Listen Up - Social Welfare Portal

listenup!Chapter 7 | 51“… when young people access the service, ofteninitially for condoms, they are also fully informed ofall other aspects of the project.”Project worker, Streetwise, NewcastlePrevention and early interventionThe project sites considered prevention in terms ofeither stopping a situation, such as a mental healthcrisis, from happening in the first place, or preventinga situation from happening again or getting worse.Many of the approaches offered by the project sitesaid both these types of prevention:“CBT [cognitive behavioural therapy] aims to helpyoung people develop helpful thinking patternsand show how these may influence emotional andcoping responses in future difficulties.”Project worker, Aberdeen Foyer, AberdeenSome of the prevention work carried out by theorganisations did not have a specific mental healthfocus, but took the form of practical support, helpingyoung people to develop a range of life skills andcoping strategies.“A young person might, for instance, want someoneto accompany them on the bus to college for twoweeks while they learn the route, or come shoppingwith them to find clothes that are trendy and yetcover scars caused by self-harm.”Project worker, Caterpillar Service,Barnardo’s Marlborough Road Partnership, CardiffEarly intervention is a term often used to describeworking with young people aged 14 to 35 whoare presenting with symptoms of psychosis (DH,2001) and The Zone in Plymouth had a specific earlyintervention in psychosis programme (Insight). Thisconcept of providing support at the early stagesof problems was used by all the organisations,including The Zone, to help not just with psychosisbut with a wide range of emotional and mentalhealth problems.Case StudyIcebreak at The Zone in Plymouth is the onlyservice in the country for young people withemerging personality disorder.“Icebreak is designed as an ‘earlyintervention/preventative’ project… Theaim is to work to prevent young peoplefrom either developing the label ofpersonality disorder, or, if they have beengiven that label, to prevent them fromdeveloping secondary problems associatedwith the stigma and social exclusionthat often accompanies a diagnosis ofpersonality disorder.”(Project worker, IceBreak, The Zone, Plymouth)The project has an official partnership withPlymouth Primary Care Trust (PCT) andcurrently sees approximately 90 youngpeople. Another unique aspect of thisproject is that the trust staff are seconded into work with staff at the Zone, so the serviceis based in a youth organisation rather thanin a statutory mental health service.“Through interaction in settings such as schools andyouth clubs, Community Links are able to engageyoung people before they reach the point of crisisand require specialist mental health services – thusproviding an opportunity for early intervention.”Project worker, Community Links, Canning Town