Early Intervention in Psychosis Services

The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service supports people between the ages of 14 and 65 in Norfolk and Waveney who are experiencing symptoms of a first episode of psychosis. This service supports people for up to a three-year period and provides intervention to reduce the impact of the symptoms and support social recovery. The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service aims to help people who use the service, and their family, to understand more about the symptoms of psychosis and what treatments are available.

Our Early Intervention in Psychosis Service supports people with psychosis. Symptoms may include: 

• Hearing voices or seeing things others do not see

• Feeling paranoid or mistrustful of others

• Believing you can read other people's thoughts

• Believing things which seem very unusual or strange to others

• Not thinking clearly

• Feeling worried that bad things may happen to you or other people

• Believing you have special powers or are famous in some way.  

There may be other symptoms of psychosis too. 

National Standards for Early Intervention in Psychosis Services anticipate that those experiencing an identified first episode of psychosis will begin treatment within two weeks of being referred to this service. 

This service aims to develop a good relationship with people who use it so that it can understand their experiences and how they impact their life.  

The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service aims to meet service users wherever they feel comfortable and works with them to reduce any distress the symptoms are causing. We talk about the impact of stress and develop positive coping strategies with service users to help reduce future episodes of psychosis. 

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Psychosis (CBTp)

The experience of psychosis can leave some patients feeling anxious and fearful. Sometimes concerned that things won’t get better, or that they could become unwell again. For some it might be that experiences such as hearing voices continues for some time and this can be very confusing and upsetting. It could be that you feel down and unsure how things will improve for you.  

The Early Intervention team offers everyone a form of counselling called CBT. You can access this counselling at any time during your time with us and decide for yourself whether it is helpful. If you do want to try it out, you are free to take breaks and return to the counselling at any time. We will make every effort to focus on what is important to you. 

Medication

Antipsychotics are a group of medicines used to treat psychosis. They help to reduce the distress caused by unusual experiences such as hearing voices and seeing things that are not there. They work by affecting one or more chemicals in the brain. Dopamine is the main chemical that they affect. Psychosis is mainly caused by overactivity of dopamine in some parts of the brain. Other medications may also be considered such as those used to treat anxiety and depression known as antidepressants.

We will involve you in discussions about which medication is right for you and work with you to ensure that we get it right. We will provide you with information and monitor you for any side effects.

You can visit www.choiceandmedication.org/nsft for more detailed information on specific medications.

Referrals to the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service are accepted from GPs, practice nurses and secondary mental health professionals. The service asks these professionals to provide a brief history along with a rating scale when making a referral. 

Clear criteria for referrals to this service are established nationally based on the type and duration of symptoms being experienced. This informs the assessment process and whether the Early Intervention in Psychosis Service would be most appropriate to meet an individual’s needs. 

If you are concerned and are unable to get a referral from those mentioned above, you can call our team yourself or get someone in your family to request support.  

*Details correct at time of update 14/10/2021