Purpose

So, you are already at work with a young person and/or family, and have finished the INITIAL PHASE of your work. (We are assuming you have already made an Assessment of a young person, and their family, and any StrengthsResiliencies in the system... that you have done some Active Planning... but now where?

On this page we define the INTERVENTION PHASE of an AMBIT approach, and lay out the basic way that work is structured, and we suggest the time this phase should last.

What is it?

The intervention phase is the second of 4 Phases of AMBIT work; this phase begins once the worker has developed a reasonable understanding of What's the problem?.

You are now more focused on What to do? and Who does what?.

It is important to be clear that this is a somewhat 'academic' distinction for many young people or families - for whom a careful assessment is in itself an extremely striking and often challenging and powerful intervention.

Who to work with?

For thinking about work within different Domains (the Individual, the Family, the wider social ecology, the Educational system, the wider multi-agency network...) you can go to Interventions

What to do?

For thinking about what to do, when to do it, and what to do if you get stuck go to: What to do?

Ideally a focus on attuned ('well-mentalized') and focused interventions (see Specific interventions) should begin as soon as possible - but SELECTING the right interventions and the right sequence is hard to get right.

Selecting and Sequencing interventions:

The AIM assessment from the Multi-Domain Assessment gives assistance in selecting and sequencing the most appropriate interventions for the problem set that a specific young person and family present with.


Occasionally material in I'm stuck: what next? is helpful to maintain forwards momentum.

It is important to ask oneself:

"Am I delivering those interventions that are most salient and appropriate for this young person, or my own personal 'favourites' (by virtue of my previous training, my personal temperament, or past experiences)?"

There will be Active Planning required, in order to select WhichInterventionWhen and use of SupervisoryStructures to ensure that progress is maintained.

How to do it?

Learning about how to do Specific interventions - see manualized interventions, including a growing library of video clips to identify specific techniques (consider making video clips of role-plays of effective and excellent techniques within your local team's manual!)

Interventions are delivered, wherever possible, according to manualized procedures, as there is evidence that structured and planned work is more effective than "benign eclecticism".

Working with the system

When lots of different people are involved it is important to be clear about who Who does what?, and to remember one of the Core Features of AMBIT which is Respect local practice and expertise.

Keeping Respect for safety

Outcomes measures will need to be repeated at appropriate time intervals - this is how a team comes to know if what WE are doing HERE is safe and effective?

RiskAssessment is an ongoing feature of the work.

How long?

This is the hardest phase for which to estimate the time required. Some young people need much longer term support than others, and AMBIT does not take a simple position that the intervention must be time-limited per se, as it is designed to be delivered in a wide variety of settings and service-ecologies.

Local teams are strongly advised to clarify this (with commissioners and other services in the area) and to adjust their TeamTemplate accordingly - especially the Intervention timeline.