This is a guide to who may be involved and what they do.

Advocate

An advocate is someone who represents carers' or service users' interests and who speaks on their behalf. Advocacy is the process of empowering people by enabling them to express their personal views and needs, secure relevant information and knowledge, and thereby make informed choices and achieve their rights and entitlements. There are many forms of advocacy in mental health. Independent mental health advocate. Specialist advocates who are trained to specifically work within the framework of the Mental Health Act to meet the needs of patients.

Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP)

An AMHP carries out a specialised assessment of a person's Mental Health needs and whether they need to be admitted to hospital under the Mental Health Act. Such assessments must be done jointly with medical professionals. If the outcome of the assessment is a recommendation for compulsory hospital admission, the AMHP can make an application for this. The AMHP also has a duty to inform the nearest relative.

Befrienders

Befrienders are usually volunteers who offer one-to-one support on a regular but flexible basis. Many have experience of using mental health services, or being a carer, or of providing support to others. Many people find this kind of support invaluable, especially those who find isolation or loneliness a problem, or who find going out alone difficult.

Care Co-ordinator

The Care Co-ordinator is a named individual who takes lead responsibility for ensuring that agreed services are provided, and may be a Social worker, a Community Psychiatric Nurse, Occupational Therapist or Doctor. The Care Co-ordinator will be the main contact and support worker for a person with a need for ongoing care, as part of the CPA process.

Mental Health Nurse

Mental health nurses are registered nurses trained in mental health. They work in hospitals, residential homes, drug and alcohol services, out-patient departments and day centres. Community Psychiatric Nurses (CPN's) are mental health nurses who work in community settings. They assess mental health and work with service users and carers to plan treatment and support in the community. They can also give medication (including depot injections) and provide information and/or referrals to other services and support networks in the local community and run nurse-led clinics.

General Practitioner (GP)

This is the name for family doctors who work in local surgeries or health centres. A significant part of their work will be with emotional or psychological difficulties. GPs can talk through problems, prescribe medication or make referrals as they see fit. Most mental health problems are dealt with by GPs without referral elsewhere. Some GP practices have counsellors, social workers or CPNs attached to their surgeries.

Intensive Community Support Worker (ICSW)

These workers who may also be known as Support time and recovery workers provide practical help with daily activities and are able to visit a service user at home, where the service user's assessment has identified this as a need. Visits might be as often as several times a week, including weekends, if necessary.

Job Coach/Mentor

A Job Coach or Mentor aims to support a service user in returning to work (whether paid or voluntary). Support is given in getting to and from work, at the place of work, and in learning appropriate skills for a period of up to 3 months.

Occupational Therapist

Occupational Therapists work in psychiatric units, day hospitals and in the community. They help people with mental health problems to develop or learn the skills required for daily living - for example, this could be in relation to domestic skills (cooking or cleaning), social skills or development of a social network. Their work could also include such areas as confidence-building and promoting self-esteem; they also carry out assessments for home discharge.

Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)

This provides a hospital-based service which aims to give 'on the spot' advice, information and support for service users and their carers who need to resolve concerns or seek solutions to difficulties.

Practice Therapists

Practice Therapists are based in GP practices. They provide assessment and therapy for people with more common mental health problems - for example depression, anxiety, phobias and stress. Where necessary they can recommend alternative help or refer to psychiatric services. Practice Therapists usually have some training in mental health in addition to a qualification in counselling or psychotherapy.

Psychologist

Clinical or Chartered Psychologists undertake extensive and specific training in psychological functioning and development. They have a key role in assessing a person's ability to function in terms of thinking, remembering and understanding, and personality traits. They do not prescribe medication but use a range of talking treatments in a group or individual context. They often work in community mental health teams.

Consultant Psychiatrists

Psychiatrists are medically qualified doctors who specialises in mental illness. Some develop further specialism's, for example work with children or adolescents, with mentally disordered offenders (the Forensic service) or with older people. They are responsible for assessment and care of patients, and they are the clinical leaders for the teams they work with, which may include community mental health teams, ward teams and rehabilitation teams. Other doctors will also form part of these teams. Registrars are completing specialist training, and often run outpatient clinics and ward rounds on behalf of the Consultant. Senior House Officers are doing a placement in psychiatry as part of their basic training in general medicine.

Psychotherapist/Psychoanalyst/Counsellor

These roles relate to each of the three main types of talking treatment - psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and counselling. They differ in terms of the methods used, the intensity and length of treatment, and in the training the therapists receive. A service user may have individual treatment or group therapy. Groups may deal with specific problems, for example grief, anxiety, violence or shyness. Social Worker As part of the Community Mental Health Team, a social worker will undertake assessment of people with mental health problems to identify their needs and possible services to help the service user to live as safely and independently as possible in the community. They can help with financial assessments. A Social Worker may be a Care Co-ordinator. Welfare Rights Worker The Welfare Rights Worker will give advice and support to service users and carers about benefits, debt etc. Some workers can help with form-filling and can support people through Tribunals. Most will provide support by telephone and/or face to face.