The psychoanalytic psychotherapies service is provided by two teams:
Address
Wessex House
Falcon Court
Stockton-on-Tees
TS18 3TX
Telephone: 01642 368582 / 01642 368711
Service opening hours
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
Address
Lanchester Road Hospital
Lanchester Road
Durham
DH1 5RD
Telephone: 0191 4415750
Service opening hours
Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.
What is psychoanalytic / psychodynamic psychotherapy?
Psychoanalytic or psychodynamic psychotherapy draws on theories and practices of analytical psychology and psychoanalysis. It is a therapeutic process which helps patients understand and resolve their problems by increasing awareness of their inner world and its influence over relationships both past and present. It differs from most other therapies in aiming for deep seated change in personality and emotional development.
Psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy aim to help people with serious psychological disorders understand and change complex, deep-seated and often unconsciously based emotional and relationship problems, reducing symptoms and alleviating distress.
About the service
The psychoanalytic psychotherapies service (PPS) provides a high quality, evidence-based psychodynamic and psychoanalytic therapy service for adults referred by health professionals.
It may be offered when other therapies have been tried in the past but something additional is needed or if it is the preferred option of the patient. It is often a longer-term psychotherapy than other psychological therapies.
This service offers
- Brief and long-term individual psychoanalytic/psychodynamic psychotherapy for adults
- Group analytic psychotherapy – general long-term psychotherapy for a range of problems and diagnoses, and focussed groups for specific problems e.g. sexual abuse
- Psychoanalytic/psychodynamic consultations and assessments regarding treatment choice
- Psychotherapy offers an opportunity to reflect and learn about the thoughts and feelings that affect who you are, your relationships and how you respond to life.
The psychotherapeutic relationship helps individuals to become aware of memories and feelings, analyse these and work towards resolving any problems these may have caused.
This therapy tends to work at a deeper level than counselling and has a different focus from cognitive therapies, as it is concerned with an understanding the unconscious mind.
The team
The team of qualified mental health professionals includes clinical and counselling psychologists, adult psychotherapists and a psychiatrist. All staff are also qualified in psychodynamic, psychoanalytic or group analytic psychotherapy.
Patients are also seen by medical, psychology, and other mental health professionals on placement with the service, as part of the service’s training schemes. The service has a responsibility for psychotherapy training and ensuring it remains up to date with latest developments.
How to access the service
Referral to the service may be suggested by a member of a patient’s health care team or requested by the patient. Following discussion with the patient, the health care professional discusses a referral with a member of the psychoanalytic psychotherapies service to make sure an assessment will be appropriate and helpful.
If the referral is initiated at a primary care level, such as by a GP and associated professionals or IAPT, referral will usually be via the access team or the community treatment team to ensure a full mental health assessment is in place.
What can patients expect?
Patients are asked to complete questionnaires before their first consultation. This helps the patient prepare for psychotherapy and the psychotherapist understand the problems, so that together, they can decide whether this type of psychotherapy will help. It also helps gather information to assist in any continuing psychotherapy and in assessing its effectiveness when it has ended.
Initial sessions (one to six) allow the patient and psychotherapist to think about the problems that the patient is experiencing and explore how psychotherapy can or cannot be of use. This leads to a basis for psychodynamic/psychoanalytic psychotherapeutic treatment over 16 to 40 sessions (short-term) or 80 to 120 sessions (long-term).
Sessions are usually one hour each week or ninety minutes for groups.
Psychotherapy can be used as part of an overall treatment plan (in which the patient has a care coordinator) or as a stand-alone therapy where the psychotherapist is the lead professional responsible for the patient’s mental health care.
L1007, V6, 26/06/2024 (Archive: 25/06/2027)
