Mental health - good practice examples
We are highlighting examples of good practice. Some of these are described in (sometimes hard to find) documents. Others have been provided by nurses working with excluded groups.
You might also like to refer to the guidance, policy and voices sections for further information on people with mental health problems.
If you would like to send us an example of good practice please use the online form.
Torfaen Young People’s Support Service
I have just read your post on the RCN discussion board and wanted to let you know about the work I am doing here in Torfaen.
I am employed by CAMHS but work within a multi agency service which has as it’s members a leaving care team, education staff, homelessness officer, voluntary services, drugs worker, careers development, mentoring scheme and of course me as the mental health lead for the service.
We provide a service for young people aged 16 to 21 who are homeless, not in education, leaving care or are experiencing mental health difficulties.
Targeting this age group has proved challenging as you may be aware services for this age are limited. Most of the young people I see are not in education so do not meet the criteria for CAMHS but also may not have an enduring, acute mental illness that warrants a referral to adult psychiatric services. My role is to try and bridge that gap between the two.
Many of the young people I visit are in crisis, they may act this out by self harming, taking overdoses, using drugs and alcohol. I also visit the young people who are having to leave the care system and starting out on their own, it is at this stage that questions about past abuse issues come to the fore and I help them through this. We also have a number of teenage mum’s within the service so we discuss parenting issues and post natal depression. I am also able to see young people who may be in the early stages of a more severe mental illness and are displaying symptoms of psychosis.
I take referrals from anyone, anywhere and the young people who access the service know they can ‘drop in’ and request an appointment at anytime. Of the young people I see the homeless population are particularly vulnerable and I work directly with local hostels and visit those in bed and breakfast accommodation and in prison.
I have been in post for two years and have seen well in excess of 200 young people and I carry a caseload of about 25 young people who I see for direct therapeutic work.
I am currently doing my MA in Psychotherapeutic Approaches with Adolescents at the Tavistock Clinic in London which I attend once a week. (I was awarded an RCN Trevor Clay Scholarship Fund £490 to help with course costs).
Example kindly contributed by Claire Grace, Pyschiatric nurse specialist, (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service), Torfaen Young People’s Support Service, Torfaen County Borough Council.