Clinical health psychology

The Clinical Health Psychology service provides psychological care to patients who are affected by long-term health conditions or other serious medical problems in a range of specialties within the trust. We work closely with our medical and health professional colleagues to provide an integrated approach to managing the emotional impact of health problems and improving health outcomes.

Psychological reactions to physical health problems

Living with physical health problems can affect your emotional welfare and that of your family. It is very common for people to find it difficult to cope with the impact of living with a long-term condition or other serious health condition. It can affect many aspects of your life including work, family and social life and your ability to pursue your hobbies and interests. Increased stress, worry, low mood, irritability and feelings of loss are all common reactions. Understanding and learning new ways of coping with the psychological consequences of health problems can improve quality of life and long term health outcomes.

Who we are and what we do

The psychology team are all clinical psychologists with a minimum of six years training and are experienced in working with people with physical health problems. We are all registered members of the health professions council and bound by a strict code of conduct and ethics. Trainee clinical psychologists work under supervision from senior colleagues.

We work with individuals, couples, families and carers to help you to manage your condition and achieve the best possible outcome. We provide assessment and therapy individually and in groups and work with our multidisciplinary colleagues to provide combined physical and psychological rehabilitation programmes where appropriate.

We work closely with other healthcare staff to help patients to understand and address their concerns about their health. We also provide training and support to health professionals in the hospitals and local health community. We routinely measure the effectiveness of our services and advise other health professionals on measuring psychological outcomes.

The trust currently provides clinical psychology to the following specialties

We also have links with other providers of psychological services in the local area.

Training and support for staff

Clinical psychologists contribute to teaching and training events for staff to improve understanding and management of psychological aspects of medical conditions

We also contribute to trustwide initiatives to support staff to provide compassionate care, including facilitating Schwarz Rounds for clinical and non-clinical staff. To find out more about Schwartz Rounds, click here (opens in new window).