Moon House Theatre

Reuben, now 19, is happier and healthier as a result of medication and therapy. 💬 “He’s doing well. We’re worried sick, but we’re really happy about that because where we were before, I could never have imagined we’d be here now.”

The Fletchers kept quiet about Reuben’s illness for years. 🔴 Now he advises anyone at the start of “the tunnel”, as he describes it, to be open and talk about any problems before they are consumed by them.

The father and son made a BBC Panorama programme about their experience, Kids in Crisis, in September 2018. Then, half a million children were either waiting for mental health treatment or receiving it. 🔴 Fletcher is sceptical about whether anything has changed.

Reuben was out of school for a year – and at one stage ended up in hospital for six months – but it took the best part of a year even to be seen by the right clinician. 💬 “I had no idea it would take us so long. Now I’m hearing everyone else is in this situation."

Reuben developed mental health problems during adolescence, which was diagnosed as obsessive compulsive disorder, a condition where you have recurring thoughts and repetitive behaviours you cannot control. 💬 “He was unable to get out of bed, brush his teeth or feed himself."

"I realised there are so many people like us who are struggling in the same way we did." @SeanFletcherTV has revealed both how debilitating the condition has been for his teenage son Reuben and how it has highlighted wider concerns about mental health services.