Acute

A disorder or symptom that develops suddenly that may or may not be severe, and are usually of short duration

Acute Services

Medical treatment provided mainly in hospital

AD

Advance Directive (also known as Advance Agreement, is a way of making your views known before a crisis when you may be unable to make informed choices)

ADHD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (see the ADHD condition category for more details)

Adults of working age

Adults aged from 18 to 65 years

Advocate

An advocate is a person who helps to support a service user or carer through their contact with health services

AMHP

Approved Mental Health Practitioner (social workers, nurses, occupational therapists or psychologists who have been approved by a local social services authority to carry out certain functions under the Mental Health Act)

AOT

Assertive Outreach Team (provides intensive support for severely mentally ill people who are difficult to engage in more traditional services)

AP

Adult Protection (protection of a vulnerable adult who may not be able to protect themselves from abuse as a result of their condition)

Assertive outreach

An active form of treatment; the service is taken to the service user rather than expecting them to attend for treatment

Assessment

A process to identify the needs of an individual and evaluate the impact of their condition on their daily living and quality of life

ASW

Approved Social Worker (a social worker with responsibility for assessing someone's needs, care and treatment under the Mental Health Act)

BME

Black and Minority Ethnic (used to name a community group made up of ethnic minorities)

CAMHS

Children & Adolescent Mental Health Services (pronounced Cams, the NHS mental health service for those under the age of 18)

Care Pathway

The name for a care programme which is designed to ease and coordinate the passage of a person through the health care system

Care Plan

A plan written in partnership with a mental health worker outlining the treatment/support/care that someone should receive

Carer

A relative or friend who voluntarily looks after someone who is unwell, disabled, vulnerable or frail, on a part-time or full-time basis

CBT

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (a group of therapies that focus on the thoughts, images, beliefs and attitudes that we hold and how this relates to the way we behave, as a way of dealing with emotional problems)

CHI

Commission for Health Improvement (established to improve the quality of NHS care by identifying best practice and where improvements can be made)

Chronic condition

A condition that develops slowly and/or lasts a long time

CJD

Creutzfeld Jakob Disease (a fatal brain disease first classified in the 1920s)

Client

Someone who uses health services - some people use the terms patient or service user instead

CM

Care Management (the process of assessing individual needs, allocating resources in a care plan, and monitoring objectives)

CMHT

Community Mental Health Team (a team made up of a range of professions - nurses, psychiatrists, social workers, clinical psychologists and occupational therapists - offering specialist assessment, treatment and care to people in their own homes and other community settings)

CMHTOP

Community Mental Health Team for Older People (helps older people, usually aged 65 and over, who have a mental health problem and live in their own home or a care home)

Co-morbidity

A term used to signify multiple illness

Commissioners

Usually used to refer to Primary Care Trusts, this is a team of people responsible for identifying what healthcare services local people want and need and for commissioning (which means arranging and buying) these services on their behalf from providers such as Sussex Partnership

Commissioning

The process by which commissioners decide which services to purchase and which provider to purchase them from

CPA

Care Programme Approach (the guidelines that mental health workers are supposed to follow to assess someone's needs and develop plans for their care)

CPN

Community Psychiatric Nurse (specialist nurses who work within local communities to assess needs, plan and evaluate programmes of care, and to provide psychological treatments and support)

Crisis

A mental health crisis is a sudden and intense period of severe mental distress

CRT

Crisis Resolution Team (also known as Home Treatment Team, a team which tries to manage or limit the crises suffered by mental health service users and support people to remain at home, providing an alternative to inpatient hospital care)

CSW

Community Support Worker (a worker who is part of a CMHT and who supports those with mental health problems in the community)

CTO

Community Treatment Order (a legal order that allows a patient to be discharged from formal detention onto supervised community treatment)

DAT

Drug & Alcohol Team or Drug Action Team (a team of workers who help those with addiction problems)

Day Care

Communal care which is usually provided away from a service user's place of residence with carers present

Day Hospital

A hospital where patients receive day care only (they continue to live at home) where a person would typically attend for several hours during the day, rather than just attending a specific session as part of their programme of treatment and care

DD

Dual Diagnosis (refers to people diagnosed with mental health problems who also use illicit drugs and/or alcohol)

