When patients become the treatment: experiences of community-based treatment for complex trauma and personality disorders at Cassel Hospital

Purpose This paper aims to give a unique, experiential patient perspective on Cassel Hospital’s outpatient treatment, Outreach; the authors were patients at the time of writing the paper. Design/methodology/approach A collaborative–autoethnographic approach immerses readers into the psychodynamic, psychosocial community-based treatment. Initially, this paper discusses lived-experience research and therapeutic community treatment, including a description of the Outreach programme and its rationale. The second part of the paper provides subjective accounts, reflections, written by three authors on the same week in treatment, using a diary format. Thematic analysis is used to identify themes emerging from the reflections. Findings The reflections highlight the importance of the relationships between the patients who relate to and impact one another. The argument is made that the patients, are the treatment. The reflections also demonstrate how treatment is embedded in patients' daily lives. Research limitations/implications Limitations lie in the small sample group. Also, the paper was written during the COVID-19 pandemic, a period that necessitated hybrid working. This contrasts with the typical treatment model at the Cassel, which is delivered in-person. This paper recommends further research exploring patient relationships, from the perspective of the patient, at Cassel. In addition, the authors have benefited from writing this paper and suggest that further research could examine the benefits of lived-experience-led research in community-based services like Cassel Outreach. Originality/value Originality lies in this patient-led, collective–autoethnographic perspective of the authors’ treatment, through which readers experience an immersive and first-hand account of life within a community-based therapeutic community.