Psychological Assessment and Therapy Service

If you are in crisis and need urgent support, contact your GP, or visit the Emergency Department at the General Hospital.

About the Psychological Assessment and Therapy Service (PATS)

PATS is a free therapy service that provides confidential psychological support for adults aged 18 and above with complex psychological needs.

How to get support

We accept referrals for clients with more complex psychological needs who are ready to engage in and commit to long-term therapy sessions.

You can get a referral from:

your GP
Adult Mental Health
General Hospital
Pain Clinic
Prison or Probation Service
Social Work Department

When you are referred into the service, we may add you to our one-to-one therapy list. Current waiting time is around 18 months, but this varies. We may also offer one or more of our psychoeducational groups while you wait for your individual therapy.

If your referral does not meet our criteria, we can signpost you to other services or may offer you an assessment to learn more about your needs

Our team

We are a team of trained mental health professionals from a variety of professions, including:

Assistant Psychologists
Cognitive Behaviour Therapists
Counselling Psychologists
Clinical Psychologists
Consultant Clinical Psychologists

What we do

We can provide support for:

Complex Post-Traumatic Stress (CPTS)
treatment resistant conditions, such as chronic low mood
recurrent interpersonal difficulties
effects of childhood abuse
dissociative presentations
extreme emotional dysregulation
autistic spectrum diagnosis with additional psychological needs

One-to-one therapy

We offer a variety of one-to-one therapy appointments including:

Behavioural and Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Schema-Focused Therapy
Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Person-Centred Approach

One-to-one sessions last approximately one hour and are offered Monday to Friday, from 9am to 5pm.

Skills and psycho-education groups

Preparation for Therapy

This session introduces the key concepts underlying therapy and teaches skills to help you cope with distress and difficult emotions.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy

Delivered over four sessions, this course teaches you how to take control of your mind and your life through values.

Trauma Stabilisation

This is a two-session course for clients with active trauma symptoms. During this course we educate you about the effects and symptoms of active trauma and offer strategies for coping.