Posted on: 22 July 2022
Congratulations to Nicole Gluckman, Andrew Eagle, Maria Michalitsi and Nicola Reynolds, who have recently published an article in the Community Mental Health Journal.
The article titled “Adapting to the COVID‑19 Pandemic: A Psychological Crisis Support Call Service Within a Community Mental Health Team” (CMHT), reviews the value and acceptability of a brief telephone support service that was launched during the early stages of the Covid 19 pandemic. The service was for service users who were negatively impacted by lockdown measures and unable to access face to face support.
The review provided evidence that rapid access to brief structured telephone support is a meaningful addition to the normal service offer. The telephone service was popular with CMHT staff who valued the speed of access and reduced barriers to psychological support for their patients. Results from the audit demonstrated good patient uptake of the telephone service and provided valuable information on which components of the telephone sessions were most helpful.
The study provided evidence that telephone contact is a viable method of supporting a vulnerable patient group. There is reason to consider extending this model of telephone working to routine clinical practice, focusing on patients presenting with acute and immediate distress who have limited access to social support and digital platforms.