Mental Health Community services

Community Services

We offer four Community Mental Health Centres and an Early Psychosis service:

Southern Community Team in East Hampton
Clayton Community Team in Clayton
Dandenong Community Team in Dandenong
Casey/Cardinia Community Team in Berwick
Recovery and Prevention of Psychosis Service operating across the whole catchment

We provide treatment and case management for people with significant and complex needs. Case Managers work with clients and their carers to:

Clients are discharged from the service at an appropriate time usually with follow up by a General Practitioner and/or private psychiatrist.

This is a service for young people aged 16-25 years (and their families) who have experienced a first episode of psychosis.
Services include:

Assertive case management. Depending on the individual, this can involve regular home visits and telephone calls, outpatient appointments, and communication and advocacy with other services.
Advice and support regarding medication. We can assist you to identify which medications work best for you.
Group programs. We offer a number of different groups for example ‘Coping with Stress’, and a group to assist you in getting back to work and/or study. Sometimes we offer these groups with other services; for example the psychiatric disability and rehabilitation support service.
Educational groups are offered to help you understand psychosis and make the best possible recovery. Other groups aim to assist you in understanding mental health services and how they operate.

Specialist interventions such as:

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy – helping people recover by learning new thinking and behavioural strategies to cope with depression, anxiety and other psychotic symptoms.
Family group work.
Parent/carer groups. Caring for a person who is experiencing or recovering from psychosis can be difficult. Attending the carer groups provides a way for families to learn more about psychosis and gain extra support from other carers.