Welcome to Psychological Therapies

Psychological Therapies is part of the Adult Mental Health Teams’ specialist services and offers specific psychological assessments and treatments for people over the age of 18 years.

People seek therapy for many reasons usually combinations of mood changes, especially anxiety and depression, physical symptoms associated with forms of stress, problems in making and maintaining relationships and doubts about ourselves.

The difficulties outlined above can be associated with the ways we learned to live our lives, negotiate relationships, and manage ourselves during our early years. They may also be associated with recent illness or events in our lives which change how we see our situation.

The varying psychological approaches address this from different perspectives and therefore each therapeutic treatment differs in its approach.

What happens at the assessment appointment?

Assessment appointments can range between 45 to 90 minutes. At this appointment, the therapist will ask you about your difficulties, any previous treatment, and your goals, with the aim of discussing whether psychological therapy might be a helpful approach at this time.

As well as talking about your difficulties, you will be asked to complete some questionnaires, these are usually completed before your appointment.

The clinician will summarise their understanding of your difficulties, this is called a formulation. Together, you will decide next steps; this may include the offer of group or individual psychological therapy, a referral to another service, or on some occasions it not be the right time for therapy.

A summary of your assessment will be sent to you, the person who referred you, and your GP. Your GP will be kept informed about your care, so they can co-ordinate this with you and any other services they arrange for you.

What happens after the assessment?

If therapy is offered, your name will be placed on the waiting list, and you will be contacted when an appointment becomes available. Your assessing therapist will let you know how long you may have to wait. You will receive an information leaflet about the therapy you have been offered.

What to do while you’re waiting if you’re concerned.

While waiting for your appointment if you become more worried about your ability to keep yourself safe, please contact the Adult Mental Health Team for your area:

• City and Northeast 01865 902200
• North 01865 902563
• South 01865 904191

Another option is Oxfordshire Safe Haven which is open to everyone who lives in Oxfordshire. It offers short-term face to face support for your mental health when other places are not open.

It is a non-clinical service open every day offering listening support for people who are experiencing mental health crisis.

They offer one to one support on the phone and face to face, and small groups face to face in Oxford and Banbury. The referral line is open 365 days a year from 11.30am to 9.30pm.

• Phone number: 01865 903 037
• https://www.oxfordhealth.nhs.uk/service_description/oxfordshire-safe-haven/

The Samaritans can also provide support over the telephone, email or webchat; they are open 24/7, 365 days a year.

• Helpline: 116 123
• Email (response time may be several days) jo@samaritans.org
• Website: https://www.samaritans.org/

For urgent or non-emergency medical advice you can contact NHS 111; online service https://111.nhs.uk —this allows you to answer questions online and get advice on next steps including which service will contact you if necessary.

What can I expect when I am offered a class or group therapy?

We offer a range of therapeutic classes and group treatments, such as Mentalisation, Group Analytic Therapy and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy.

They may be offered face to face or online, it is not uncommon to feel nervous about joining a group. However, many people find it is helpful to know others are experiencing similar things to you and you aren’t alone.

If you are offered a class or group, you will be provided with a leaflet about the class or group.

What can I expect when I am offered individual therapy?

We offer a range of individual therapies more information will be provided if you are offered individual therapy.

During therapy you can expect to develop an understanding of your problems, how they started, and what causes them to continue. It can be helpful to think about your goals and what you would like to focus on in therapy.

Whilst there is often space to think about the past, you may also want to address the present, and how to make changes in your current daily life.

You are the one who knows yourself and your difficulties best and you will be involved in deciding what is going to help. Your therapist has expertise in the kinds of therapies that has helped other people with similar problems.

Once therapy begins

Attending the appointment

If your appointment is in person, please ensure you know where it is going to take place and allow enough time to find parking. A site map is included with your appointment letter.

If your appointment is online, it will be via Microsoft Teams. You will receive an email in advance with a “Teams” link and instructions of how to join your appointment. You will need to have a laptop, tablet or smartphone with internet access and the “Teams” app and be in a confidential space.

If you are outside of the UK (holidaying, studying, or working) at any time we are unable to offer you care.

Our clinicians will routinely ask about your whereabouts as part of checking you are in a confidential and safe place to be able to proceed with the appointment, if not you will be offered the opportunity to rebook for when you are back in Oxfordshire.

Please ensure you attend the appointment on time.

What do I need to bring?

If you are meeting for an appointment in person, please bring glasses and hearing aids if required. It is also helpful to bring with you a list of your medication.

If you complete the questionnaires on paper, please bring these to your appointment.

What are the forms to be filled in?

Your therapist will ask you to complete some questionnaires. These will help you and your therapist understand your difficulties and how they affect your everyday life. At the end of treatment your therapist will also ask you to complete a client satisfaction survey.

These questionnaires are used to evaluate the service’s effectiveness and to make any improvements to how the service is delivered.

Alternatively, these can be completed and submitted online through a secure system. This is accessed via a single use email link.

Your email address is entered onto the system and is encrypted. This is the only personal information that is stored on this system.

If you would prefer to complete the questionnaires in this way, please contact us before your appointment.

What happens if I am unable to attend my appointment?

