Specialist Community Mental Health Team
Our Specialist Community Mental Health Team (SCMHT) provides specialist assessment, advice and signposting for adults with moderate, severe and enduring symptoms of mental illness such as severe depression and anxiety, as well as conditions like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder as well as community-based services for adults experiencing mental health problems in Wigan.
SCMHT care involves a change in focus from managing problems and symptoms to focusing on strengths and goals for the future - helping you to be in control of your own life and seek opportunities beyond your condition.
Putting recovery into action is about focusing on building your mental strength and resilience, not just on treating or managing your symptoms.
Who is our service for?
Our service is for adults with long-term mental health needs that would be best met by secondary mental health services. This includes people with mental health problems like schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and severe depression.
How to access our service
We aim to provide a timely response based on the urgency of your needs. This may include a face-to-face appointment within 7 days for urgent assessment or within 28 days for routine assessments.
If you have an assessment with the team, you will be asked different questions about your mental health symptoms and any other difficulties you may be experiencing which may be having an impact on your mental health. This will help us to understand your needs. Together, we discuss which service will be able to meet your needs best and develop a plan of care.
If we feel that ongoing support from one of our specialist mental health services is the best care plan for you, we will arrange for your care to be transferred to the most appropriate part of the service.
It may be that we feel other local services would be better able to help you, such as psychological therapy services or third sector organisations. If this is the case, we will also will be able to refer you onto these services so you can begin accessing help.
What will happen at your first appointment?
When you first join our service, you will be assessed by a member of staff from the SCMHT. After this assessment, we will work with you to put together a care plan.
Your care plan may include one single type of treatment, for example cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or it may include a number of different types of treatments. This may change over time but it will be explained to you and you should always be involved in making any decisions about your care.
As a service user, relative or carer using our services, sometimes you may need to turn to someone for help, advice, and support.
Find resources for carers and service users Contact the Trust