How we can help

• We offer a range of evidence-based psychological therapies based on the needs of each person
• We try to be flexible regarding the timing and frequency of what time and how often therapy sessions are
• We see inpatients and outpatients
• As well as 1:1 therapy, we offer Metacognitive Therapy and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy groups.

We can draw on a range of psychological approaches which are best suited to meet your specific needs. These can include:

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) encourages us to get in touch with what really matters to us and use these values to guide and motivate us. It teaches us how to embrace our thoughts and feelings instead of trying to get rid of them and getting frustrated with ourselves.

One technique in ACT that you may have heard of is “mindfulness”. But what really is mindfulness?! Mindfulness aims to connect us with the present moment. Concentrating on the present moment can be hard as our minds are busy thinking, problem solving, analysing…which is usually OK! But sometimes our minds get stuck on a problem that can’t be solved, or play an upsetting moment over and over again. This can leave us feeling worried, upset and stressed.

Mindfulness offers us another option to this usual way of thinking. It simply teaches us skills to focus on the present moment, without getting tangled up in difficult thoughts or emotions. Studies all over the world have shown how helpful mindfulness is to our mental and physical health. We have put some mindfulness exercises for you to try in “useful resources”.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT is a widely support psychological therapy and is the recommended approach across many mental health problems.

With CBT we can better understand how we think (thoughts), how we feel (emotions) and how we act (behaviour) all link together.

Therefore, if we experience negative thoughts, we can experience distress, low mood, anxiety, and it can impact what we do.

By becoming aware of how we interpret our thoughts, feelings, and behaviour we can learn new ways of coping. Usually we start CBT by exploring what problems you want to work on and what your goals for therapy are. We then work together using weekly therapy sessions and between-session tasks to try and achieve your goals.

Metacognitive Therapy (MCT)

MCT is a psychological therapy which focusses on helping people to modify unhelpful beliefs about worry. The therapy aims to help people discover new, and more helpful ways to react to distressing thoughts, so it is less likely that you will spend time dwelling/ruminating on these, and learn to develop more helpful ways of managing when distressing thoughts occur.

Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT)

• MBCT is a course of eight weekly sessions, and a programme of practices to do at home. It teaches us ways to respond to our troubles more skilfully, and to experience happier moments more fully. This course offers a chance to move away from being on “automatic pilot” and to understand how our thinking can influence our physical and emotional experiences.
• Mindfulness can be helpful for everyone in coping with the large and small stresses and struggles of everyday life. Mindfulness-based approaches have been shown to help people cope better with cancer and other health conditions, and to be less caught up in worries.

• Appointments normally last 50-60minutes
• In the initial appointment we aim to understand your difficulties and consider if further sessions with a psychologist will be useful for you
• Sometimes it can take more than one session to reach a decision about this
• When COVID restrictions allow, you can bring someone with you, for example a spouse or relative
• If English is not your first language, we can offer you an interpreter. For more information on how we work with interpreters see {insert link to interpreters’ webpage)
• For some people, a one-off psychology assessment is enough (and their medical team) to understand and cope better with their needs. For others multiple sessions are needed.
• For those facing more complex issues, a longer course of therapy can be helpful.
• We aim to see people for an initial assessment within four weeks after we receive a referral. 
• People who need a longer course of therapy may need to wait a few weeks or months for this depending on our waiting list at the time. Where necessary, we can offer telephone reviews during this period. We can offer therapy more quickly if there is an urgent clinical need.
• We offer a range of evidence-based psychological therapies based on the needs of each person.