A new service has launched in Buckinghamshire to support people at risk of developing psychosis.

Buckinghamshire Early Engagement and Prevention (BEEP) supports people aged 14 to 35 who have experienced mild or brief psychotic symptoms. They aim to offer support and care to people as soon as possible to prevent them developing a first episode of psychosis which may lead to longer term, more distressing and challenging psychotic symptoms.

BEEP is part of the ground-breaking Early Intervention in Psychosis service which supports people experiencing their first episode of psychosis. NHS mental health services in Buckinghamshire are provided by Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust.

It is World Mental Health Day on Thursday 10 October.

Helena Laughton, Consultant Counselling Psychologist, said: “At Buckinghamshire Early Engagement and Prevention we work with people who have noticed a change in their mental health, mood, or behaviour and are showing signs that they are at increased risk of developing psychosis.

“We aim to identify, assess, and treat people aged from 14 to 35 when they experience, what we refer to, as an At-Risk Mental State. That means they may have experienced psychotic symptoms that went away within one week and without medication, have confusing, distressing, or unusual experiences which are infrequent or unclear or have a family history of psychosis and are having difficulty living their life in the way they would want.

“There are lots of things we can do to help people manage their experiences such as working with their family and friends, talking to a therapist about their experiences, keeping engaged with their interests, and getting the right support at school or work.

“We know that the sooner we are able to help people with these experiences, the more we can do to prevent something similar happening in future.”

A person may be in an At-Risk Mental State if they are recently:

• Becoming more suspicious or worried about people
• Feeling unsafe or that people are working against them
• Believing they have special abilities
• Noticing patterns or feeling things have a special significance
• Finding it hard to follow conversations and getting muddled in their thoughts whilst speaking.
• Feeling thoughts have been removed or tampered with, or that someone else is in control of their body
• Experiencing difficulties with relationships, daily activities, or struggling to cope at school, college or work, becoming more withdrawn and experiencing a loss of motivation
• Changes with senses (hearing, sight, smell, taste and touch).

If you, or anyone you know, is experiencing early symptoms of psychosis contact your GP.

You can also call Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire NHS 24/7 Mental Health Helpline via NHS 111.