Wellington Early Intervention Service 

Capital and Coast DHB

Criteria: 13-25 years, experiencing psychosis for the first time

Area covered: Great Wellington region

Address: Te Whare Tipu, 21 Hania Street, Mount Victoria Wellington 6011
Ph: 04 806 0002
Fax: 04 8060605

Wellington Early Intervention Service

We provide a specialist service for young people, aged between 13-25 years, who live in the greater Wellington region, and who are experiencing psychosis for the first time. Early treatment and support will enhance recovery and help prevent problems in the long run.

How to use our service

We welcome contact from anyone who requires information including: young people, whānau and family members, GPs, and other health professionals. Then to be referred to our service, contact must be made through Te Haika (0800 745477). If appropriate we will offer an assessment.  If this shows you are experiencing a first episode of psychosis, we can work with you and develop a plan for treatment. You will be allocated a care manager who will be your main contact at the Early Intervention Service (EIS).

About our team

We are a team of qualified professionals including:

• Nurses
• Psychiatrists
• Clinical psychologists
• Social workers
• Occupational therapists
• An employment/study specialist
• Kai manaaki/Māori health worker
• A research and education coordinator
• Administrators

Services we provide

Our team provide a respectful, professional and friendly service. Assessment and treatment options will be explained and discussed with you.

• We aim to reduce the disruption to people’s lives by providing early intervention, community support, and group programmes.
• We will meet with you regularly to see how you are and how we can support you.
• We provide education about psychosis to individuals and families.
• Where possible, whānau, family members and other support people are welcome to be involved in assessments, treatment, and other appointments.
• We work together with social, educational, work-related and other support services.
• We have links to Māori Mental Health, Pacific Island Mental Health Services, Alcohol & Drug Services and other related services.
• We provide consultation, liaison and education about psychosis to other services in the community.

Contact details

Address: Tōtara House, 183 Montreal Street, Christchurch Central, 8011

Telephone: 03 335 4525

Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Referral criteria

Age: 18-30 years old

Please see the EIPP team page for people under 18 in Christchurch

Presenting issue: First episode of psychosis or after a duration of psychosis not previously treated by mental health services.

Location: Within Christchurch city and suburban areas. Rural areas in wider Canterbury are not covered by our service and instead are covered by the Rural Team.

Length of service: Up to 2 years

Referral process

Please contact the SPOE Team (Single Point of Entry) who will gather the relevant information so they can refer to the appropriate mental health service within the CDHB.

SPOE telephone (Mon-Fri, 8.30-5): 0800 920 092

SPOE usually take referrals from GP services, but can also take calls from concerned relatives, friends or the person themselves.

Many of our referrals also come from the Adult Inpatient Unit, and any person who meets our referral criteria can be referred to us while they are on the unit so we can arrange an assessment with them before or just after discharge.

Meet the team

Tōtara House is a multidisciplinary team made up of staff from the following professional backgrounds:

• Mental Health Nursing
• Social Work
• Clinical Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Occupational Therapy
• Pukenga Atawhai (Māori Mental Health)
• Community Support Workers
• Fitness and Activity Coaching
• Employment Support
• Administration

We also have close links with other professionals such as Drug and Alcohol workers, Physiotherapists, Dieticians and Dentists, who can offer support to people while they are under Totara House.

Our aims:

Tōtara House has been running since 1996, and was one of the first Early Intervention in Psychosis Services in NZ. We support young adults and their families who have been affected by a first-episode of psychosis. We work with people for up to two years and provide a wide range of different types of intervention and social, practical and emotional support. 

Our aim is to help promote someone’s symptom, social and personal recovery following an experience of psychosis. We help people to learn different ways to manage their symptoms alongside finding medications that suit them; we help get people back into work or study, depending on their individual goals; and we help people to make sense of their experiences and meet other people who have been through similar things, to help them to move forward with their lives. We also understand how difficult this time can be for the families of someone experiencing psychosis, and so we offer family support, through the team at Tōtara and also through our local partners such as Supporting Families Christchurch.

What people say about us:

“Nice family vibe, makes you feel like you’re at home. It’s a safe place to open up and talk about things. At first I was a bit scared, but with the friendly staff helping as much as they do I soon felt comfortable”. 

Waitematā EPI (Early Psychosis Intervention) Team 

Waitematā DHB

Criteria: 16-25 years with a first episode of psychosis where the predominant issue is psychosis. The team does not work with people who have received treatment for psychosis by a specialist mental health service for more than 6 months previously (except transfer of care from a different EIP team), nor where the primary diagnosis is dissociative disorder, PTSD, neurodevelopmental disorder, personality disorder or organic conditions such as head injury (where this is the predominant issue), nor when the symptoms of psychosis are in the context of substance intoxication or withdrawal.

