Psychological services provided directly to service users, families and carers include: assessment, formulation (a tailored description of the needs of an individual, couple or family), advice, sign-posting, guided self-help, computerised therapy, telephone support, face-to-face talking therapies (individual, couple, family, group), and community psychology.
Psychological services provided indirectly to service users, families and carers by supporting the quality of what other staff deliver include: advice, consultation, supervision, training, research, health promotion, clinical leadership, anti-stigma work, and service development.
Psychological services are provided by specialist psychological practitioners, including clinical and counselling psychologists, counsellors, psychotherapists and family therapists, psychological well-being practitioners, trainee clinical psychologists and assistant psychologists.
Psychological services are also provided by other professionals, such as occupational therapists, nurses, social workers and psychiatrists who have been trained in psychological approaches. However, it is recognised that there is a psychological element to every contact that all Trust staff have with each other, as well as with service users, families and carers.
Psychological services are provided directly to children, adolescents, young adults, older adults, people with physical health needs, people with learning disabilities, people with substance misuse problems, and people who have committed criminal offences. The indirect psychological services mentioned above are provided to other Trust staff, GPs, other health and social organisations, education providers, commissioners and members of the public.
Our specialist psychological services are provided:
- across South Staffordshire
- across Shropshire
- across Telford & Wrekin
- in North Staffordshire (Primary Care, IAPT and Physical Health Psychology)
- in our Inclusion Services which includes Substance Misuse, Primary Care IAPT and Prison Healthcare across the UK
All of the Trust's psychological services are embedded within the Clinical Directorates; there is no separate stand alone psychological services department.
In order to receive psychological services, please follow the information provided by each of the Clinical Directorates.
For many adults (18 and over) first contact with Psychological Services is made through our Primary Care, Improving Access to Psychological Services (IAPT). You can self-refer to these services, as well as seeking a referral from your GP.
For children and young people under 18, direct access to services is also available through our CAHMS service.
If you would like to access a service, but are unsure which service is right for you and how to access this, please discuss with your GP.
You might also be interested in accessing Self Help material and information about different kinds of psychological difficulties.
Self help information for children and young people under 18 is available in our CAMHS section.
We encourage all who live within Staffordshire and Shropshire to consider enrolling in our Wellbeing and Recovery College.
College courses are free to all, whether you have or might use our services, care or support someone who has health needs, work within our services, or are a member of the public interested in health and wellbeing.
All courses are produced and delivered in training partnerships with one trainer having personal experience and one having professional knowledge, both relating to the subject area.
All courses have a shared learning focus, aimed at enhancing health and wellbeing and are delivered in local community. For more information, please visit the Recovery College page.
Research evidence, national guidelines and service user preference all strongly support providing psychological services: