At Dee ward and Harrington ward in Mersey Care’s Broadoak Unit, staff have trained as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy coaches. DBT is about learning to manage difficult emotions by letting yourself experience, recognise and accept them. Patients have their regular session with a psychologist but the coaches are on hand to help them use the skills as a coping strategy.

Formal DBT is traditionally a year long programme. This pilot introduces people to DBT skills by condensing it for people who may only be staying in hospital a few weeks and promotes a more psychologically informed approach to managing self harm on the wards.