Rehabilitation Mental Health Services are a highly responsive, assertive recovery orientated multidisciplinary service within Metro South, aimed at improving functional outcomes for consumers with a mental illness. Rehabilitation Mental Health Services focus on mental health rehabilitation with an explicit belief that people can and do recover from mental illness.

Rehabilitation Mental Health Services provide mental health services to consumers who are aged 18 to 65 years (16 years and over if living independently) who are affected by mental illness and would benefit from a specialised rehabilitation service. Services are designed to be provided in the least restrictive manner but also include people cared for under the Mental Health Act 2016.

The key functions of Rehabilitation Mental Health Services are to:

• provide assertive, recovery-oriented mental health rehabilitation that minimises the impact of mental illness on consumers, their family/significant others and carers 
• facilitate access to a broad range of clinical and non-clinical services to enable consumers to establish, re-establish or reclaim a meaningful life 
• work in partnership with consumers to develop their personal support systems and to participate fully in their communities 
• engage with non-government organisations, primary care and other service providers to enable access to early intervention in the recovery continuum. 

Services we provide

Rehabilitation Mental Health Services have five core service delivery areas:

Community care units

Community care units (CCUs) are transitional accommodation facilities for mental health consumers who are in recovery but require additional assistance to successfully reintegrate to community living. CCUs offer a self-contained, residential environment where consumers can learn or relearn everyday living skills with the support 24 hours per day. The value of CCUs lie in their ability to provide individually tailored programs, creating opportunities for consumers that enhance quality of life and assist in a transition to an increased level of independence and eventual move to other community residential options. Lengths of stay in CCUs vary depending on the level of rehabilitation and supported recovery required by each individual.

Mobile Intensive Rehabilitation Teams

Mobile Intensive Rehabilitation Teams (MIRT) are highly responsive, assertive treatment and recovery orientated multidisciplinary service, aimed at improving the quality of life for consumers with complex mental health needs requiring intensive intervention in the community. The MIRT assist to facilitate the development or re-engagement with meaningful life roles for consumers, with an explicit belief that people can and do recover from mental illness.

Early Psychosis

Early Psychosis (EP) Services focus on providing a developmentally attuned service to young people between 16 years of age and 24 years and 11 months who are experiencing a first episode psychosis.  The service aims to provide intensive, assertive outreach treatment, as well as minimising the stigma associated with psychosis, including the impact of distress/trauma on both the young person and their family.

Transitional Housing Team

The Transitional Housing Team (THT) provides transitional accommodation in THT units, and intensive domestic and community support to consumers for up to a six month period.  THT aims to provide consumers with the skills, support and community networks required to live successful and meaningful lives in stable accommodation in their local communities. On completion of this intensive support program, consumers will be assisted to move on to stable housing with appropriate follow up mechanisms in place.  There is one Transitional Housing Team based within the Princess Alexandra Hospital catchment area but serving the inner metropolitan area of metro north and metro south.

Casuarina Lodge

Casuarina Lodge is a 40-bed inpatient unit which provides a specialised neuro-rehabilitation program for those with an acquired brain injury (ABI) and/or mental health diagnosis in the broad working age group. The Casuarina Lodge program offers a holistic, consumer-led service with principles based on connectedness, social participation and empowerment to facilitate community integration.

Accessing our service

Metro South Addiction and Mental Health Services can be contacted via:

• Phone: 1300 MH CALL (1300 64 22 55)
• Fax: 3078 2120

All initial assessments conducted by the triage team will assess the risk and immediate mental health needs of the individual. Typically an individual will be referred into the Rehabilitation Service from another internal treatment team. Triage is often completed by other clinical teams, whilst an individual has been in the inpatient services or in another team. A clinical handover will occur to ensure the needs of the consumer are identified and an appropriate care plan can be established with the consumer, carer and/ or family members.

Referrals

To ensure your service needs are met in a timely manner we would request the following information at time of referral:

• For General Practitioners: Please note concerns about the persons functioning and their motivation for rehabilitation 
• For Health Practitioners: Rehabilitation targets and persons goals and motivation. 
• Self or carer referrals: Our triage clinicians will guide you through any additional information that may be required. We are particularly interested your recovery goals. 

Bulk billing clinics

Under the National Health Care Agreement, Queensland public hospitals and clinics can bulk bill Medicare for some services. This applies where we have a ‘named referral’ from your GP to an approved Consultant Psychiatrist. It is the consumer's choice to be seen as a bulk billed patient or a public patient. If consumers are seen as a bulk billed patient, they may have access to one of our Consultant Psychiatrists (if available) with right of private practice, rather than being treated by a publicly appointed doctor. Our clinics will continue to offer services free-of-charge and there will be no additional ‘out of pocket’ expenses for your consultations.

Therapies

An individualised rehabilitation plan will guide all interventions and will be designed around the person’s preferences, goals and needs. Rehabilitation Mental Health Services focus on remediating disability of mental illness. Rehabilitation Mental Health Services recognise that rehabilitation should be part of care in all phases of recovery from mental illness but provides specialised rehabilitation to people whose recovery needs can be best met by this model of service, independent of diagnosis.

Consumers will be supported to access a range of biological psychological and social interventions and rehabilitation services which meet their individual needs such as:

• cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis (CBTp) – a therapy aimed a maximising self-management strategies and minimizing distress secondary to residual symptoms 
• cognitive remediation therapy (CRT) – aimed at remediating the attention, memory and planning deficits that may accompany mental illness 
• social cognition remediation therapy – a therapy aimed at problems understanding social and emotional situations 
• dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) 
• motivational interviewing 
• solution focused therapy 
• relapse prevention and medication management 
• family education 
• psychosocial education 
• sleep management, activity scheduling 
• communication skills training, living skills training, 
• coping with unwanted thoughts and/or auditory hallucinations 
• dual diagnosis therapy – aimed at addressing co-existing substance use problems 
• peer support
• sensory groups.