Bespoke therapeutic placements (BTPs)

Our BTPs are designed to accommodate one person and their needs, allowing us to easily adapt our units as needs and requirements change.

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At Priory, we are pleased to offer bespoke therapeutic placements (BTPs) for adults and young people who are on the autism spectrum or who have a learning disability. These placements are offered to people who present with complex and challenging needs, which might include behaviours that challenge, sensory issues and emotion dysregulation, all of which can make it difficult for these people to be supported in a shared environment.

The core aim of our BTPs is to offer an environment with the least restrictive practices, and one that's completely tailored to the unique needs and preferences of the people we support. Our aim is to support our patients to develop their independence skills, enabling them to transition to community living, wherever possible.

Our BTPs are tailored programmes of care within a safe, secure and purpose-designed environment. This means we take a person's needs and requirements into consideration when forming a treatment plan and create the most comfortable and supportive environment as possible. Each placement is designed to accommodate a single person’s needs.

Our BTPs also include:

Collaborative care from our experienced multidisciplinary team (MDT)
Dedicated positive behaviour support (PBS) provision
A least restrictive model of care, with minimal use of restraint
Time and space for people to self-regulate their emotions
Activities designed around individual needs, interests and abilities
Family involvement throughout the duration of the programme
Close liaison with outside agencies to support people to attend appointments such as dentistry and hospital appointments

Service overview

Our BTPs are designed to accommodate one person and their needs, allowing us to easily adapt our units as needs and requirements change. Our units can be changed so that they constantly meet the emotional, behavioural and sensory needs of people using them.

Changes can be made in individual areas such as bedrooms, and communal areas like common rooms and outdoor spaces. We can use people's favourite colours, patterns and designs to decorate areas, and incorporate images and stickers to help emotional understanding. We can also create low stimulus ‘black out’ areas, designed to create a safe space if people ever feel overwhelmed. For people who prefer to de-escalate with water, we are able to provide spacious wet rooms and showers.

Outdoor areas can also be customised and we can create large spaces for people to be in, whether that’s to run around and reduce energy or to alleviate any sensory issues they may have. Grassy areas can also be created for people who like to walk barefoot to regulate sensory stimuli.

Specialist pathways

Priory supports people with complex needs to lead active and fulfilling lives in their communities. As such, we begin planning for our patients’ ongoing care from the moment they are admitted to our services, so they can be supported in the community as quickly as possible.

We provide specialist care pathways across our breadth of services. This means we can support the transition of people who live in our BTP environments to move towards community-based living, within our residential services or supported living arrangements.

We can assist with:

Including specialists throughout the person's transition
Support the assessment and development process for a bespoke transition plan
Organise any external support for any additional assessed needs
Building positive relationships with people throughout their transition
Conduct ongoing reviews of the transition to ensure all parties are happy
Identity challenges early on and provide additional support if required
Respond swiftly to any relapse, ensuring people can access appropriate support and prevent hospital readmission

Our dedicated assessment and transition directors develop personalised pathways for each person we support. Their focus is to ensure a seamless transition into community living, along with supporting and identifying alternative options to meet the changing needs of our residents.

Specialist teams

We ensure that our patients are supported by caring, knowledgeable and engaged teams. Our staff are provided with high levels of support, supervision and training, and we engage in reflective practice in order to ensure continuous improvement. We pride ourselves on delivering dedicated and stable care, while offering consistency and familiarity to our patients, in order to build trust.

Our specialist team typically consists of:

Core nursing team and healthcare assistants
Experienced psychologists, who work with our patients to develop coping strategies, relaxation techniques and healthy emotional expression
Consultant psychiatrists, specialising in working with autistic people and those with a learning disability
Occupational therapists
Speech and language therapists
Dedicated PBS provision, available throughout the duration of the BTP, prior to step-down. This allows us to produce sustainable outcomes
Child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) input, where applicable

Case study

James* came to Priory with aggressive behaviours, which were difficult to manage on an open ward. He was a risk to himself and others, and suffering from past traumas and sensory issues. Our BTP was ideal, as it allowed us to create a bespoke team and programme for James, which better suited his needs.

James is autistic, so we focused on developing a nurturing nursing and care team who were skilled in autism, all led by a specialist autism consultant. The team designed activities specifically around James’ interests and abilities, with therapies including music, play and cooking, plus community engagement work. The overall aim was to give James the space he needed and the extended time to self-regulate his emotions.

Over time, it became clear that the single person environment was contributing towards positive outcomes. He became less aggressive and much more receptive to our team and the therapy on offer. Ultimately, this helped James to develop independence skills and focus on supporting him back into the community as soon as possible.

*James' name has been changed to protect his privacy.