Therapy

Who do you see?

We work with adults who have been exposed to a variety of traumatic events. This includes serious crime, road traffic collisions or industrial accidents, victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse or torture, as well as individuals affected by occupational related trauma. Many of these events have life changing consequences.

 

How can I access the service?

Your GP or psychiatric service can refer you to our service. Your referral will be discussed at a meeting. If we think the service is right for you, you will be sent an assessment appointment within six to eight weeks.

If you have been affected by a traumatic event at work, we also take referrals from occupational health departments within the emergency services or other public sector organisations.

 

Where are you based?

Appointments are nearly always held at the our base. However, because we try to make our service as flexible and accessible as possible, we occasionally offer home visits.

 

What will happen at the first appointment?

The first appointment is usually an assessment. It lasts between one to one and a half hours. We may need to meet more than once for the assessment to be completed. The aim of the assessment is to find out about your difficulties. As well as talking about your experiences, we will normally get other background information from you.

 

What will happen after the assessment?

Towards the end of the assessment we will discuss whether this service is right for you and what treatment we could provide. We will write to your GP and to anyone else who might have referred you or is involved in your care. If you do use our service, you may be treated by the person who assessed you or by another member of the team.

 

What kind of treatment will I get?

We offer psychological treatment in line with the NICE Guidelines for treatment of people affected by trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). As part of your assessment we can discuss these psychological approaches with you. We offer outpatient treatment of between six and 20 sessions, each usually lasting for around an hour. We will talk to you about this at your assessment.

You may find this leaflet helpful if you have been involved in a traumatic event:

• Coping with the effects of a traumatic event [pdf] 331KB