A new mental health service, commissioned by NHSE, providing specialist support for survivors and victims of sexual abuse and assault has been launched.
The Enhanced Mental Health Pathway for Sexual Abuse and Assault (EMHP SAA) pathway will provide specialist intervention and consultation for people in Norfolk who would otherwise struggle to access the therapy they need.
The service, which is part of Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, includes four practitioner psychologists and a psychology assistant, who will be working closely with Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners including the Sue Lambert Centre, Survivors in Transition and the Independent Sexual Violence Advisor (ISVA) teams for Norfolk and Waveney.
Deidre Williams, associate chief psychological professions officer said: “We know that some people can struggle to access care for a number of reasons. These including slipping through gap between primary and secondary care or having complex presentations which can’t be met by community mental health teams (CMHT). We also see issues with marginalised groups and those who might avoid contact with services due to stigma or discrimination and our aim is to address this.”
The team expects its cohort of service users will have high prevalence of co-morbidities and reasonable adjustments and adaptations will be made to enable them to access therapy.
Referrals will be accepted from mental health professionals and VCSE organisation following consultation with the practitioner psychologists in the pathway who will be able to provide a range of evidence-based therapies to help with the trauma.
Deidre added: “We will aim to increase access to appropriate therapy through a ‘no wrong door’ approach, but where it becomes clear that a service user’s needs would be best met by another service, the EMHP practitioner will liaise with this service to enable access.”
NSFT’s chief nurse Anthony Deery said: “We want everyone to be able to access the support they need and this service will help those people who are referred to us with complex issues and needs. Our aim is to offer a safer, kinder and better way to make sure they don’t fall through the gaps.”
