We’ve been following the news about the High Intensity Network’s ‘Serenity Integrated Monitoring’ (SIM) model over the last few days and we’re extremely concerned by what we’ve read. Thread

SIM requires people in distress to be seen both by mental health professionals and police officers, often without their consent. One slide describes the service provided by police officers as ‘coercive’ – which, as Bethan says, is just not appropriate. https://twitter.com/pixiegirle/status/1383860397870960649

SIM asks people, often women with ‘personality disorder’ diagnoses, to “take responsibility” for distress to reduce engagement with services. Material suggests that many who attempt suicide are not genuinely suicidal – stigmatising and actively dangerous.

One page of staff comments on SIM shows an apparently ‘positive’ outcome – that a staff member no longer “dislikes” a woman under their care. This is not an acceptable way to talk about people in distress. https://twitter.com/jaunty_aphorism/status/1383837232075722756

Like @CentreforMH, we want SIM to be urgently evaluated before it is rolled out further. Care should be trauma-informed, non-coercive and compassionate, not focused on financial outcomes nor based on stigmatising ideology. We have yet not seen evidence SIM meets this criteria.

One woman we've worked with for many years has been part of SIM, and while her experience was positive, she has also had long-term, trauma-informed, user-led support from us throughout. And this does not mean the approach is right: nobody should be criminalised for needing help.

Finally, we’d like to thank the many service users/survivors who have brought this to our attention and who are rightfully demanding answers. You can see a full thread of comments and critiques on SIM here: https://twitter.com/annedraya/status/1384103025652891652