Who we are
The Intensive Support Team is a small team which works as part of the Community Learning Disability Teams in St Helens and Knowsley. The team provides extra assessment and support for adults with learning disabilities, who sometimes also have autism and mental health problems, whose behaviours tell us they are struggling to cope.
For example, a person could be feeling very stressed and anxious about something and this is causing them to act out of character by hurting themselves or others or damaging things around them.
For some people, if this behaviour continues, it can be difficult for the people involved in their care to carry on supporting them in the way they would like. This is where our service can help.
We try to stop situations from reaching the stage where a person is unable to continue to live in their home or with their care provider.
We will work with you and other people involved in supporting you to understand more about what is causing you to feel distressed. We will use different techniques to help us with this, such as talking to you and your carers and carrying out observations.
There are different things we can do to help you manage and reduce your feelings of distress. We will work with you and those around you to write a care plan which tells you what support will be in place and who will provide it.
Our service is for adults with learning disabilities whose behaviour is challenging those involved in their care and who, because of this behaviour, may be at risk of a placement breaking down which could lead to an inappropriate hospital admission.
We also support people with learning disabilities who are at risk of offending and getting in trouble with the police.
We work closely with you, other health and social care professionals and anyone else who may be involved in your care. This includes your family and carers.
At your first appointment, we will talk to you to find out what your needs are so we can plan how to support you to live safely in the community. We can meet with you in your own home or somewhere else in the community that feels comfortable for you.
We will also meet with those involved in your care to gather more information to make sure we develop a support plan which is right for you.
Our service is accessed through the St Helens Community Learning Disability Team or Knowsley Community Learning Disability Team. You are unable to refer directly to the Intensive Support Team.
For many people, support from the Community Learning Disability Team is all they need, but the team will speak to the Intensive Support Team if they feel someone needs extra, intensive support to prevent a hospital admission or a placement breakdown.
Please be aware we do not provide crisis support. If you need crisis support, please see our crisis support page.