FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
A: Mental Illness is a broad description for a variety of illnesses that affect the way people think, feel or behave. Mental illness includes conditions such as depression, anxiety attacks, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Psychosis, Bi-Polar Disorder (Manic Depression), Schizophrenia, Post-Natal Depression, eating disorders, personality disorders and Seasonal Affective Disorder.
A: At any stage in their lives 1 in 4 people will suffer from mental illness.
A: A variety of services are available to those experiencing mental illness, starting with their GP who may prescribe medication, or advise counselling or other talking treatments. The CMHT (Community Mental Health Team) may be asked to help with the treatment or with social care needs such as access to specialist housing, psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses or mental health social workers. There are also specialist day services available, which are usually provided by the voluntary sector. In some parts of the country there are vocational advice services to help with retaining or obtaining a job, qualifications or voluntary work.
A: Medication can be a very important part of treatment for mental illness, often alongside other forms of treatment. While it is not a cure, medication helps alleviate the symptoms of a mental illness and may enable someone to regain the independence they had lost.
A: There are many kinds of talking therapy ranging from informal chats with mental health professionals such as key workers to Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) or Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). Counselling may also be appropriate and this can be either for a set number of sessions or provided on a more long term basis.
A: A service user is the term used for anyone who accesses mental health services.
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A: Service user involvement is a way of getting people who use mental health services to be involved in the planning, delivery and evaluation of those services. Anyone who uses any kind of service for any period of time will quickly notice what works well for them and what doesn't. It is important that these views are fed back to the people who make the decisions so that they can best tailor services for the future.
A: Many CMHT's employ Carer Support Workers. In Andover and Winchester, they are recruited by the Princess Royal Trust for Carers but sit within the CMHT's. See the relevant directories for contact details.
A: Contact the Project Worker in your area for more information, read the website or talk to other service users to find out what is going on. Contact details are on our Home Page. There are usually vacancies for volunteer service user reps within the Project - duties include anything from attending meetings, going to conferences, attending training, sitting on interview panels, drafting reports or presentations, giving presentations or helping to design this website!