What is Elsenham House?
Elsenham House is a 36 bed residential home for individuals with mental health or challenging behaviour problems.
Located in the quiet picturesque north Norfolk town of Cromer, Elsenham House is ideally situated within close proximity of all modern amenities including medical services.
The Residential Conundrum
For many individuals with mental health problems, coming out of clinics, hospitals, or other high dependency centres, care provision may seem like a daunting experience. In addition, many of these people can have a history of being rejected, refused, or declined admission to other residential environments.
The problem is compounded because some of these persons may have previously spent considerable periods of time in large institutions, so much so, that many will have developed a special form of institutionalisation called “learned helplessness”. This state seems unavoidable given the requirement of large medical bodies to function in a uniform and disciplined manner. For the individual, however, it means that rather than moving towards increased personal responsibility and ultimately independent living, regression may set in.
Unfortunately, this situation will often compound mental health difficulties, and if not managed proactively, will significantly slow or inhibit an individual’s chance of improved recovery.
The Elsenham House Solution
At Elsenham House, we believe that what is required is a
planned process through which learned helplessness can bereversed, and where the goal for each individual is always the achievement of their optimal potential in recovery.
We feel that this is arrived at by providing an environment where individuals progress through different parts of our accommodation modules towards increasing levels of independence. During this process we provide each client with considerably enhanced support mechanisms, all of which are aimed at empowering them to achieve their personal goals. It is our experience that most individuals are capable of becoming significantly more self-sufficient if they receive the appropriate stimulus and necessary support infrastructure.
Who benefits?
At Elsenham House we have no preconceived prejudices as to which people are suitable, consequently we are willing to assess and consider all possible clients.
Most benefit is achieved by those individuals who have the potential to move towards greater levels of independence, or those who may have had a negative experience of residential care and who now need a fresh positive input.
How are we different?
We believe that at Elsenham House the real difference is our ability to go significantly beyond the general standards of residential care, primarily by offering a range of in-house support that is not usually found in the residential context. This is against a backcloth of each client having their unique personal care plan. We are only able to do this by having a high percentage of qualified and widely experienced staff. In addition, our commitment to professional excellence is ongoing.
How do we work with our partners?
At Elsenham House we seek to work in partnership teams. This partnership includes us, the client, the funding agency, and the statutory care bodies. It is only through active cooperation that we are able to provide a totally integrated experience. Within this context, each client receives their own care plan and together with our care partners we undertake regular monitoring and evaluation as part of a continuous review process.