Well Minds Psychological Therapy Service
Sally Willan and Leanne Alston independently lead the service offering a range of therapies including:
· Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy (CBT)
· Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
· Couples Therapy for Depression (CTfD).
Sally and Leanne each have over 10 years’ experience of working in psychotherapy in the NHS, both at a low intensity and a high intensity level. They have undertaken further training in CBT Clinical Supervision and CBT for Long-Term Health Conditions and are fully accredited by the BABCP.
Whether you have struggled with these feelings for many years or have noticed a recent onset due to life events or change, Well Minds PTS may be the service to support you.
We recommend an initial assessment where we will work with you to understand your current difficulties and provide you with our recommendations for support. If you opt for treatment within our service, we would be able tailor a support package based on NICE guidance and evidence-based therapies to best support your needs.
The philosophy of Well Minds PTS is to promote the association between physical health and mental health. Where possible, we try to incorporate the use of physical activity as part of our therapeutic intervention, and pride ourselves on a holistic approach to wellbeing, working alongside other physical health professionals including Personal Trainers, Physiotherapists and General Practitioners.
Some of the difficulties that we can support are detailed below
- Depression or feelings of low mood and motivation
- Generalised Anxiety Disorder or excessive worry
- Stress, Burnout and Compassion Fatigue.
- Panic attacks or Panic Disorder
- Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Health Anxiety
- Social Anxiety
- Phobias (e.g. flying, injection, heights etc)
- Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and trauma (including birth and baby loss trauma)
- Long-term physical health conditions
- Men's mental health
- Disordered eating
- Problems with mood and anxiety related to significant life changes.
- Relationship difficulties
If you have any queries or questions regarding the Well Minds PTS, then please email info@wellmindspts.co.uk or call 0114697 0847
Alternatively, visit the Well Minds PTS websiteat: www.wellmindspts.co.uk
If you feel that you are in crisis situation and need help now then please contact the free Samaritans helpline below;
Call 116 123 (free phone listening service open 24 hours a day. 7 days a week) or text 'Shout' (text support service) to 85258 to get a text response.
If you feel at risk, you can also contact 111 or your GP for support. If you feel unable to keep yourself or others safe, please contact 999 or present to your local A&E immediately.
What does an Initial Assessment involve?
What is CBT?
Cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) helps people to learn about the relationship between their thoughts, feelings, and behaviours and how we can get stuck in negative cycles which causes lots of distress on our day to day lives. By learning what keeps us stuck, we can make small practical changes to get ‘unstuck’. It is the current evidence-based treatment for treating a range of mental health problems in the NHS and is recommended by National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE).
What is EMDR?
Eye movement desensitisation and reprocessing (EMDR) is a type of therapy that helps you to process traumatic memories and their associated symptoms. These memories can make you feel stuck in negative past experiences and prevent you living in the here and now. We use bilateral stimulation and your brain’s natural ability to heal and process events to help you work through difficult memories and manage your emotions around them.
Clinical supervision for professionals
We are both qualified Clinical Supervisors in Cognitive Behavioural Psychotherapy and offer private clinical supervision to professionals working in private practice. Please contact us for more information or to make an inquiry.
How do I decide what therapy I need?
Don’t worry, we will take time to do a thorough assessment and explore options with you. You just need to be open and honest about your difficulties and let us do the rest. If we think you need a therapy that we can’t offer, we will support you in the right direction to get the help you need.
Do I need a diagnosis to access therapy?
No. You are not required to have any kind of mental health diagnosis to access therapy with us.
What does therapy look like?
Sessions are typically weekly and can vary between 60-90 minutes. 90-minute sessions take place for trauma processing, and we will discuss this with you if it is required. The initial sessions will include lots of questions from us so we can understand how best to help you with your difficulties. We will then take time to ensure you understand what’s involved so that it feels right for you. After this we will use each session to help you understand more about your difficulties and learn ways to manage them. People get the best out of therapy when they work on themselves in between sessions; we will work with you to come up with ideas of things to practise to consolidate your learning and help yourself to feel better.
How long are the sessions and why are some longer than others?
Typically, Couples Therapy and CBT sessions are 60 minutes long. There may be instances where a specialist CBT intervention is recommended and therefore this may require a longer session time (90 minutes) – this would be discussed with you if required. With EMDR we would typically use 60-minute sessions in the preparation phases only (approx. 2-3 sessions) and thereafter 90-minute sessions for the trauma processing elements of therapy.
How do I get the best out of therapy?
Regular attendance is important, like gym classes and physio, you get out what you put in. People also get the best out of therapy when they work on themselves in between sessions, we will work with you to come up with ideas to practice to consolidate your learning and help yourself to feel better.
Do I have to come in person for therapy?
Not necessarily. We offer both face-to-face therapy at the clinic and remote therapy via video link.
How much does it cost?
- Couples Therapy - £95 per session.
- Initial Assessment – £95 per hour
- CBT/EMDR - £95 per hour session
- CBT/EMDR £140 per 90-minute session (if required for trauma processing/other specialist interventions)
- Clinical Supervision for professionals – please contact us for more information
- Workshops – Coming Soon...
What happens if I can’t attend?
If you do not attend a planned session or cancel the session within 24 hours prior, you will still be required to pay 50% of the session fee. If you give us more than 24 hours’ notice, then you will not be charged. Due to our waiting list, we may have to discharge you if you fail to attend or cancel 3 appointments, this allows us to give everyone a fair chance at accessing therapy.
How many sessions will I need?
This is a difficult question to answer because everyone is different. Once we have completed an assessment, we will be able to give you more of an idea about session numbers. We conduct regular therapy reviews every 4-6 sessions to make sure you are on the right track.
Confidentiality
Therapy sessions are confidential between you, the practitioner, and their Clinical Supervisor. The exceptions to this are when you pose a risk to yourself, someone else or a child, if this occurs then we have a duty of care to breach confidentiality to inform relevant organisations to ensure the safety of those effected. We will also breach confidentiality if you indicate you are engaging in illegal activities.
What is Couples Therapy for Depression?
Couples therapy for Depression can help you with:
- Understanding how depression affects you and your partner in your relationship.
- Reducing relationship distress.
- Understanding yourself and your partner better overall.
- Understanding patterns of behaviours that can cause struggle and conflict.
- Understanding and overcoming barriers to intimacy.
- Helping you to feel closer and more connected with your partner.
- Exploring ways to adjust to life events, stressors and changes.
- Overcoming symptoms of depression by tackling triggers within the relationship.
- Learning new ways to communicate in your relationship.
- Approaching difficult topics of conversation in a safe and non-judgemental space.
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Our person-centred Initial Assessment usually takes up to 60 minutes. This can be delivered remotely via video link or face to face at the clinic. We will work with you on a one-one basis to understand the main difficulties that you have been experiencing and the triggers that have led to this. We may use specific questionnaires as part of the assessment process to support our understanding of the key difficulties that you are experiencing. Through assessment, we can determine what support may be best moving forwards, whether this is within our service or signposting to a different service that may better support your needs. To book your Initial Assessment please contact us.