My experience with the EIP service

When you’re at a stage where you need the early intervention in psychosis team, there’s no doubt you’ll be scared and have lots of questions. You might even be paranoid that any medical professional is out to get you or somehow plays a role in a delusion/belief you’re having at that time which might prevent you from accepting their help. A lot of us who have used the service have experienced that, so understand how confusing it is and how brave it is to accept their help. 

The staff at EIP are humans too, they’re really kind and ready to understand the journey you’re on. For me it was like I was on a disastrous ride through a really dark place, and I didn’t trust them when they reached out their hand and told me they would get me off the ride. They put my mind at ease and I decided to give it a chance, because how much worse could this get without help? Far far worse. 

The initial meeting is a bit cloudy for me because that time in my life was also littered with calls and visits from the first response team to check on my welfare or provide instant support in difficult moments. I do however remember each member of staff at meridian house where EIP are based being extremely patient and understanding, and they were very keen to explain that there were lots of avenues they could take me down on the journey to getting mentally well again. I didn’t believe them at the time but I knew I had to give the treatment options a go to see if they really could help me. 

A big help at the beginning was being able to attend appointments with my husband, and have him heavily involved in my care and any decisions. The EIP team engaged with him and valued his input as he knew more than anyone what was normal for me and therefore what was not normal in terms of behaviour.

I was offered medication, therapy and a support worker for all round support which was a great combination. It took a while to master the art of which medication works for me, but a year down the line I’m really happy with the single pill I take every night to keep me on track. Even though I feel almost 100% better now I continue to take that tablet because I know workout it I could go backwards and I really don’t want that. 

I feel that EIP are a really unique group of people, they genuinely care about their patients and they’re extremely proactive in the care they provide which I feel really minimises situations where they need to be reactive.

Overall I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better service from them, I am a year into my illness and I wouldn’t be as far into my recovery without them, in fact I may not have even taken the first steps.

Lucy