These care centers or CATTP, places of listening and sharing, make it possible to help bipolar people live better on a daily basis.
Some elements and some traces of personal testimony.
A CATTP (Part-Time Therapeutic Reception Center) is a place for care, meetings and expressions. It is an alternative toThe day hospital (HDJ) and this center is managed by the Medical and psychological center (CMP) in your sector.
It is an alternative to hospitalization for the attention of mental health patients who live at home.
These places are not properly medicalized (even if their staff Is made of Caregivers, we will come back to it).
That is to say, you must already be followed outside by a physician, or a psychiatrist, to make a Request for a prescription from a CATTP.
(The psychiatrist is not necessarily one of a medical-psychological center, a liberal can also prescribe it).
You will then have to have the CATTP's referring psychiatrist agree to your request, but as it will be supported by your own doctor's prescription, there is little chance that you will not be accepted unless your own doctor went the wrong way by presenting you with something that would in fact not be appropriate (for example a day hospital).
The list of organizations for bipolar.
Les CATTP are mainly points of reception, listening, exchange and of accompaniment and this through a very large number Mediations.
Life in psychiatric institution can be difficult, but it also has its pros.
Because of our natural empathy linked to our own pathology, it is common to form close relationships with others patients, which is often called”Users“.
Users are a diverse community of people suffering from different psychiatric disorders, such as the bipolarity, the borderline personality disorder, the schizophrenia, the depression, and many more.
In general, any patient suffering from psychiatric disorders whose doctor recommends access to a CATTP may become a user.
The CATTP can then offer valuable support and companionship for those who suffer from bipolar disorders.
Users can find a fellowship who understands them and who supports them, which can be a real relief for those who find it difficult to find support outside the institution.
Les CATTP also offer a safe and structured space for users, with social activities And support groups to help them recover.
It also allows you to leave home, to set an agenda, to forge social ties therefore, and thus to reintegrate socially.
However, the CATTP (in general) are aimed at persons considered to be relatively stabilized.
However, we are not going to be “fired” from a CATTP because we have fallen back into depression for example.
Hospitalization A complete hospital can then be recommended, a day hospital, or adapt the user's schedule.
We then talk about “treatment-like” mediations more than cultural mediation for example.
Before discussing the subject of meditations, it is important to understand the team of professionals who surround the user in a psychiatric institution.
Generally, users are welcomed by psychiatric nursing staff who leads activities (mediations) and who is available for individual listening time with people in pain.
Although there is always a referring doctor to monitor the patient's support, the latter is not present on site and does not prescribe treatment.
It simply complements the work of your regular psychiatrist by doing a Overview of user monitoring at CATTP twice a year and by visiting CATTP for this purpose.
As a user, you can expect a team of mental health professionals working together to help you get well.
Les psychiatric nurses are there to animate activities and provide a supportive emotional, while the referring doctor is there to follow up on your accompanying in an institution.
Together, they offer a full support to help you managing your psychiatric disorder and to recover in a safe and structured environment.
“CATTP is my oxygen. My only social connections. The only times when, in addition to my bipolarity, my Generalized Anxiety Disorder goes away. The only time I am myself.”
Occupational therapist trainees, or even occupational therapists at all, are often present to support psychiatrists.
Some CATTPs talk aboutsocial workers And of psychologists but often you actually have to refer to the Medico-Psychological Center. (Note: you can definitely have a psychiatric follow-up on your own, but see the social worker or psychologist at the Medico-Psychological Center).
Each week there is a team meeting to take stock of each patient.
Thus, the follow-up is well carried out.
Les activities offered in mediation are very diverse and vary according to the CATTPs.
It can be drawing, painting, music, writing, writing, acting, acting, acting, hiking, hiking, visiting regional sites, museums, crafts, gardening, cooking, cooking, movie screenings, walks, and more.
These activities take place mostly in half days, although some are organized over a full day.
They take place from Monday to Friday, except weekends and holidays.
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A CATTP's schedule can be recurring, but it can also change every week.
Everyone is free to register for activities that interest them.
At the first appointment with the doctor following theaccompanying, the number of half-days of participation is defined.
In general, it is proposed to start with three half-days.
Then, the needs of presence are Refined With the nurses.
There is no fixed commitment, it is possible to go to CATTP regularly for six months, then stop going there as much if the need is no longer there.
In this case, just talk to nurses To organize a support appointment with the doctor referring to the CATTP.
There is no need to worry, as there is no strict requirement to attend CATTP at fixed times every two days, for example.
The schedule is very flexible, unless there is great suffering and the CATTP tries to prevent hospitalization by encouraging people to come there more regularly.
In this case, there may be some pressure to attend a minimal number of activities, but overall, participation is very free and flexible.
My testimony:
A table is available offering activities over two weeks in the two CATTPs that I have known, including the current one. Everyone signs up where they want. (Normally there are no real space restrictions except for outdoor activities requiring that you be transported via the small traffic truck, for example from the CATTP. And now, with the Covid period, places are very limited, a quota must be respected and not exceeded.) So we put our name on it, we call us on the phone as soon as we can if we finally can't come.
In my case, I experienced two different CATTPs. In both I had the choice of receiving the program spread over two weeks by email or by post, and either I registered when I was there, or by calling them. It is of course advisable when you register for an activity to keep your commitments or otherwise to apologize by phone.
Note that sometimes a small symbolic amount is requested for activities (2 euros for a pottery day where you can take your pieces home, 3 euros for the cinema, 2 euros for a cooking workshop, 10 euros for a museum and restaurant day... are examples that I have been able to know).
I think I've been doing the CATTP for 5 years. I spent 3 and a half years in a CATTP in a sectorization area with a fairly old audience. I was 25 when I arrived, but I blossomed there. I then did a lot of writing workshops, board games, movies, going to the market, walks, and welcoming people over coffee. Then I moved and for 1 year and a half I have blossomed even more because it is a place more at my age. I regularly practice writing, theater (excluding covid), hikes, active walks, karaoke, musical blind tests...
Careful! During the first lockdown the CATTP remained closed, it was atrocious for us patients. During the 2nd it remained open with contingents. In this inevitable 3rd which should be even more strict... we are afraid of a new closure.
CATTP is my oxygen. My only social connections. The only times when, in addition to my bipolarity, my Generalized Anxiety Disorder goes away. The only time I am myself. Do not hesitate to do some research on the internet and talk to your psychiatrist if you think it may be of interest to you.
And in addition, there are even therapeutic stays. I should have done one last spring, for 4 days, far from home... with my nurses, but Covid got the better of me, part delayed I hope.
The CATTP, find out more, it can be very lifesaving!
You can also find our free training courses to better live your bipolarity.
