My brother is schizophrenic and started to have hallucinations

Hi @Hanna

Welcome to the Forums, although it's not under great circumstances, I'm glad you found us.

If you feel your brother is at immediate risk, it's important to call 000 straight away.

I'm not sure which state you're located, but most states have a Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team (CATT). The Victorian CATT team is described as

'These services operate 24 hours a day and provide urgent community-based assessment and short-term treatment interventions to people in psychiatric crisis. CAT services have a key role in deciding the most appropriate treatment option and in screening all potential inpatient admissions. CAT services provide intensive community treatment and support, often in the person’s own home, during the acute phase of illness as an alternative to hospitalisation. CAT services also provide a service to designated hospital emergency departments through an onsite presence.'

http://www.health.vic.gov.au/mentalhealthservices/adult/

Most states have CAT or something similar - just try Googling 'Crisis Assessment and Treatment Team' with the name of your state.

@Maze started a great discussion called 'What is a mental health crisis?', which has some great insights and experiences people have had with CAT and other mental health crisis. One response in particular that stands out is @Janna 's (which you can find on page 2)

Does anyone else have any info or expeirences they wish to share with Hanna?

Hi @Hanna

That's tough, not knowing his address. Yes, he can be admitted involuntarily if he is assessed as being at risk to himself or others. The CAT team can make that assessment and if they don't feel that he needs to be in hospital, they can help set up some community support.

Do you have any family in Australia in which he may have disclosed his address to?

If you are very concerned, it's still worth calling the CAT team as they will still be able to offer some advice.

Has he mentioned the name of his psychiatrist before? If so, I'm sure a google search will track down the Dr's office and you can leave a message or speak with the Dr to flag what's going on.

Hi @Hanna,

Living away from your brother right now can add another layer of complexity. To add to NikNik's advice, it might be worth getting in contact with his local friends and family, and develop a bit of pla together. Perhaps set up a skype meeting to get a good sense of where he is at.

@Jaye-Kay also cares for her daughter who lives in another country, which you can read about here. I wonder if she has any advice for how to provide long-distance care.

Also, it can be hard knowing how to communicate with someone who is experiecing hallucinating, or delusions. Not to mention that it can also be extremely distressing for them. It's vital that communication lines stay open as this can also be your gateway to encourage your brother to get some help. I've included a link to a resource here.

@Hanna does your brother have any family or close friends in Melbourne?

CherryBomb

Glad it helped @Hanna!

Let us know how it goes. We're always here for you if you need support/advice.

I hope that your brother get the support and treatment that will help get him well again.

CherryBomb

Hi @Hanna

The Crisis Assessment Team - psychiatric triage - will need to make the assessment for involuntary admission into a hospital. The police or ambulance could transport him to hospital, but they would also need to be either accompanied and/or he would still need to be assessed by psychiatric triage for admission into a mental unit on involuntary grounds.

Generally, for involuntary admission to occur there needs to considerably grounds for concerns that he is at immediate risk of harm, or a risk to others.

If his condition worsens, it is helpful to contact the CAT and update them. This will help in their assessment. It's also usueful to start taking notes to pass on information.

@Zam has spoken about times they were admitted to hospital here. Perhaps they could also provide some advice here.

CherryBomb

Hello @Hanna, how are you today ??

He has been admited to a hospital and is getting treatment. I hope God will help us in his recovery -- this was your last message

sending you hugs and hoping everything is ok