ABSTRACT
One of the most distinctive features of Assertive Outreach Teams is their approach to team working. Whereas community mental health teams tend to function as a collection of individuals who meet once a week to discuss a limited proportion of their work, staff in Assertive Outreach Teams work very closely together to provide a fully integrated service. There may be slight differences in exactly how this team working is done, but the effects of it are felt by both staff within the team and the people who receive a service from it. This gives a different flavour to the work and is one of the key factors in engaging people and encouraging them to remain engaged with the team. It is also an important tool in enabling the team to meet the very complex and enduring health and social difficulties of service users in a holistic way, whilst avoiding discontinuities caused by staff changes and absence. We would also like to argue that it provides a psychotherapeutic function for both staff and service users by allowing the team to contain and process difficult feelings and emotions.
