Son with psychosis and OCD may need admission to change medication

Hello

I am new to the forum. I am the mum of 4 kids, two adult step daughters, and 2 teen sons. Our oldest son is 17 and was diagnosed with OCD and psychosis in August 2020. He has been on medication since then, but has had a few times where his symptoms got worse again and it triggered an increase in his medication. Amazingly, he has managed to continue with life and started an apprenticeship in Nov 2020, and found his first girlfriend ever in January 2021. We are very proud of his achievements in life and the person he is. While he is living with the effects of major mental illness, he is mostly managing things really well. He's fully compliant with his medication, and recognises the value of taking it. He still dabbles in drugs at times, which worries me a lot, but this is rare.

He told me last night that things are getting worse for him again, and he feels his paranoia is increasing, and he has had some new experiences which are stressing him out. With his consent I contacted his CAMHS worker, who listened to the new symptoms and reported it to the psychiatrist (who lives 6 hours away).

The suggestion from the psychiatrist is that our son be voluntarily hospitalised to see if they need to change his medication. He would go to an inpatient CAMHS ward which is over 2.25 hours away for 2-3 weeks - we live in country NSW. I have been told I can go and stay nearby in family accommodation. He won't be allowed to have his phone (which is his lifeline to communication) and will be required to follow a daily schedule of activities. I doubt he will go.

My oldest step daughter had serious mental illness in her teens, including psychosis. She was hospitalised several times and my husband feels it made her illness worse, and introduced her to high risk behaviours that other teens were doing in the hospital. He's really worried about our son going into a residential facility. I've read the information for the inpatient unit, and it's heavily institutional, and sounds really rigid. I just don't know if my son will agree, or if he will cope.

I'd really appreciate any advice or experience that others may have to share, positive or not, of going into an inpatient facility. Are there other ways to support a person who is undergoing a medication change that aren't as restrictive? My husband and I are super supportive of our son, want the best for him, and feel really worried about helping him to make the right decision. But we are also limited in our capacity, my husband survived a brain haemorhagge 2 years ago and has recovered physically, but can't handle stress and emotions and stress like he once did. And our 14 yo has been sick with chronic fatigue/allergies for 5 months so we have to care for him too. I don't know if I can manage caring for our oldest son at home without help, but I feel it is where he will want to be, and I understand that fully. I just don't know if there are other options?

Thank you