ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses the core principles and function of a Crisis Resolution and Home Treatment (CRHT) service. It describes a service user perspective of an episode of mental health crisis. Mental health crisis and psychiatric emergencies are essentially different. A psychiatric emergency is when the person has gone beyond the breakdown phase and has adopted a maladaptive solution. The vast majority of mental health institutions were built as a result of the Lunatics Act 1845. They were large remote buildings that were viewed by the local populace with a significant degree of fear and stigmatisation. CRHT services are associated with the augmentation of community-based care for people suffering from acute mental health conditions for which hospital admission is being considered. A fully functioning CRHT team, with high fidelity to the original model, has been identified as improving users’ and carers’ experience of crisis intervention and the prevention of future admission to hospital.