Please be aware that we have a high demand for our service. To ensure the appointments we offer are attended, we follow a routine Did Not Attend (DNA) policy.

If you are unable to make an appointment, please telephone the Psychological Therapies office on 01865 902005. Please cancel your appointment as soon as you can, so that we can offer your appointment to someone else and rearrange yours as soon as possible.

If you are unable to call, and ask someone else to ring on your behalf, we will not disclose any information to confirm you are our patient, unless you have already informed us that this is ok and have provided their details.

Should your therapist need to cancel a session, they will give you as much notice as possible.

If you do not attend your assessment appointment, and do not contact us, we will assume that now is not the right time, and therefore we will discharge you.

If you are offered treatment, and do not attend two consecutive appointments without contacting us, we will assume you no longer want treatment, or now is not the right, time for psychological therapy, and therefore we will discharge you.

Arranging an interpreter

If you require an interpreter to assist during your appointment, please let us know in advance so we can make the necessary arrangements. We are able to provide an interpreter in most languages and support for those who have hearing difficulties.

What if I find therapy upsetting?

Therapy can be challenging and often people can start to feel a little worse before they feel better. It can be helpful to bear this in mind when thinking about how supported you are, and how ready you feel for therapy. However, your therapist will be there to support and encourage you throughout the process.

We are a teaching service

We are a teaching service, and on occasions we have trainees and assistant psychologists who observe our work to further their skills. We will let you know if this is planned for your appointment, and if you do not want this to take place, please let us know.

Patient Information

Confidentiality and how we hold your personal Information.

We need to keep information about you to help us provide the best possible care for you.

The information you provide is kept on a secure electronic clinical recording system. This system is separate from the one used by your GP.

Only staff involved in your care will routinely have access to this information, and where appropriate to other information from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust relating to your current or past care.

We will only share information regarding your engagement with professionals who have referred you and your GP.  This may include any concerns we have around keeping you or those around you safe.

Everyone in the NHS has a duty to keep information about you confidential and this means information must only be shared with those who have a genuine need to know.

As well as sharing information with your GP, we may also need to include people who provide care to you from organisations as well as the NHS. They too have a duty to keep information confidential.

How can you see the information we hold about you?

The Data Protection Act 1998 gives patients the right to apply for access to their own clinical records, held either on computer or on paper.

If you are receiving therapy, you may arrange to discuss your records informally with your clinician. Otherwise, you can write to the health records manager.

When we receive a written request, we will send you a form for you to give us further details and proof of identity.

We will process your request for access to your records, we aim to do this within 21 days of receiving your completed form.

We have a duty to make any medical or technical terms in your record understandable to you. You may wish to make an appointment to discuss anything you do not understand.

If you think there is a mistake in your records, you should write to tell the Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Health Records Department so that an amendment can be added.

The Health Records Department can be contacted at:

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust
Health Records Department
Littlemore Mental Health Centre
White Building
Sandford Road
Littlemore
Oxford OX4 4XN

Telephone: 01865 902 770

Email: subject.access@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

How is your information used?

The main purpose is to help provide you with the appropriate healthcare and treatment. Information may be used by members of the healthcare team including doctors, nurses, therapists, shared with your family doctor or provided for research purposes.

If you do not want to be contacted about research, please let a team member know.

Your information may also be used for other NHS purposes and passed on to other organisations so we can all work together for your benefit. The sharing of information is strictly controlled, and we will remove details that identify you, where it is not for direct care.

It is standard practice throughout the NHS that services inform the Department of Health (NHS England) and other healthcare providers. At Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, we share information to help ensure that patients are offered the best possible treatment and help to improve patient care. This is for statistical purposes only. The information is provided confidentially and will not identify you.

You can choose if you want your information shared in this way, more information is available, and for how to make your choice please visit: https://digital.nhs.uk/services/national-data-opt-out

How we contact you

Telephone

If we contact you by telephone, we need to let you know that our calls will be displayed as a private number.

SMS

We may send you an SMS text message if we need to contact you or to send appointment reminders.

Emails

We can send correspondence by email if you prefer, we would normally send these securely using encryption, by doing this you would need to register with the company (Citrix) before you can open the email.

If you prefer you can request emails to be sent in the normal way, which would mean we would not be able to guarantee its security once it has left our network.

Making a comment, or raising a concern or complaint

If at any time during your treatment, you feel that it is not helping or you are unhappy with your treatment, please try to discuss this with your therapist first. If needed, please get support from an advocate or friend if that helps you to say what you need to.

If you feel unable to talk to your therapist directly, please call Psychological Therapies on 01865 902005 or email Oxon.psychologicaltherapies@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk to discuss your concerns or find out about our full complaint’s procedure.

When making a complaint, please be as specific as possible. Be clear about what you are unhappy with and what you want to achieve.

You can also get advice and support from the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on the free phone number 0800 328 7971 (24-hour answerphone) or by email pals@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.

PALS will also be able to advise you about getting an advocate or someone to help you with this process.

How can I contact Psychological Therapies?

Email

Oxon.psychologicaltherapies@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk

Telephone

01865 902 005.

Address

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust

Adult Mental Health Team

Psychological Therapies

May Davidson Building,

Warneford Hospital, Warneford Lane,

Headington, Oxford OX3 7JX