Area covered: Waitematā DHB catchment area

In the North:

44 Taharoto Road, Takapuna

Ph: (09) 489 0555

Fax: (09) 441 8939

In the West:

Waimarino Building, 33 Paramount Drive, Henderson

Ph: (09) 822 8666

Fax: (09) 822 8672

The EPI team serves the West and North Auckland areas, which are in the catchment area for Waitemata DHB. The team is split into EPI West and EPI North. EPI West is based at the Waimarino Building, 33 Paramount Drive, Henderson. EPI North is currently based at 44 Taharoto Rd, Takapuna. The team provides an assertive outreach service, with intensive follow up for young people and their whanau experiencing a first episode of psychosis. The team may be available for up to 3 years for people under 18 at the time of referral, or for up to 2 years for people 18 or over. EPI is a multidisciplinary team, which includes psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, occupational therapists and nurses, and also works alongside Maori and Pacific cultural workers.

Entry criteria for EPI are:

All youth and young adults who reside within the Waitemata DHB catchment area who fulfil the following criteria:

• First presentation with psychosis where psychosis is the predominant issue.
• Prominent psychotic symptoms (delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, with associated distress and/or a marked decline in social and occupational function).
• Aged from 16 years and up to 25th birthday at date of referral.
• Referred by mental health service.

The 2 or 3-year treatment period will begin from first contact with the referring service and there must be at least 6-months of the treatment period remaining.

Exclusion criteria:

• Treated for psychosis by a specialist mental health service for more than 6 months previously (unless Transfer of Care from another Early Intervention Psychosis service and meets the above inclusion criteria).
• Where the primary disorder is a Dissociative Disorder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, a Neurodevelopment Disorder, Personality Disorder or Organic condition such as head injury (where the head injury is predominant issue).
• Where the psychotic symptoms are in the context of substance intoxication or withdrawal with perceptual disturbances.

Our vision is to intervene early, responsively and significantly using Early Intervention Psychosis (FREEDOM) principles to youth experiencing ‘First Episode Psychosis’ across the rural and urban MidCentral DHB region.

Contact eIMPACT:

8am – 4:30pm | 0800 264 977

After hours emergency | 0800 653 357

About us

For youth experiencing psychosis we can offer a two-year team approach as standard practice following assessment using internationally recognised psychosis assessment tools such as Comprehensive Assessment of At Risk Mental State (CAARMS). 

Other options include partnering with teams to add value to a young person’s journey through mental health and addictions services, a diagnostic service to assist in clarifying the best treatment approaches for (e.g. to identify or rule out psychosis), and recommendations for psychosis/youth interventions.

We are a team consisting of registered nurses, an occupational therapist and a social worker, with a part-time psychiatrist.

Who we are here for:

Individuals with suspected psychosis or confirmed first episode of psychosis; this is inclusive of mood disorder with psychotic features.

• Although our primary goal is to work with young people experiencing first-episode-psychosis, there is flexibility around this.
• On a case by case basis, consideration will be given to young people experiencing their second episode of psychosis or unstabilised psychosis where symptom recovery or effective treatment is yet to be achieved.
• Individuals 14 to 25 years of age at entry to service.
• We do not work with individuals presenting with substance-induced psychosis that self-resolves. (or those with a diagnosis of head injury or intellectual disability as their primary diagnosis).

What we can offer:

• An opportunity for the young person to explore an explanatory model of their psychosis, opportunities to make sense of their experience and master the tools of recovery.
• Techniques for lifestyle management of psychosis for both the young person and their family/whanau over key developmental stages.
• Where needed, alcohol and drug education, specifically in relation to psychosis.
• Specific education for family/whanau.
• Cognitive Behaviour Therapy for psychosis.
• Consumer and family/whanau development of relapse prevention tools such as early warning signs and strategies of intervention.
• Optimal medication interventions to reduce side effects, improve the consumers experience and improve functioning.

FREEDOM Approach

• Family/whanau involvement
• Recovery approach
• Engagement
• Early detection and intervention
• Developmental focus
• Optimal interventions – offering tailor-made evidenced base practice
• Minimising trauma & disability.

Values we base the service on

• Available and responsive to the needs of young people.
• eIMPACT = Early Impact: Young perople and family/whanau having a good first experience with mental health & addiction services.
• Partnering with family/whanau networks to best assist the youth.
• Early intervention as FREEDOM approach
• For young people to gain mastery over symptoms and back to full functioning over their lifetime.
• Journeying with the young person in a holistic way.

Click here for more information about the service.