About PATS
The Psychological Assessment and Therapy Service (PATS) is a free therapy service providing confidential psychological support for adults aged 18 and above with more complex psychological needs.
We will treat you with care, consideration, dignity and respect, and we'll offer choice wherever possible in the services we provide you.
Our team
Trained mental health professionals from a variety of professions provide the therapy, including:
- Assistant Psychologists
- Cognitive Behaviour Therapists
- Counselling Psychologists
- Clinical Psychologists
- Consultant Clinical Psychologists
- Domestic Violence Counsellors
-
Community Navigators
What we help with
We can provide you support with, for example:
- complex post-traumatic stress disorder (CPTSD)
- treatment resistant conditions, for example Chronic Depression
- Personality Disorders
- Dissociative Disorders
- extreme emotional dysregulation
- chronic pain
- Autistic Spectrum diagnosis with mental health condition
Types of services
We offer 3 services which you can access separately or as a combination.
One to one therapy
There are 4 different types of therapy that our clinicians are trained to deliver:
Skills and psychoeducation courses
We off 2 types of courses.
The Preparation for Therapy is a 4 weeks course run by PATS clinicians to help you prepare for therapy. You'll be introduced to key concepts underlying therapy and learn about some skills to better cope with distress and difficult emotions.
The Emotional Coping Skills is a 10 weeks course run by the Probation Service. This course teaches skills to help you better navigate difficult emotions and stressful situations.
Community Navigator support
The Community Navigator is a free service based at PATS. It can help if you have been affected by childhood trauma.
Community Navigator
How to get support
We accept referrals if you have severe or chronic mental health conditions and want to engage in therapy for up to 30 sessions.
You can be referred to PATS by professionals or services such as:
- General Practitioners (GP)
- Adult Mental Health
- General Hospital
- Pain Clinic
- Prison or Probation Service
- Social Work Department
We'll respond to your referral as soon as possible. It may be several weeks or months before you receive your assessment appointment.
If you are in crisis and need urgent support, contact your GP or the Emergency Department at the General Hospital.
Your initial assessment
Your assessment appointment will be 1 and a half hour. You'll also need to complete some questionnaires before your assessment to bring with you on the day.
You'll be able to discuss your current difficulties with the assessing therapist and your goals for therapy. Your assessing therapist will be able to decide how best we can help you.
We encourage you to see the therapist on your own. However, you can bring someone with you for the assessment if you need to. We discourage the presence of children as this can be disruptive and may be distressing for the child.
After your assessment
There may be a waiting time after your assessment while we choose your best treatment option. We'll send you an assessment outcome letter when our decision is made which will advise if you'll be:
- placed on the waiting list for individual therapy at PATS
- referred to
Jersey Talking Therapies for individual therapy
- signposted to another organisation
You may wait a few months for individual therapy at PATS. If you're on the PATS waiting list, you'll be offered a place on the Preparation for Therapy course.
Choosing your therapist
If you'll be following a one-to-one therapy at PATS, it's not possible to choose your individual therapist. However, you can choose a male or female therapist if you feel this is important. Choosing a gender may increase the time you wait to see your therapist.
One to one appointments at PATS
One to one therapy appointments last 1 hour and are offered Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm. You can contact us if you need to reschedule your appointment.
It's important you don't miss your session. If for any reason you're unable to attend, let us know as soon as you can. Generally, if you miss 2 appointments without explanation then we will assume you do not wish to continue your therapy.