The Psychodynamic Psychotherapy Service at NLFT offers secondary care assessment and treatment for a variety of emotional and psychological issues, including anxiety, depression, complex trauma, and relationship difficulties. The service provides both individual and group psychodynamic therapy, addressing deep-seated patterns and facilitating interpersonal learning and emotional sharing.

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