Search services
Search using key words or filter our services by age group, location or category
Services A–Z
Therapeutic Interventions for Distressing unusual Experiences Service (TIDES) - Norfolk & Waveney At-Risk Mental State Service
-
The TIDES team are a therapeutic service who work with help-seeking young people aged 14-35 who are at risk of developing a first episode of psychosis (FEP). Psychosis is characterised by positive symptoms such as hallucinations, delusions, altered reality and negative symptoms (such as emotional apathy and lack of drive). Many people with psychosis report that before their diagnosis, they experienced an extended period of sub-threshold unusual experiences which are collectively known as having an at-risk mental state (ARMS) (NHS England, 2016). These unusual things might be hearing and seeing things other people cannot, believing things that others do not or feeling paranoid that others are trying to harm you. It's important to know that a lot of people experience unusual things, and these experiences can be common reactions to things like stress, sleep difficulties, anxiety or trauma. For some people, however, these experiences can be very distressing and they can be an early warning sign of a developing psychosis. When people are experiencing an at-risk mental state, this early period of experiencing unusual things is accompanied by a decline in both social and occupational functioning. This happens alongside significant changes in mood and thinking which cause significant distress for individuals and their families. TIDES work with people who want support to better understand and cope with these unusual experiences.
- Base: 7 Unthank Road, Norwich, NR2 2PA
- Service Manager Lead: Community Team Manager - Faye Fox Early Intervention in Psychosis Service Manager - Kim Wilkinson
-
Address:
7 Unthank Road, , Norwich, NR2 2PA
- Reception phone number: 01603 671941 - email: NorwaveTIDES@nsft.nhs.uk
- Service hours: Monday to Friday. 09:00 - 17:00
- Why is seeking help early important?
- Who do we work with?
- What this service offers
- Access this service
- Visiting and onsite facilities
- How this service support carers including friends and family
- Urgent help
Why is seeking help early important?
Getting help when people experience unusual thoughts, feelings, or behaviours, such as hearing voices, feeling paranoid, or having unusual beliefs as early as possible after symptoms have appeared is very important. Evidence shows that early intervention can help people improve their experiences rather than have them worsen.
Alongside therapy, we work with people to set goals and get back to doing the things that they enjoy, which helps prevent people from becoming more isolated and not doing the things that they enjoy due to their symptoms.
Who do we work with?
TIDES work with 14-35 year olds who have begun experiencing unusual things in the past 12 months. These things may be:
- An extended period of seeing or hearing things that other do not
- Having worrying experiences that are confusing or difficult to explain
- Believing unusual things that others do not
- Withdrawing from friends or family
- Struggling with the day-to-day things they usually do
- Behaving in ways that others would think is out of character for them
Additionally, TIDES works with people:
- Who are struggling to do the things they usually do and who have someone in their immediate family (e.g. a parent or sibling), who have experienced psychosis.
This service supports people for up to a two-year period, and provides interventions to reduce the impact of their symptoms and to support social recovery.
Please note: we cannot work with individuals who have been prescribed antipsychotic medication for their unusual experiences.
What this service offers
How can TIDES support you?
Our team offers support from professionals depending on what you need and want. You may have a care coordinator, who will help coordinate support from various members of our team and other agencies. A care coordinator is someone who will work collaboratively with you to assess, plan, coordinate, monitor and evaluate your options and the services available to you. This approach will be entirely person centred and aims to meet your health, social care, educational and employment needs.
It may be that you don’t need someone to help coordinate your care, but you would benefit from seeing someone primarily for therapy. In this case, your main point of call would be a psychological therapist who would offer you support directly.
Psychological support
Sometimes the way we think, and feel can affect the way we act and this can impact on our lives. TIDES have trained staff to help you to understand your thoughts, beliefs and attitudes and how these affect your feelings and actions. The experience of unusual things can leave some people feeling anxious and fearful. Sometimes people are concerned that things won’t get better, or that things might get worse. 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. TIDES offer everyone a form of therapy called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, with a focus on your unusual experiences. Your therapist may also work with you on other areas of difficulty which are impacting on you being able to get on with the things you want to be doing (such as your mood, or different types of worries).
The team will work alongside you to identify and work on individual goals to work on.
Social Inclusion
Often when people have unusual experiences, you feel less like doing things and lose motivation to do things like look after yourself, go out or connect with a friend, or being in busy places. The social team of support workers can help you to maintain the activities and connections that are important to you, or help you to make new ones if you are feeling on your own and would like to try to go out more.
Quote from a service user:
“Social support made me able to be a normal teenager and do normal thigs without constant worry. It has made me aware it is not an individual experience- loads of people struggle.”
Vocational Work
Our team’s vocational worker can support you to return to or begin education or work, support you with finances and benefits and working alongside you to ensure you are able engage in the things that are meaningful to you.
Support can include building a CV and practising interview skills or supporting you in returning to work if you have had some time off due to your experiences. Identifying anything in your school, college or university that is causing a barrier to your learning. Researching local courses in areas of interest. If you are struggling financially, we will complete a benefits check and help you to apply for any benefits if appropriate.
Every session will be individual to you, and you and the vocational worker will work together to ensure a plan is made that will allow you to achieve the things that are important to you.
Access this service
Referrals to the TIDES team are accepted from GPs, practice nurses and secondary mental health professionals. The service asks these professionals to provide a brief history along of your difficulties when making a referral. These professionals can call us and speak to a member of the team to discuss your difficulties.
Clear criteria for referrals to this service are established nationally based on the type and duration of symptoms being experienced and your social and occupational functioning. This informs the assessment process and helps us understand if TIDES would be most appropriate service to meet an individual’s needs.
If you are concerned and are unable to get a referral from those mentioned above, you can call our team yourself or get someone in your family to request support.
Visiting and onsite facilities
We aim to see people where they are comfortable. This may be in the community in your home, a drop-in centre run by a voluntary organisation, or appointments can be made at clinical bases throughout Norfolk and Waveney.
How this service support carers including friends and family
When people access support at the Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust they are always asked who they would like to be involved in their care. Some people wish to keep their care private whilst others feel it would be helpful to include relatives, carers or friends.
If you are involved in someone’s care you may be invited to Care reviews to discuss how you feel things are going for the person receiving treatment and address any worries or concerns, you may have. We also like to hear if things are going well too!
When we meet with individuals within the support network of an individual, we will routinely ensure that you are getting the support required as caring for people who are unwell can be very emotionally demanding at times. This may involve offering a carers assessment for example or supporting you to access other services for support. Sometimes It’s just about giving some space over a cup of tea to chat about how you’re coping!
As a service we offer carers, relatives and friends the opportunity to meet with others who may be going through a similar experience. This can help reduce worries and offer support in a different way that enables people to not feel that they are the only ones going through a difficult time. Above all we aim to ensure that you feel valued, heard and supported throughout your time with our service.
There are times when difficult things have happened to people both within and outside families that can have a detrimental impact on someone’s well-being and recovery. The TIDES team have a number of trained staff who are able to offer support to the caring network to talk about some of these issues and think about how you can work together to resolve them. We often refer to this as family work and see families as pivotal in helping someone’s recovery journey alongside other methods of support.
How can you help?
When someone becomes unwell it can feel overwhelming and at times you may feel that you don’t have the expertise to help. As someone who is close to an individual accessing our service you can do a number of things that could help.
Stay calm - When we become anxious or worried, we find it more difficult to make rational decisions and may find ourselves doing things that maybe less helpful. Continue to try and stick to your routine and do the things that reduce your stress. This is very important.
Keep talking - When we stop communicating effectively, we can find ourselves feeling helpless and at times more stressed out. If you can protect some time to talk together this can be helpful in an individual’s recovery and makes sure that you are all looking after each other at what could be a worrying time.
Contact us - We can offer time to listen to your worries and support you to enable you to continue to offer the support required. We don’t always know how things will progress, but we do know that if we are all working together then we can expect the best outcomes. We acknowledge that we all have a lot of uncertainty and worry to
navigate when someone is unwell and how frustrating and upsetting this may feel. Therefore, we feel that is important that we are all able to speak openly and honestly about how we feel throughout your time with our service.
Get some individual help. This could be informal or more formal through your place of work. You may also wish to speak with your GP if you feel that your mental health is being impacted.
If you wish to find out more about the support we offer please speak to your allocated Case Worker. You can also contact us at TIDESfamilyhub@nsft.nhs.uk or call 01603 671901. Please note we may be unable to respond to your email for two working days so please do not use this email address in case of an emergency.
Quote from a service user (under 18) :
“Family support can make you feel heard - because it is not coming from you. It is coming from someone who understands the issues that comes from and adult so your supporters get a better understanding”
Urgent help
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.
Dial 111 and select the mental health option to speak to our 24 hour mental health crisis line called First Response.
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.