Early Intervention Mobile Outreach Service

Clinical service overview

EIMOS is one of five state-wide Intensive Mobile Youth Outreach Services (IMYOS) in Victoria. IMYOS services were developed to provide intensive outreach mental health case management and support to young people who display substantial and prolonged psychological disturbance. These young people may have complex needs including challenging, at risk and suicidal behaviours.

EIMOS clinicians work with children and young people who have been difficult to engage using less intensive treatment approaches. We work alongside other service providers to deliver the best holistic care for the child or young person we are working with.

We are a targeted service response that offers more flexible, assertive and intensive mental health treatment in the community than clinic-based services.

EIMOS provides mental health care to children and young people who may be:

• Exhibiting significant risk of adverse outcomes
• Struggling to engage with treatment
• Experiencing recurrent suicidal ideation, history of suicide attempts or other self-harming behaviour
• Presenting with developmental risks including a vulnerability secondary to developmental delays or further risk of disrupted developmental trajectory
• At risk of exploitation
• Criminally offending or displaying other similar challenging behaviour
• Using substances or dealing with homelessness

A significant proportion of the child or young person’s difficulties should be resulting from their mental health presentation, rather than an adverse situation, offensive behaviour or protective concern.

There should be a clearly defined and appropriate role for the provision of intensive mental health care, coordination and intervention in the context of the child or young person’s circumstances and current care team arrangement. This might include children and young people who:

• Have or require complex care team involvement
• Frequently require inpatient admissions or have frequent contact with mental health crisis services
• Display serious difficulty engaging with mental health services despite significant attempts from other providers to engage

EIMOS service provision model

EIMOS services are based on an assertive outreach model. This model includes a flexible and intensive approach to individualised engagement and support with the aim of empowering the child, young person, family, carer or care team.

The Intensive care coordination we provide enables us to develop an individualised system of support tailored to each young person’s needs.

We use therapy to address specific mental health conditions that may reduce each child or young person’s ability to relate to others, or impair other aspects of their everyday life or functioning.

EIMOS clinicians focus on working with the care team system to ensure collaboration between providers. This allows us to best understand and support children, young people and their families.

EIMOS clinical intervention includes:

• Proactive engagement of the consumer and completion of a comprehensive assessment of mental health and social wellbeing
• Intensive mental health care coordination and collaborative planning of intervention strategies with each child, young person and family
• Implementation of a variety of therapeutic interventions, including individual, parent and family therapy
• Medication provision and review overseen by the team’s Consultant Psychiatrist
• Assistance to engage with educational, occupational and social services to optimise health outcomes
• Collaboration, consultation and training to other providers that may be supporting the child or young person

Clinic times

Clinic consultants

• Dr Tom Davis: Psychiatry