It is Thursday afternoon when police call CIT. Juul answers, police have received a 112 report that a son (23) has beaten up his mother. On scene, police find a dire situation. The house is completely upside down. There is a two-person mattress in the living room, destroyed stuff everywhere and broken glass everywhere. The mother is huddled, crying and afraid that as soon as the police leave, her son will do something to her again. Juul packs her things and goes to the house.
When Juul arrives at the residence, the police are sitting outside with the son. Police are trying to assess whether the son will remain calm. They have since understood from his mother that he can change moods at once. One moment the son is proud of his mother, lifting her up and telling her what a strong woman she is. The other moment he explodes and is very aggressive both physically and verbally. The mother finds this very frightening and wonders what is going on in his head. Assistance can’t do anything at this point because there is no proper analysis yet. This analysis is necessary to look for the right agency.
Juul looks at what she can do in this situation. Previously the son lived on his own until this no longer went well with drug use etc. He is very impressionable by his environment and had met the “wrong” friends. These friends were involved in robberies, drugs, violence and prostitution. From that situation, he went to live with his father. Father also fared well for only a short time; he regularly demolished furniture and was evicted from the house after a major argument. Because of this, his mother took care of him. The mother indicates that she is very scared because the son squeezed her throat and she is visibly covered in bruises. Son has been diagnosed with PDD-NOS and aggression regulation issues also for several years he has also had frequent delusions. Son causes many incidents; he has attacked his sister, he has tried to knock someone off their bike with the door of a car, he regularly smashes windows or throws flower pots at unsuspecting passersby. Since living with his mother, the son has been clean from blowing, but this only seems to make the situation worse. Afterwards, the son sometimes does not know what he did and does not remember anything about the situation. He also denies that he hurt his mother. Recently, a new agency has become involved and is going to investigate what is wrong with the son.
Meanwhile, the son joined the conversation between Juul and mother. He says he experiences restlessness in his head. He knows these are delusions and suffers greatly from them. The cause of his anger is also unknown to him. Following the previous escalation, the son was hospitalized for 3 days. There he was completely calm and they discharged him because this was not the right place for him. Several agencies have indicated that admission was indeed necessary, yet the son keeps getting discharged.
For now, it has been discussed that it would be nice for both parties to have the son sleep somewhere for a night. Given the timing and options already explored, the son was placed in Riel for one night. The next morning, Juul contacts the place where he slept. The guidance indicates that he had a meeting with his counseling services at 10:00 a.m. and was then picked up by the mother and they left together in a relaxed state for the meeting with the psychiatrist.
Shortly thereafter, Juul receives a call from the police. The son attacked his mother on the way in the car in which his mother suffered a head injury and she was taken to the hospital. The son is taken by police and he is being held at the station for the weekend. Four weeks later, Juul contacts the mother again. She indicates that her son is in prison. The mother visits every week and reports that she finds him increasingly confused. According to the mother, it is important that her son be seen by a psychiatrist. There needs to be a diagnosis soon, and that’s what counseling has been doing for a long time to get that done.
Looking back on the situation, the mother indicates that the situation has been very intense and poignant but that it has also provided beautiful insights and initiatives. She feels supported from different sides and has found the cooperation between the different parties, such as the police and the CIT, to be very nice. The son does get the help he needs now.
