Early care unit
Early care unit
Specialized and intensive care service for people with first psychotic episodes and their families.
Aimed at people who are experiencing a psychotic crisis for the first time, an uncommon experience that is difficult to share and causes great suffering. In the UAT, people in crisis who are over 16 years of age and reside in Alcalá de Henares, along with their families or relatives, receive care provided it has not been more than 3 years since the first crisis.
Our goal is to help those suffering from this type of experience and provide treatment that is tailored to the needs of the individual and their family.
Early care in psychosis has proven to be the most effective factor in patient recovery. According to scientific research, the first three years constitute the critical period for intervention, and this is associated with an improvement in psychosocial and family functioning, reduction of relapses, and prevention of cognitive deterioration.
The UAT is a pilot research project launched in 2014 in collaboration with the Madrid Health Service and with the support of the Obra Social “la Caixa”, which serves patients and their families derived from the Mental Health Services of Alcalá of Henares. For this purpose, the UAT participates in various research projects carried out in collaboration with SERMAS and the Carlos III University.
The interdisciplinary team is a mixed team of Fundación Manantial and of the Prince of Asturias University Hospital, which is made up of professionals specialized in the field of psychiatry, psychology, nursing and occupational therapy. The intervention with patients and their families is reinforced by the professional participation of a mental health specialist couple based on experience. They work in the community environment of patients, paying special attention to individual psychotherapy, attention to families and coordination with the network of health, social and community resources.
The UAT is a pilot research project launched in 2014 in collaboration with the Madrid Health Service and with the support of the Obra Social “la Caixa”, which serves patients and their families derived from the Mental Health Services of Alcalá of Henares. For this purpose, the UAT participates in various research projects carried out in collaboration with SERMAS and the Carlos III University.
After requesting assistance at the UAT, two professionals from our interdisciplinary team immediately contact the person concerned to agree on a first meeting in which the professionals, the person served and the chosen associates who will accompany the treatment meet. The meeting takes place in the place that the person served and their environment prefer (home, neighborhood, UAT, etc.).
During a variable number of meetings, an assessment is made of what has happened to produce a crisis and of the needs of the person served and their family, after which a treatment plan is agreed upon that responds to the shared moment and that it will vary as needs change. These meetings, called Dialogical Meetings, will serve as the guiding thread of the recovery and will accompany the whole process from beginning to end, being the space in which decisions on treatment will be taken in a consensual manner.
The attention dedicated to the family allows to give a sense to the psychotic experience of the patient, to understand the symptoms, and to favor the confrontation of the crises in the family. The goal is to try to restore a balanced and healthy family system, working on aspects prior to the crisis and intervening in the consequences of the experience lived around the disease. The multifamily groups allow sharing personal experiences between different families with the young people and the Unit team. The objective is to think together what aspects of family relationships should be improved to promote recovery.
The request for attention is made through the reference professionals of the Mental Health Centers of Alcalá de Henares.
It can be done urgently through the professionals of the psychiatric emergency service and the psychiatric admission floor of the Prince of Asturias University Hospital.