Members of the Community Mental Health Team

PSYCHIATRIST
A psychiatrist is a trained doctor who after doing their medical training
specialized in mental health. Their role is to assess, diagnose, treat and
manage mental health problems.Working as part of the multi-disciplinary
team they develop holistic intervention plans. A psychiatrist working in a
Community Mental Health Team has also specialized in the mental health
needs of adults of working age. There will be several psychiatrists working
in a team:
A consultant psychiatrist, who is fully qualified and has
specialized in a particular area
Junior doctors:
Specialist registrars (SpRs) who are psychiatrists but are
training to specialize in a particular area
Senior house officers (SHOs), qualified doctors who are
training to become psychiatrists

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
Clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and to enhance
and promote psychological well-being. In mental health teams the clinical psychologist will help people experiencing distress by using talking therapies
such as cognitive behavioural therapy and other therapies as described
in Chapter 4 on therapeutic interventions. They will work with the person
you care for and yourself, to help solve problems.
COMMUNITY PSYCHIATRIC NURSE
Community psychiatric nurses (CPNs) are Registered Mental Nurses who
work in the community. They will work as part of the multi-disciplinary
team to assess mental health problems and work out appropriate interventions.
CPNs will support the person in getting treatment at home. One of
their main roles will be to monitor the effectiveness and possible side
effects of medication and to provide support and education to the person
you care for, yourself, and other members of the family. Some CPNs have
been trained to deliver psychological interventions such as counselling and
cognitive behavioural therapy.

SOCIAL WORKER
A social worker is a professional who works as part of the multi-disciplinary
team. Their main role is to assess how the person’s social situation
is contributing to and impacting on their mental health problem. They will
then work out a package of care to improve the situation. This may include
looking at the person’s housing, employment, recreation and help with
receiving the appropriate benefits. Some social workers in the Community
Mental Health Team have completed extra training on the Mental Health
Act (1983); they are called approved social workers (ASWs). An approved
social worker can assess an individual to see if they need to be detained
under the Mental Health Act to receive treatment.
OCCUPATIONAL THERAPIST1
An occupational therapist (OT) will assess how the individual’s mental
health problems have had an effect on their ability to do everyday things.
They will work out interventions that aim to maximize the level of functioning
and independence in all aspects of life. The occupational therapist
assesses the physical, psychological and social functions of the person,identifies areas where there are problems, and involves the person in a structured programme of activity to help overcome their problems. The
activities selected will relate to the person’s personal, social, cultural and economic needs and will reflect the environmental factors which are
important in his or her life. Occupational therapists may work with the
person individually or get them involved in groups, such as relaxation
groups for those with anxiety.
Crisis Resolution/Home Treatment Teams
Often, going into a mental health ward can be a very distressing experience.
Within the NHS there is also a great pressure on the mental health
in-patient wards for beds.With this in mind the Government has started to
develop Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment Teams. They are not available in each area as yet, but there are plans to extend the services.
These teams are operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. They offer
a rapid response to people who are in crisis, usually within an hour. They
aremulti-disciplinary, but mental health nurses,who are supported by psychiatrists,
mainly staff them. Their main aim is to resolve crises within the
person’s own home and to try and prevent hospital admission.
To find out if there is such a team in your local area, contact your local
mental health NHS Trust or GP.
Assertive Outreach Teams
There are a number of people living in the community who have severe
mental health problems. Some of these people are at risk of losing contact
with mental health services and of relapse. This group of people often have
more than one problem, such as severe mental illness with drug abuse.
They often have repeated admissions into hospital.
The Government has developed Assertive Outreach Teams to work
with this group. They aremulti-disciplinary teams thatwork outside of the
normal working hours. The team works intensively with the person and
their carers. People are not allocated a key worker, as the whole team is the person’s key worker.Assertive Outreach Teams are relatively new and are not established in each area. To find out if there is a team in your local area, contact your local mental health NHS Trust or GP.