Crisis Assessment Teams (Mental Health)

The Mental Health Crisis Assessment Team are available to help people experiencing an acute mental health crisis. The crisis teams’ aim is to address the immediate crisis that the person is experiencing, to connect people with on-going support, to promote recovery as well as offer support in co-ordination with police or emergency services. The crisis teams typically consist of mental health professionals; doctors, nurses, social workers and occupational therapists, with some also including peer support workers and cultural expertise. Mental health crisis teams can offer a range of services that include (but not limited to) crisis assessment and resolution, short term intervention, and referral on to appropriate services.

The crisis teams are mobile which provides the ability for a person to be seen in their own home, or other community spaces. Several mental health areas have contracts with Whakarongorau (New Zealand Telehealth Services) for crisis triage.  This means that the phone call to the crisis response service is answered by a mental health nurse employed by Whakarongorau who triages the call and decides on the appropriate response (including arranging a response from the local crisis team).