Psychological services
We provide a range of support and treatment that draws on psychological knowledge. A psychological professional may get involved if you need psychological intervention or therapy or they may be involved in supporting a member of staff working directly with you.
Our psychological professionals provide assessment and treatments and advise other colleagues supporting you. Some assessments are offered over the course of one or two meetings, but some more in-depth assessments, such as of memory difficulties, or complex assessments of neurodevelopmental difficulties, can take much longer and may involve several meetings with you and those who know you well. Not all assessments will lead to treatment.
Some of the psychological treatments offered will be well known and familiar such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy or CBT, but many psychological professionals have training in other therapies (such as play therapy or family therapy) that can help with specific problems or difficulties.
We start with an intervention or therapy with the best likelihood of helping the difficulty you have. This is called evidence-based treatment. We follow national recommendations and use our local research knowledge to make sure we are up to date and that we are giving you the best chance of finding the psychological work to help you, or your relative.
For information about how you can self-refer to some of our services, please visit our pages on Improving Access to Psychologial Therapies.
However, usually the best way of getting support through our services is by talking to your GP or to other health or social care professionals supporting you. Once you are seen by a psychological professional, they will discuss what kind of psychological help might be best for you or your relative.
Our professionals may be registered with a number of professional bodies.
Psychological Professions Network (PPN) is a free network that works to promote excellence in psychological health and wellbeing
British Association for Behavioural & Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP) provides registration for those offering CBT and offers training for psychological professionals
The British Psychological Society (BPS) is responsible for the development, promotion and application of psychology for the public good
For more information about the range of careers in psychology and psychological therapies then visit Sussex Partnership's career page