I've been asked to provide this letter regarding Mr James Catchlove's psychiatric condition and how it affected his behaviour at the time of the alleged aggravated assault involving two ambulance officers that attended his premises on 1 May 2012.

Mr Catchlove was originally referred to me by his general practitioner two and a half years ago for management of a number of psychiatric problems. He has been seeing me regularly since 7 June 2010. He has attended emergency departments in public hospitals in Adelaide numerous times over the years (probably over twenty times), including the royal Adelaide hospital and the Flinders medical centre. At times he has been admitted to hospital after such attendances....which have been especially common since 2006.

He has a history of depressive symptoms, interpersonal difficulties and suicide and self harm attempts, especially when inoxicated with alcohol. He has been diagnosed with manic depression, borderline personality disorder, longstanding alcohol and polysubstance abuse including alcohol abuse, amphetamine abuse and cannabis abuse. The diagnosis of borderline personality disorder was initially made at by psychiatrists at Flinders medical centre and this led to his eventual referral to me in 2010. Borderline personality disorder is a chronic, lifelong condition present since adolescence and characterised by marked instability of mood, chronic feelings of emptiness, intense and unstable interpersonal relationships, recurrent suicidal thoughts and impulsive behaviour.

He has been taking active steps to try to address these problems over the last couple of years. He has not used any illicit amphetamines or cocaine since 2005 and has not consumed marihuana since 2008. His alcohol intake has reduced in between very occasional binges of drinking which are usually precipitated by emotional instability and distress, leading to worsening depression, suicidal ideas and disturbed behaviour. At such times, which can still occur several times a year, it is not unusual for Mr Catchlove to either get himself to a public hospital for help or call emergency services such as the public mental health service's assessment and crisis intervention service, police, mens line or lifeline.....for help. This often leads to the arrival of ambulance with or without police to assess his condition and transport him to hospital at their discretion.

His psychological therapy over the last several years has been aimed at learning better to manage his mood states and keep his alcohol intake under control....At the time of writing this letter he feels quite stable and is abstinent from alcohol, is thinking clearly and his emotional state is stable.

Mr Catchlove has explained to me that at the time of the attendance of the ambulance officers on 1 May 2012 he had been going through a drinking binge of alcohol for 3 days and was feeling suicidal. He was feeling quite overwhelmed in relation to issues in the preceding couple of months while he was attempting to study a for a community services course, and in relation to a recent relationship. H e a had stopped taking his mood stabiliser medication (sodium valproate)...days before the subject incident in the hope that he would be able to think more clearly about things. He called various mental health crisis help lines that night and believes that one of them called the ambulance to attend. When the ambulance asked him to clarify what he meant by his statement that he was suicidal, he reached out between them to a table in the lounge room to pick up a pocket knife (leatherman tool) and opened up the knife to demonstrate to them what he felt like doing...ie, wanting to cut his wrists. He has done this before witha knife. Understandably, the ambulance officers would have felt threatened and at risk given his emotional and intoxicated state. However I believe Mr Catchlove did not necessarily intend to threaten or cause harm to the attending ambulance officers. His behaviour was grossly affected by his emotional state and alcohol intoxication at the time (apparently when he was tested for his blood alcohol level shortly afterwards, it was well above 0.3 and in fact close to 0.4g/100ml. He said he then went outside his house while still holdinding the knife after he realised the officers were gone, because he was puzzled as to why they left....and he went looking for them.

I ask that the above information be taken into account with regard to the charges that Mr Catchlove faces. In future...Mr Catchlove may well require occasional episodes of emergency services attendance when he is acutely mentally unwell. It is important that he is able to access such services when called for, however it would be prudent that from now on, ambulance services only ever attend his home to see him when accompanied by police in order to ensure everyones safety and avoid misunderstandings.

[sugahorse1]

Hugs my friend xx

[moodiegirl]

Hi James,
we haven't met yet, but I really hope you feel better soon. Your doc seems to be supportive from what I can gather, which is a good thing. Wishing you all the best and sending you hugs...

love...

thankyou

[Clinte89]

It's good you seen to have a very supportive doctor which is excellent. I just hope this passes for you soon and you get to feeling better.

[hamster-bamster]

James, I think the doctor did a good job explaining that you did not intend to threaten the ambulance workers.

[pegasus]

(((((( dubblem )))))))

Made me cry. My dear friend, you have been through so much and when you needed help, you couldn't get it. You have a good doc there. Thank you for sharing, I think the doc's letter will help.

[Trippin2.0]

I am certain your pdoc"s letter will help the halls of justice see the truth in this very sad situation. You were just looking for some help, and ended up before a judge instead... Everything will turn out ok Jamesy

[BlueInanna]

thanks for sharing this, doc sounds very supportive. i agree you need care and support, not punishment. similar letter could be written about my son, except he has less time being sober. talked to him tonight, he got a sponsor for the sobriety program. i'm so proud of him. i'm so proud of you. i'm so thankful you've shared this with us and that we're not alone.

yes...

it just makes it real

[bluemountains]

It is great that you have such a supportive pdoc, James. He explained you and your intentions quite well. I believe that the court system will be sympathetic and understand that you are one in need of psychological monitoring, not incarceration.
Bluemountains