DDA

Disablity Discrimination Act (this 1995 Act, significantly extended in 2005, aims to end the discrimination that many disabled people face by establishing certain rights)

Dementia

A condition characterised by deterioration in brain function, almost always due to Alzheimer's disease or to cerebrovascular disease, leading to progressive memory loss, disorientation and confusion

Dementia beds/wards/units

Inpatient services for people with dementia, the vast majority of whom are elderly (they are usually admitted to hospital because their condition has suddenly worsened and they need to be in a safe environment while their condition is assessed so the right care and support can be put in place to help them regain their independence)

DID

Dissociative Identity Disorder (the most complex dissociative disorder, also known as Multiple Personality Disorder or MPD)

Direct Payment

A local authority payment to a person who can then use it to purchase social care, rather than the care being provided directly by the local authority

DLA

Disability Living Allowance (a tax-free benefit for children and adults who need help with personal care, or have walking difficulties, because they are physically or mentally disabled)

DOH

Department of Health (government department responsible for the health of the nation)

DSH

Deliberate Self-Harm

Early Intervention

A service for people experiencing their first episode of psychosis - research suggests that early detection and treatment will significantly increase recovery

ECT

Electroconvulsive Therapy (one of the most controversial treatments in modern psychiatry, used mainly for severe depression which has not responded to other treatments)

EMI

Elderly Mentally Ill (those over 65 with a mental health diagnosis)

Foundation trust

An NHS trust that has been granted greater decision-making powers from central government control so that they can be more responsive to the needs and wishes of their local people

Functional mental health problem

A term for any mental illness in which there is no evidence of a physical cause, and is not related to age, such as depression or schizophrenia

General adult beds/wards/units

Inpatient services for adults of all ages with severe functional mental health problems

GP

General Practitioner (your local family doctor)

HOSC

Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee - a county/city council committee responsible for scrutinising the details and implications of decisions about changes to health services, and scrutinising the processes used to reach those decisions

HP

Health Promotion (the process of enabling people to exert control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health)

IAPT

Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (an NHS initiative enabling better access to talking treatments than previously)

IMCA

Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (a service that provides a specialist advocate to support and represent a person lacking capacity to make decisions about their care and treatment options)

IMHA

Independent Mental Health Advocate (specially trained advocate who a qualifying patient has a right to receive help from on matters such as their rights under the Mental Health Act)

Inpatient services

Services where the patient/service users stay in hospital, accommodated on a ward, and receive treatment there from specialist health professionals

JCB

Joint Commisssioning Board (commissions, monitors and evaluates the shared budget for council and NHS care services)

LD

Learning Disability (a term describing a permanent condition that affects a person's capacity to learn which is not an illness)

LINks

Local Involvement Networks - responsible for ensuring the voice of service users and the public is heard, LINks cover the same areas as county councils and are responsible for finding out what people think, making recommendations to the people who plan and run services and referring issues to HOSCs where they feel it is necessary

MDO

Mentally Disordered Offenders (refers to people who have been compulsorily detained in high security psychiatric hospitals)

MHA

Mental Health Act (the government Act that deals with the legal aspects of mental health)

MHAC

Mental Health Act Commission (regulates the implementation and use of the current Mental Health Act)

MHRT

Mental Health Review Tribunal (an independent body that decides whether a formal patient should be discharged)

MHSW

Mental Health Support Worker (a general term for someone who works to help people with mental health problems)

MILD

Mental Illness and Learning Disabilities (a term which brings together two different but sometimes related kinds of mental disablement)

MPD

Multiple Personality Disorder (the most complicated form of dissociative disorder, also known as Dissociative Identity Disorder or DID)

Multi-disciplinary team

A team made up of both health and social care workers

Nearest Relative

A person's nearest relative has a number of powers and is identified according to the rules set out in section 26 of the Mental Health Act

NHS West Sussex

The business name for West Sussex Primary Care Trust

NICE

National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NHS body which provides authoritative and reliable guidance on best practice)

NIMHE

National Institute for Mental Health in England (government body that supports local areas to develop their mental health services)

NMD

Neurosurgery for Mental Disorder, also known as Psychosurgery

NSF

National Service Framework - a set of quality standards and best practice guidelines for services developed by experts and issued by the Department of Health

