Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley Secondary Care Psychological Therapies Service
The Dartford, Gravesham and Swanley (DGS) Secondary Care Psychological Therapies Service offers assessment and treatment to people who are under the care of the Secondary Care Mental Health Team (CMHT), who are experiencing more severe and enduring mental ill health.
Our psychological therapists are trained to find out how your problems affect you and how you may be helped. If offered treatment, our therapists will work with you and encourage you to find your own solutions based on a clearer understanding of yourself and your current difficulties.
Psychological therapy involves making a commitment to attend sessions regularly and consistently. You may also be asked to try out new behaviours or ways of relating between sessions.
What services are available?
Specialist Assessment
We provide a range of comprehensive, evidenced based psychological assessments to help you and us, understand the difficulties you are facing. From Assessment, it may be possible to recommend Psychological Therapy or onward referral to another agency or Team.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
CBT can help people overcome a wide range of problems including anxiety, depression, trauma and other long standing and severe emotional difficulties.
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
Psychodynamic Psychotherapy is recommended for the treatment of long-standing and recurring difficulties in the way people think or feel about themselves and the way they relate to others.
Dynamic Interpersonal Therapy (DIT)
DIT draws upon Psychodynamic Psychotherapy and is especially aimed at helping people who experience recurrent depression. It has a focus on relationships, and helps people understand and begin to resolve problematic relational patterns. It is a relatively shorter term therapy.
Eye Movement Desensitisation and Re-Processing Therapy (EMDR)
EMDR may be offered to individuals experiencing psychological distress from unresolved past trauma. These may be clear, direct traumas such as being exposed to life threatening situations, or sometimes less apparent, dormant traumas that could be underlying psychological suffering. EMDR involves the recalling of traumatic memories, in a safe way, and the re-processing of them using bilateral stimulation (this is not an invasive therapy).
Group therapy
DGS offers a range of Groups, including Psychoeducational and Psychotherapeutic. With the help of a therapist, you can explore your feelings and patterns of relating in a way that promotes understanding and offers scope for the possibility of change. Psychoeducational Groups tend to focus more upon skills training.
Confidentiality
Your sessions are confidential and privacy is respected. We do, however, put your safety and the safety of other people first and occasionally this may mean communicating any concerns we have about safety to others. We work closely with the CMHT regarding your treatment and care.
As part of your assessment you will have an opportunity to think together with a therapist about what might be the most effective approach for your particular situation. A treatment plan will be agreed, which may include:
- Further appointments with the psychological therapist
- Advice about how another service could help
- Information about accessing and using self-help.
Different therapeutic approaches have been found to be effective for different types of psychological difficulty. If none of the psychological therapies are right for you, you may be referred to another part of the service for a different treatment approach. Psychological intervention is not always appropriate or helpful.
Further information
Please speak with your care co-ordinator or current worker within the CMHT.