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Psychotherapy Service

The Trust's psychotherapy service provides specialist, evidence-based psychological therapies, for clients with personality and complex, chronic emotional adjustment disorders.  Clients will usually have had a previous mental health intervention, and have a degree of complexity such as personality disorder, poor response to previous psychological intervention, or difficulty with engagement.  Some common examples of the types of difficulties that the service may be able to help with include:

• Borderline personality disorder
• Self-harm
• Chronic and complex depression and anxiety
• Effects of abuse
• Severe difficulties relating to others

Clients will receive an assessment, or brief initial intervention, of up to 4 sessions with an experienced psychotherapist who will help them to choose a specific type of therapy, or suggest other ways of working on their difficulties.  Clients are seen by qualified specialist psychotherapists or by trainees working under close supervision.

There are two local psychotherapy services, Gaskell House and Macartney House, offering a range of different evidence-based therapies, such as;

• Individual psychotherapy including psychodynamic psychotherapy
• Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
• Psychodynamic/Interpersonal therapy (P/I)
• Group psychotherapy

Available at Gaskell House only:

• Systemic family therapy
• Intensive therapies for personality disorder: Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and therapeutic community.

Available at Macartney House only:

• Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT) for borderline personality disorder.
• Transference-Focused Psychotherapy (TFP) for borderline personality disorder.

Both services also offer specialist consultation, supervision, advice and training in relation to psychotherapy and personality disorder

Accessing the Psychotherapy Service

Clients can be referred either directly from a GP, or another mental health provider, or are stepped-up from briefer, less intensive interventions provided by a local Primary Care Mental Health Team.