Teamwork Within Mental Health Services in Ireland: Resource Paper

Steps towards effective teamworking in Community Mental Health Teams

“…2). Teams may encounter difficulties associated with each stage of development, and ways to manage these are detailed in Table 1 (Byrne & Onyett 2010).…”

“…However, this competition and subsequent choosing of a particular 'professional' model (e.g., the biopsychosocial model) (Clare 1976) is time poorly spent, as it does not satisfy the diverse needs of service users (Byrne & Onyett 2010). What is required is an integrative and flexible 'recovery' model that:…”

“…• Empowers service users to reclaim ownership of their own life story (Owens & Ashcroft 1982) and 'take action' in resolving problems (Mental Health Commission 2008). • Defines recovery not as total remission of symptoms or cure, but as supporting service users in fulfilling their aspirations as socially included citizens (Byrne & Onyett 2010). • Highlights the necessity of ongoing therapeutic input and the need for significant teamworking and collaboration between different agencies so that all service users' needs are addressed (World Health Organization 2005).…”

“…In this person-centred approach, working with their assigned care co-ordinator (or key worker), service users are proactively empowered to define what recovery means to them as individuals, and to accordingly formulate and drive the implementation of their needs-based care plan (Mental Health Commission 2008). Moreover, the role of mental health services is to support service users in fulfilling their potential in all life domains -from their well-being to their participation in social and community activities, education and employment (Mental Health Commission 2008;Byrne & Onyett 2010).…”

“…However, achieving this is dependent on environmental, structural and process factors that interact with each other as teams develop over time (Byrne & Onyett 2010). Building on guidelines from the Mental Health Commission's Teamwork in Mental Health Services in Ireland (Byrne & Onyett 2010), this paper aims to highlight how to best manage these factors in order to facilitate effective teamworking and recovery-based care in CMHTs. First the stages of team development are outlined.…”