Who you might see when you use our service

I suffered from psychosis and it had a dramatic impact on the way I lived my life. I’m much better now than I used to be but that’s because I have been helped by various people who have aided my recovery.

EIT Team motif Each Early Intervention Team within the areas covered by the Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust will have a slightly different team structure, so the staff that make up the teams are not always the same; we also work in partnership with other services, to make sure that you get the full package of support that you need.

All staff involved in our service are friendly, approachable and non-judgmental; and they have lots of knowledge and experience in helping people to recover from psychosis.

Each person that is getting help from our service will have a care co-ordinator.

Your care co-ordinator will be one of the healthcare professionals from in our team. They have different professional backgrounds, they may be an occupational therapist, nurse, psychologist or social worker; but they all have lots of experience in helping people with mental health problems to get better.

Your care co-ordinator will act as the main contact within the Early Intervention Team, for you and your family/loved ones. They will spend time getting to know you early on, so that they can understand the difficulties you are having and can work with you to draw up a Care Plan that best meets your needs and maximises your chances of recovery.

These are some of the workers you might come across when you visit our service:

Community Mental Health Nurse (CMHN)

A CMHN, also known as a community psychiatric nurse (CPN), is a registered nurse that works in the community and has specialist mental health training. CMHN’s often have a wide and varied role, this can include:

• regularly reviewing your mental health
• helping you to understand your mental health difficulties and treatment options
• support with counselling, anxiety management and coping strategies
• supporting you to achieve your goals
• helping you to avoid relapse
• family work
• provide and support you with your medication.

Psychiatrist

Psychiatry is the study of mental health problems, their diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Psychiatrists are qualified medical doctors who have specialised and taken further training in this branch of medicine. Psychiatrists work with Early Intervention Teams in Cheshire and Wirral, so that you can get specialist medical advice and treatment when you need it.

Assistant Practitioner/Support Worker

Each of our teams have support workers who are here to help you to achieve the goals you have set with your care co-ordinator; this help is often very practical and might include things such as support in getting out more, taking part in activities, or learning new skills.

Occupational Therapist

The role of an occupational therapist is to help people with mental health
problems to build up the confidence and skills needed for everyday activities (this can include personal, social, domestic, leisure and work activities). To do this, they focus on the learning of certain skills and techniques, such as arts, crafts, drama, dance and writing; they also run group work (such as anxiety management and assertiveness training), individual counselling and training activities in daily living.

Psychologist

Clinical psychology is the assessment and treatment of mental health problems, using non medical approaches. Clinical psychologists use a range of therapeutic ways to help you with the way you think and feel about things; helping you to manage your mental health difficulties.

Employment Support Worker

All of our teams have access to an employment support worker whose job it is to help you in looking at employment opportunities and maximising your chances of getting the right job for you.

Social Worker

Social workers can give you advice on practical matters such as accommodation, welfare benefits and managing with practical everyday activities; and they can put you in touch with other specialist services that they think may be able to help with a particular need that you might have. Some social workers offer counselling; and some are hospital social workers, attached to local hospitals.

CBT Therapist

Some teams have specialist therapists that are trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Click here to find out more about Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

Exercise Referral Specialist

Some teams have exercise referral specialists working with them. They are qualified fitness professionals who use their skills in personal training to help you improve your physical fitness and all the well-being payoffs that can provide you with.

I think that everything was just great and the weekly sessions with the personal trainer were more than helpful to my recovery. I myself believe exercise is a form of medicine to make myself physically strong enough to overcome any mental or emotional state that you may be in. The exercise sessions really helped me and I think they could help others.