Question

How important is it to acquire a shared vision, a common philosophy regarding people with acute mental health problems?

Problem description

We still can make some progress in terms of a shared vision, as 2a or mobile crisis team, about working with patients with acute mental health problems

Impact - effect

The full acquisition of the same basic attitude is a prerequisite for creating a sufficient confidence between team members, for facilitating the contact with the patient and improve a trustful relationship with the patient

To do

After a start-up phase, in which a team mainly focuses on practical matters, we must now focus more strongly on the philosophy of the team. A shared vision of working with patients with acute mental health problems, as we find in the AHTT to Stoke, is certainly inspiring:

• Contact from person to person, approaching the client as a human being, from an equal position.  The team members have the expertise in working with psychiatric problems, but they don’t take their expertise as a reference in their contacts with the clients. The patient is considered as an expert, together with him is being considered what works for him.  In this way the contact is facilitated and a trustful relationship is stimulated

• Search for strengths and possibilities of the patient, rather than focussing on problems (attitude based on the solution-focused therapy)

• Problems are normalised, but not minimised

Theme

Starting up and further development/deployment of mobile teams

Topic

recovery oriented approaches in mobile teams

Reference -  contact

Luk De Becker, Tine Peeters (équipe 2a- Leuven-Tervuren)

Mobile team

2A

Project

Leuven-Tervuren

Intership abroad - place

Stoke-on-Trent

Date

June 2013