The report

The social services lady returned for a brief visit to introduce the family support worker.

The family support worker visited on her own at a later date. We discussed her purpose and both agreed there was no need for her services. I was bonding with my baby boy and taking him to groups. I was depressed but was meeting my baby boy’s need. She said she would discharge me.

I hoped that this discharge would mean social services wouldn’t return but not long after family worker visit I received a report from the social worker concluding her assessment.

This report would be so damaging to the beliefs I hold about myself that my mental health would further deteriorate. The belief of not being good enough would be confirmed by numerous statements in the report. Assumptions and presumptions made created an inaccurate picture of our household. Health visitor played a big role in the misinformation fed to the social worker which in turn influenced her interpretation of observations and events. This report also did not give an opportunity for my husband’s voice to be heard. This would lead to the report affecting him almost daily to this day.

This report would also portray me in a way that confirmed the beliefs I was failing my baby boy and as a result of this I started to think he would be better off without me.