The North London NHS Foundation Trust (NLFT, a merger of BEH and CANDI) Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Service (PPS) provides secondary care level assessment for psychodynamic psychotherapy and treatment for patients with a wide range of emotional and psychological problems. These include anxiety, depression, complex trauma and relationship and interpersonal difficulties. PPS offers individual and group psychodynamic psychotherapy. 

Individual psychodynamic psychotherapy at secondary care level can be helpful for chronic, complex difficulties that have not sufficiently responded to other treatments/settings, with people who can tolerate a less-structured, exploratory approach. It can be helpful in addressing deep-seated patterns that link to early childhood experience, the repetition of which causes difficulties in terms of risk, symptoms, functioning and interpersonal relationships. Individual therapy is generally offered for one year.

In group therapy, PPS emphasises opportunities for interpersonal learning and emotional sharing as well as exploring more conflictual relationship patterns which may contribute to interpersonal difficulties. Groups are particularly helpful for people who are socially isolated and struggling at important transition points in their lives. PPS offers a range of different groups ranging from brief (10-12 sessions) and fixed-term (one-year) groups to longer-term group therapy.

Many of the patients seen by PPS have experienced serious and complex childhood adversity. As part of a stepped care model, the service offers individual and group therapy for people with difficulties related to significant childhood trauma where the focus is on integration and understanding the connection between the trauma experience and emotional, behavioural and somatic responses. The initial phases of trauma therapy, stabilisation and trauma processing will usually be provided prior to this by other services in the trust that PPS collaborates with, such as the Traumatic Stress Clinic and iCOPE.

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusions

• aged 18+
• residents of Camden or Islington and registered with a local GP
• patients presenting with secondary care levels of distress and functional impact as defined by Secondary Care Clusters (most patients would fulfil criteria for cluster 7) (see ICD -10 resource). PPS operates a Stepped Care model for psychological therapies so patients would usually have had some form of talking treatment prior to referral for psychotherapy.
• patients who are wanting to understand links between their early experiences and current difficulties, with a recognition that the problem is psychological and that there may be some unconscious contribution to their difficulties
• patients who are motivated for therapy, expressing a preference for longer-term, exploratory therapy and who are able to identify areas they would like to explore and work on in therapy (please state these in your referral)
• patients need to be able and willing to commit to attending weekly sessions for a longer period of time. The assessment and therapy PPS provides is face-to-face so patients must be able to attend in person.
• patients need to be in a stable enough situation, both functionally and mentally, in order to engage in a treatment which necessarily focuses on distressing experiences and may increase anxiety as part of the process. For example:
  • stable housing
  • no active psychosis
  • no harmful use of alcohol or substances
  • no current crises (see exclusion criteria for further details in relation to self-harm and substance abuse)
• referral should have been discussed with and agreed by the patient prior to referral. 

Exclusions

• This information is available on the referral form. 

How to Refer

Locations

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Service