their own, including the day she wet herself-- they gave her dry clothes to put on and kept going.
7. They are very low key about the insulin and diabetes. They haven't required doctor's orders, and are quite content to let me direct the care of her diabetes. I forgot to put the carb and insulin information in with her lunch today, so Daughter and one of the staff people cheerfully appeared in my office to ask for the information.
8. The system here looks at the complete individual: Program staff attends appointments with the psychiatrist, and the therapist will be through the same agency. The coordination is wonderful.
9. They recognize and affirm Daughter's abilities. They encourage her to use the sign language she has learned with the deaf woman in the group. She is helping plan the menu for the party they are planning when their new building is finally ready. They encourage her to bring ideas, and take them seriously. They praise her contributions.

This has been a very good move for both of us.