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Early Intervention in Psychosis (Suffolk)

  • The Early Intervention in Psychosis Service supports people between the ages of 14 and 65 in Suffolk 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.

  • Service Manager Lead: Kate Parkes
  • Service Contact: Wickham Market Tel: 01728 448744 (Clinical Team Lead - Kira Golding), Bury St. Edmunds Tel: 01284 719780 (Clinical Team Lead - Michael Harnett)
  • Address:
    East Base: Riverview House, Wickham Market, IP13 0TA West Base: Wedgwood House,  West Suffolk Hospital,  Hardwick Lane, Bury St. Edmunds, IP33 2QZ
  • Service hours: Monday to Friday from 9:00 until 17:00.

What this service offers

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.

Urgent help

If support is needed outside the working hours of the Early Intervention team, call your GP or contact the Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) team on 0300 790 0371. 

If you are a service user and are in crisis and need support urgently you can contact your service on the number which will have been provided.  

Call 111 and select the mental health option to speak to our 24 hour mental health crisis line.

If you are with someone who has attempted suicide, call 999 and stay with them until the ambulance arrives. 

If anyone is at serious risk of harm, call 999 and ask for the police. 

For non-life threatening medical situations, call NHS111 on 111.  

For more information, see Help in a Crisis

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