Intensive community support for children and adolescents

The intensive community support (ICS) in Rotherham and intensive home treatment in Doncaster offer an alternative to tier 4 mental health facility admissions. They provide intensive community-based mental health support and therapeutic interventions when needed.

Intensive community support

The service provides support for young people with long-term mental health issues, aiming to reduce the need for repeated Tier 4 admissions. By working intensively with families and communities, it helps young people stay at home and avoid crisis situations. For those needing Tier 4 admission, the service ensures close coordination to shorten inpatient stays and offers continued support after discharge.

Intensive home treatment

The intensive home treatment service focuses on risk management and providing support to the young person and their family, using therapeutic approaches when appropriate. It ensures regular consultation and advice, with information shared among professionals involved in the young person’s care.

The service aims to prevent tier 4 admissions, but if necessary, it supports early discharge and ensures reviews alongside the lead professional. Intensive support is provided for up to eight weeks, with the length of intervention determined through regular reviews. In exceptional cases, this period may extend. For young people transitioning from tier 4 facilities, the duration of intensive support depends on their reintegration and stability.

Young people who may require the intensive home treatment service include those with:

• severe psychotic presentations, in collaboration with the Early Intervention in Psychosis team
• emerging personality disorder, frequent emergency department visits, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts with intent
• severe obsessive-compulsive disorder impacting daily living
• significant risk of self-harm or suicide with intent
• repeated and serious deliberate self-harm
• severe depression severely impacting daily living
• severe agoraphobia, affecting access to support and education
• eating disorders at risk of requiring admission, in close collaboration with the eating disorder hub

These cases may require either the intensive home treatment service alone or in coordination with other services and agencies.

Page last reviewed: February 13, 2025
Next review due: February 13, 2026