Hazelwood House is a low secure unit for males with a learning disability, including those with co-morbid personality disorders, mental illnesses and autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs).

It is a well-established service in the Midlands that works with patients with intellectual disabilities to reduce their risk, build and consolidate core skills, and promote relapse prevention strategies. We focus on real-world settings and help patients develop skills for supported or independent living in the community.

Our approach

All interventions aim to help the patient to understand the effect of their behaviour on others, to help them to manage the impact of external triggers on their behaviour and ultimately to promote the concept of recovery.

Our model of care explicitly acknowledges and supports the issue of change (or readiness for change) and this is essential for successful engagement and treatment. When stability is achieved, patients engage in appropriate treatments to meaningfully focus on reducing the risk of relapse and can help to reduce length of stay in secure care.

Psychology led therapies:

• Individual psychological therapy
• Recovery and mental health awareness
• Stop & think! - a social problem solving therapy
• Managing anger programme (MAP)
• Drug and alcohol programme
• Relationship programme (social skills, collaboration with therapies)
• Adapted sex offender treatment programme
• Coping skills programme
• Arson treatment programme
• Relapse prevention and discharge planning
• ‘I can feel good’ group

Occupational therapy led activities include:

• Community-based volunteer work
• Real work opportunities
• Breakfast club – develop cooking and food preparation skills as well as socialisation skills
• Group cooking skills
• Education – literacy and numeracy
• Physical fitness
• 1:1 cooking
• Arts and crafts
• Hobbies
• Computers
• Skills for living group
• Recovery college
• Pets as therapy

The environment

We believe that the environment in which patients are treated is just as important as the therapy itself. Patients go out into the community for many activities but we also have the following facilities on site:

• Outdoor gym and large garden
• Large group room and computer room
• Rehabilitation kitchen

We also provide real work opportunities which help patients to develop pre-employment process skills including CV workshops, application support, interviews with formalised feedback and training relevant to the role such as health and safety or manual handling.