OCD

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (see OCD condition category for more details)

Older adults/older people

Usually taken to mean those aged 65 years and over

Organic mental health problems

Illness affecting memory and other functions that is often associated with old age, such as dementia

OT

Occupational Therapy/Therapist (the assessment and treatment of physical and psychiatric conditions using specific activity to promote independent function)

Outpatient services

Medical care provided in a hospital or clinic to a patient/service user who visits just to receive that service and then returns home

PB

Personal Budget (a person's allocation of funds for their social care, part of Self-Directed Support - see SDS)

PCT

Primary Care Trust - local NHS body responsible for identifying what services local people want and need and for commissioning (which means arranging and purchasing) these services on their behalf

Practice-based commissioning

GP practices and groups of practices working together to take more control over deciding what is arranged and purchased for their patients

Primary Care

General health care services provided by GPs, their staff, and social care services

Psychiatric intensive care

Services to support mental health service users in a very severe acute phase of illness

Psychotherapy or psychological therapies

Treatment of mental and emotional problems, such as anxiety, depression or trauma, by psychological methods whereby patients talk to a therapist about their symptoms and problems with the aim of learning about themselves

PTSD

Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (see the PTSD condition category for more details)

Rehabilitation

A programme of therapy and support designed to restore independence and confidence and reduce disability, which may include occupational therapy to help with domestic and vocational skills that people will need when they return to living independently

Respite care

Provides an opportunity for a carer to have a break

RMN

Registered Mental Nurse (a nurse who works in mental health and may go on to further study to become a Community Psychiatric Nurse)

RSW

Registered Social Worker (a person employed by a local authority who provides help and support to residents)

SAD

Seasonal Affective Disorder (a type of depression mainly caused by a lack of sunshine during winter months)

SCT

Supervised Community Treatment (arrangement where a patient is discharged from detention in hospital under the Mental Health Act and is required to comply with conditions set out in a community treatment order)

SDS

Self-Directed Support (a system which gives people more control over their social care needs)

Secondary Care

Services for people with more severe mental health needs, such as CMHTs, CRTs, EIP services and inpatient wards.

SEMI

Severe and Enduring Mental Illness (a term used to describe a long-term mental health problem)

Service user

This is someone who uses health services - some people use the terms patient or client instead

SHA

Strategic Health Authority (a government body that checks NHS performance according to Department of Health guidelines)

Social care

Personal care for vulnerable people, including individuals with special needs which stem from their age or physical or mental disability, and children who need care and protection

Social inclusion

Ensuring that vulnerable or disadvantaged groups are able to access all of the activities and benefits available to anyone living in the community

SoSA

Self or Supported Assessment (a form which is used to decide a social care Personal Budget for someone using the Self-Directed Support system - see SDS)

SPT

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (the local NHS trust which provides mental health services in Sussex)

SSD

Social Services Department (the local authority department dealing with social care for residents)

St. John's Wort

A plant used as a herbal remedy for centuries, but currently it is most often used in tablet form to treat depression (see St. John's Wort in the Conditions/Therapies category)

Stakeholder

Person or organisation with a direct interest in a service or practice.

Stigma

Society's negative attitude to people, often caused by lack of understanding - stigma is a major problem for people who experience mental ill health

STR Worker

Support, Time & Recovery Worker (a mental health worker who focuses directly on the needs of service users, providing them with support, giving time to them, and thus promoting their recovery)

Tertiary Care

Care of a highly specialist nature typically provided in regional centres

Third Sector

The Third Sector (also called the Voluntary Sector or Community Sector) is the sphere of social activity sitting between the public and private sectors, which is undertaken by organisations that are non-profit-making and non-governmental, such as charities and social enterprises

vCJD

Variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (a variant of CJD first reported in 1996)

Vulnerable adult beds/wards/units

Inpatient services for adults with severe functional mental health problems but whose symptoms, condition or age make them particularly vulnerable or susceptible to the environment they are in and are best cared for in an environment with people who have similar conditions

WHO

World Health Organisation (the directing and coordinating authority for health within the United Nations)

WSPCT

West Sussex Primary Care Trust (the PCT that covers the whole of the West Sussex geographical area)