Distress Brief Intervention - Durham and Derwentside

The Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme (a well-established service embedded across Scotland) provides a compassionate, time limited response for adults (16+) experiencing emotional distress. It offers rapid, person centred, practical support aimed at preventing escalation into crisis services, reducing avoidable demand on urgent and emergency pathways, and improving individuals' ability to cope and self-manage. Findings demonstrate that the DBI service is an effective, valued, and efficient component of the local mental health system, providing measurable clinical, operational, and system benefits through early intervention and strong partnership working. TEWV are intending to award a contract to an existing provider following direct award process C for 12 months at a contract value of £233,000.