ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the barriers and the way forward to achieving effective multi-disciplinary team working. It describes the process of setting up an effective mental health team in a primary care setting in Liverpool. Multi-disciplinary team working has become a conventional complement of mental health service delivery systems. Multi-factorial etiology of mental disorders, ranging from genetic to psychosocial factors, warrants a thorough multi-professional assessment. Teamwork makes it easy to complement each other's assessments and to arrive at a multi-dimensional understanding of mental health problems. Consensus about the conceptual basis of mental health care is a particularly important aspect of successful team working in mental health. The team adopted a shared care approach whereby members of all the relevant agencies were actively involved in managing patients with mental disorders. The team had concerns about a high volume of demand from the primary health care teams because of increased accessibility.
