Who are we?

The Psychological Services Staff Support Team (PSSST) is a specialist service developed to support the wellbeing of Lanarkshire’s Health and Social Care workforce.

We offer specialist mental health assessment and treatment for staff members working in Lanarkshire. Requests for support are welcomed from any member of Health and Social Care Staff working within Lanarkshire. We also accept referrals on behalf of individuals from Line Managers, Occupational Health (SALUS or EAPs) and Staff Care & Wellbeing.

What do we help with?

We welcome requests from staff members (or those acting on their behalf) who are experiencing the following types of difficulties:

• Psychological distress including anxiety, low mood, stress and sleep disturbance where the primary focus of intervention relates to work
• Post-traumatic stress symptoms related to a work related event, including intrusive memories, images, nightmares, being on edge or numb and detached
• Those who are distressed but unsure of what help they require, or are experiencing burnout and seeking advice on recovery

We are unlikely to be the most appropriate service to help if you have the following difficulties. We would however be happy to help you find the right support for you should you fall into any of these categories:

• Those whose difficulties do not relate to their employment, and the primary focus of intervention does not relate to work
• Those with complex and severe mental health difficulties
• Those whose primary difficulty is drug or alcohol use
• Those who require mental health support from a multi-disciplinary team (such as Psychiatry and/or Community Psychiatric Nursing), or inpatient psychiatric care
• Those with high risk suicidality or who are currently in crisis
• Those whose needs are better met by a specialist service

How can we help?

We offer a one off engagement appointment within 4 weeks of referral. At this appointment we will discuss what your difficulties are, what supports are the best fit for you, and plan together how to proceed. This enables us to begin to understand what’s going on for you and help you access the right support.

What happens next?

If your mental health difficulty has been directly caused by your experience in work (such as work related psychological trauma) OR if the primary focus of the psychological treatment you need relates to work, you will be placed on the PSSST waiting list for psychological therapy.

We can also provide intervention to staff members who cannot be seen in local mental health services due to confidentiality concerns. If your mental health difficulties would be better supported by a different service or team, we will contact that team on your behalf to arrange for you to be seen by them.

How do I request support for myself or someone else?

For further information or to request further support, please get in touch with us on:

• Telephone: 01698 754 943
• e-mail: pssst@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk