Camden and IslingtonPsychodynamic Psychotherapy Service

Is this the right treatment for me?Psychodynamic psychotherapy offers you a confidential, regular space, where you can talk about important feelings and how you have been dealing with them.

It can help you to make connections between past experiences and how these may affect your present problems and relationships.

By exploring and better understanding feelings in psychotherapy, you can gain new ways of looking at yourself and your relationships, as well as finding more appropriate ways of coping with difficulties in your life.

What can I expect?People coming to see a therapist for the first time sometimes want to be asked questions because that is what they are used to, but it is important that these sessions are led by you, rather than by the therapist, because what you are feeling and thinking is the focus of the work.

Psychotherapy does not provide quick solutions and therapists do not give advice. It is common to feel that the therapist says very little, but it is important to realise that psychotherapy is a specialised conversation. This means talking freely and clinicians do realise that this is not always easy.

The therapist will listen carefully to - and comment on - what you are saying about your feelings and how you deal with them, as well as focusing on what happens in the sessions and your relationship with the therapist.

Psychotherapy can be a highly charged experience and while this can offer relief, it can also stir up difficult feelings.

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I have always been very impressed by the insightful, understanding and

humane approach, as well as the positive effects on myself that the

therapist has shown. Psychotherapy helped me gain insight into my

difficulties.- service user

Who is this service for?The Camden and Islington Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Service is for adults experiencing a wide range of emotional and psychological problems, including depression, anxiety, loss, relationship difficulties, career difficulties, low self-esteem, self-destructive behaviour, problems with a sense of identity, with making progress in life and emotional problems expressed through unexplained physical symptoms.

The Trust is committed to promoting equality and eliminating discrimination to ensure that our services are as accessible and inclusive as possible, in order to improve service users’ outcomes and experiences.

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Am I suitable for this treatment?Psychodynamic psychotherapy is helpful for a wide range of emotional difficulties, however, it is not right for everyone and some people are better helped by other approaches. To help you and the service think about what is best for you, you will be asked to fill in a questionnaire with as much detail as you like.

The questionnaire is a helpful way to prepare yourself for the consultation, however, if you are unable to do this, it will not stand in the way of your treatment. Your electronic and written records are kept securely. Once you have opted in, a therapist will offer you one or more consultation appointments in order to explore your difficulties and agree on a potentially helpful treatment plan. It is quite possible that a consultation is sufficient to give you a fresh understanding of your difficulties.

A number of approaches will be considered with you, including referral to other forms of psychological therapy (e.g. counselling, interpersonal therapy, cognitive-behavioural therapy, couple therapy, family therapy) or specialised services in the NHS (alcohol and drug services, eating disorder services, personality disorder services, acute day centres and psychosexual services). Organisations offering low-fee psychotherapy schemes in the community may also be considered.

If you are referred for treatment in the Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Service, you will be offered long or short term individual or group therapy and placed on a waiting list until a therapist is able to see you. Medication may be discussed with you as an addition to talking therapy, but will not be prescribed or dealt with by your therapist; medication will usually be managed by your GP or psychiatrist. We will be in contact with your referrer/GP at points during assessment and treatment, as well as if there are particular concerns around risk during your contact with our service.

We routinely collect outcome data at various points during assessment, treatment and follow up.

What treatments are available?1. INDIVIDUAL PSYCHOTHERAPY

Typically, sessions are once a week for 50 minutes for one year in longer term therapy. Brief psychotherapy including Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy is also offered. In regular sessions, you will be encouraged to explore freely what is in your mind, including early and current relationships, feelings, thoughts, wishes, fears, memories and dreams. The relationship with the therapist in the room is an important part of this. The assumption behind this treatment is that new understandings of yourself may offer greater choice about how to alter your life situation. Consistent attendance is an important part of treatment.

2. GROUP THERAPY

You will be seen in a carefully selected group of up to eight members. A range of brief and longer term groups are offered at different times; there are general groups and those geared towards addressing particular issues. In this process, group members get to know and help one another through exploring personal experiences and conflicts. Although talking about such matters with other people may feel difficult at first, a group can be helpful in giving support and a sense of belonging while also providing an emotional learning experience. The group therapist will meet with individual members for a few preparatory sessions prior to joining to address any anxieties about being in group therapy.

3. COMPLEX TRAUMA

A combination of intermittent and weekly individual and group therapy is offered to people with a complex trauma presentation.

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What are the waiting times?

Who are the clinicians?

We aim to offer an initial assessment within a fixed period of time (usually 4-8 weeks) after you have opted into the service by returning the questionnaire. However, the waiting time for a treatment vacancy varies depending on the availability of therapists.

Regrettably there can sometimes be a considerable wait before psychotherapy starts, especially where there are restrictions on when you can be seen. We keep patients under review while they are waiting and you can contact the department if needed during this period, and let us know if there are any changes in your circumstances.

The service is made up of psychiatrists, clinical psychologists, group analysts, psychoanalytic psychotherapists and other professionals with backgrounds in mental health work, including a few carefully selected medical students in the clinical part of their training. All clinicians have had either extensive training in psychoanalytic psychotherapy or group analysis or are having further training under supervision in the department.

How do I access these services?Referrals should be made through your GP or other mental health professional.

I think the clinic is discreet and friendly. The therapist is highly-skilled and

understanding of both me and my issues. It’s a very important service to me and certainly helps me to function better.

- service user

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I admire the group analyst’s professionalism and experience that allows her to facilitate

our group therapy the way she does...It is still difficult but I cope better with life

circumstances and I feel empowered to take responsibility for my own life going forward.

- service user

Managing difficultiesIf concerns arise whilst you are in treatment, or about your therapy, we would encourage you in the first instance to bring this to your regular therapy sessions or to contact your assessor if you are waiting to start. If this persists, you can approach our department service manager. Since we are not an emergency service, if you find yourself feeling in crisis or in need of urgent support, your GP remains your primary point of contact during office hours and you can contact the Camden and Islington Crisis Team (020 3317 6333) outside of office hours.

How can I contact you?

Camden & Islington Psychodynamic

Psychotherapy ServiceSt Pancras Hospital4 St Pancras Way London NW1 0PE

020 3317 4700

cim-tr.psychodynamicpsychotherapyadmin@nhs.net

We operate Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm. Some later appointments are offered for groups and some individual therapy

What happens if my English language is limited?

If a therapist in your language is not available at our service, we have links with other services with a wider range of languages.

If after discussion with you this feels the right choice, we may be able to refer you to them.