EMERGE Leeds: Complex Emotional Needs Service

• Referrals
• Case Consultation
• Training

Referring to EMERGE Leeds

• Journey Programme and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills
• Care Coordination for Young Adults
• Care Coordination for Over 25s

Journey Programme and Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Skills

People aged 18 and over can self-refer or be referred by a health, housing or third sector professional using the referral forms below. They will need to be registered with a Leeds GP. Please read the information on our therapeutic groups page and consider whether the groups would meet your service users’s needs.

• Journey Programme
• DBT Skills

Care Coordination for Young Adults

Who is this service for?

EMERGE Leeds supports young adults (aged 18-25) who due to complex trauma or adverse life experiences have developed ways of coping that cause them distress or harm. We work with individuals who have mental health needs which cannot be met by primary care, Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service or other community services.

EMERGE Leeds Care Co-ordination for Young Adults referral criteria:

• Primary presentation consistent with a ‘personality disorder’ diagnosis or complex emotional needs.
• Evidence and/or early indicators of significant risk factors, primarily to self (for example self-harm or vulnerability).
• Have complex mental health needs which cannot be met by primary care, NHS Talking Therapies, or other community services.
• Have a significant pattern of interpersonal difficulties, emotional instability, or difficulty coping with distress and regulating emotions. These are long standing and present in a range of relationships and different circumstances/contexts, and may be enduring without intervention at this stage.

How to refer

External Referrals

Referrals should be made to the Community Mental Health Team via the Leeds and York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust Single Point of Access. The relevant Community Mental Health Team will review the referral and triage the referral in the first instance. They will forward referrals on to EMERGE Leeds if criteria is met and this is felt to be the best initial outcome. If agreed, a holistic assessment will be offered.

Internal Referrals (from Trust Services)

These should be made via Care Director and discussed with the EMERGE Leeds Clinical Team Manager.

For young people transitioning from Children and Young People’s Mental Health Services (CYPMHS)

If ongoing support is required after turning 18, we will work with CYPMHS staff and the young person to determine the best pathway. Where appropriate, care will transfer directly to EMERGE Leeds. To discuss a potential referral, email the EMERGE Leeds Clinical Team Manager.

Care Coordination for Over 25s

People over 25 who require Care Coordination within secondary care will typically receive support through the Community Mental Health Teams and should be referred to in the usual way via Single Point of Access.

At present EMERGE Leeds can only accept Care Coordination referrals for adults over 25 from the following services:

• Secondary mental health services (for example community mental health teams),
• Mental health inpatient services,
• Secure/specialist commissioners or case managers.

A community mental health team or other service listed above may consider making a referral to EMERGE Leeds where someone over 25 they are working with is:

• At risk of long-term hospital admission in, for instance, low secure, locked or other specialist placements,
• Or has already been in hospital for an extended period of time,
• And has complex emotional needs or a diagnosis of personality disorder with a significant pattern of interpersonal difficulties, emotional instability, and difficulty coping with distress and regulating emotions. These difficulties are long standing and present in a range of relationships and different circumstances/contexts.

As a guide, individuals referred may:

• Be currently detained under Section 3 of the Mental Health Act and/or:
• Have had extended inpatient admission/s due to risk to self,
• Have struggled to be discharged or sustain community living due to ongoing risk,
• Have had multiple/repeated admissions to Acute or Psychiatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) wards,
• Be detained in low secure, locked, or specialist inpatient care,
• Present with a high level of self-harm, suicide risk, or self-neglect,
• Have continued to struggle significantly despite interventions offered.

How to refer

• Complete our referral form and submit it along with an up-to-date risk assessment.
• Email all referrals to the EMERGE referral inbox.

For further information or to discuss a referral, please email the EMERGE referral inbox.

Case Consultation

EMERGE Leeds offers Case Consultation to professionals working in Leeds, including NHS and voluntary sector colleagues.

It aims to use psychologically informed approaches to improve outcomes for service users who present with complex emotional and interpersonal needs and/or a diagnosis of personality disorder.
Case Consultation provides a space for a practitioner (or small group of practitioners) to ask for support from the EMERGE Leeds Team in thinking about their work with a particular service user.

The focus of consultation is on the difficulties the practitioner/s are having in their work with a service user.

It does not involve EMERGE Leeds meeting directly with the service user or engaging in any direct clinical work.

Case Consultation involves an offer of up to four sessions. It is case specific (about a particular service user). The service user must be receiving care from the referring team.

Sessions are usually one hour in duration. The maximum number of sessions is four. The number of sessions and frequency varies depending on circumstances and need. The sessions take place over a period of no longer than three months.

Case Consultation criteria

Case Consultation is available to support practitioners currently working with a service user who presents with complex emotional and interpersonal needs and/or a diagnosis of personality disorder in Leeds.

How to refer

Colleagues within the Trust can make a referral for case consultation via Care Director. To make referral, open a referral to the ‘EMERGE Leeds’ Team. Write in the ‘Presenting Needs’ box “Referral for Case Consultation” and follow this with a brief description of the difficulties/challenges and an initial indication of what you hope for at the end of the consultation.

If you are external to the Trust, please complete and return our Case Consultation referral form.

Training

EMERGE Leeds is continuing to offer Knowledge and Understanding Framework (KUF) Training throughout 2025-26 for staff working in relevant Trust services.

KUF is a nationally developed training programme designed for professionals working with individuals with personality disorder or complex emotional needs with or without a diagnosis.

Learn more about Knowledge and Understanding Framework Training.