Educational reference
Treatment overview
Assertive community treatment provides intensive support delivered by a multidisciplinary team in the places where a person actually lives, rather than requiring them to attend a clinic.
It is used where difficulties are severe, where there have been repeated hospital admissions, or where maintaining contact with conventional services has been hard to sustain — situations in which appointment-based care tends to fail.
Teams are typically small relative to the number of people supported, available extensively, and shared, so support does not depend on one individual being present. Help commonly spans medication, physical health, housing, benefits, daily living and crisis support.
The intention is continuity: staying in contact through difficult periods rather than discharging someone when they disengage, which is often exactly when support is most needed.
Availability varies considerably between countries and regions, and access is normally arranged through specialist mental health services.