After the initial assessment, the Consultant Psychiatrist will briefly discuss a care plan. This may involve psychological therapy or medication. If medication is chosen as a means of treatment, they will administer the medication on the day but you will be required to attend a review appointment once you have finished your prescription. A full report will then be sent out to you and your GP following the assessment.

When seen by a Psychiatrist for an assessment of your mental and emotional health issues, they will go through your past, personal, and family history with you. A diagnosis will be established if one is present and they would discuss your treatment and care with you. The assessment may last from 60- 90 minutes depending on the complexity of the presentation.

We do offer medico-legal assessments for non-criminal proceedings. We would be required to obtain an instruction from your solicitors before providing a definitive quote. However typically, these services start at £1800 for simple cases.

Yes, our psychiatrists and psychologists are qualified to write reports for your employers.

We will do our best to provide recommendations to your NHS trust. In the majority of cases, your GP will be happy to provide certain medications based on our psychiatrist’s suggestions.

We are happy to liaise with your GP and set up a shared care protocol once you have commenced and settled on medication. However please be aware that this is subject to your GP’s policy for prescribing stimulant medication.

Your consultant Psychiatrist can administer medication for ADHD. If this is the case, you will be required to pay for this prescription (£20) and attend review appointments in order for the doctor to monitor your medication.

Yes, you are welcome to bring your relatives/friends to the appointment if that makes you feel more comfortable.

We are an outpatient service and due to this we do not provide crisis services.

The role of the doctors can be varied but routinely, they assess your mental health related issues, current and past, make a diagnosis if present and develop a treatment plan based on these that could include medical treatment if required, referral for psychological assessment and therapy, signposting you to the right services if required and provide information regarding your own issues.

A Psychologist is different from a Psychiatrist and is an expert in human behaviours, thoughts and emotions. They have done bachelors and masters degree in psychology. They provide talking therapies

As the name suggests, neuropsychiatry is the branch of medicine where the disorder involves psychiatry (mind) as well as neurology (physical brain). It deals with mental disorders which originate from brain dysfunction or brain dysfunction that causes behavioural or psychological issues. For example: ADHD, movement disorders, Non-epileptic fits, chronic fatigue syndrome.

There are a wide variety of psychiatric disorders overlapping with neurological disorders that a neuropsychiatrist can diagnose and treat.

This list is not exhaustive:

• Epilepsy with non-epileptic attack disorder
• Pre and post-ictal psychosis
• Sleep disorders,
• Developmental disorders
• Adult ADHD
• Movement disorders
• Huntington’s disease
• Acquired brain injury with behavioural problems
• Neurodegenerative disorders such as Dementia

Virtual reality therapy is used to provide a safe place for you to explore specific phobias or environments that typically produce high levels of anxiety. Your clinician will use a cognitive behavioural model to allow you to confront your concerns and use relaxation techniques to teach your brain that the situation is not a threat.

The cost for virtual reality therapy varies dependent on the clinician who will be providing your treatment. The costs range from £75-£120. Please be aware that this does not include the standard initial assessment costs for Clinical psychologists or CBT therapists. 

We have a specialist in CBT-I (cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia). Our focus on insomnia is conducted through sessions with our experienced cognitive behavioural therapists who have a specialism in health psychology.

The sessions for insomnia treatment are £75 for an initial assessment and £60 for any ongoing sessions.

Typically we recommend between 6-12 sessions for the treatment of insomnia.

We offer a range of counselling services including counselling for children, adults, emotional regulation issues and bereavement support.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is the most common form of talking therapy used to treat a range of illnesses. It works on the basis of how your thoughts affect your actions and behaviours.

All of our psychologists are trained in CBT. However, we also have a Psychotherapist available who specialises in CBT. An initial consultation with our Psychotherapist starts from £75. Any further sessions cost £60. 

An initial consultation with the Psychotherapist would provide you with the opportunity to highlight your concerns and symptoms which you would like to address within therapy. In turn, the Psychotherapist will ask you questions surrounding the problem in order to understand the issues at hand. Further sessions will involve techniques that can be used to address the issues at hand.

During sessions, you will work with the therapist to break down problems into thoughts, physical feelings and actions. You will both analyse these areas to work out if they’re unrealistic or unhelpful, and to determine the effect they have on you. They will then be able to help you work out how to change unhelpful thoughts and behaviours.

Your therapist will use CBT techniques in order to help you focus on the present moment; look for practical ways to improve your mental wellbeing on a daily basis; help alleviate negative thought patterns and help break down overwhelming problems. After working out what you can change, your therapies will ask you to practice these changes in your daily life and you’ll discuss how you got on during the next session.

The number of CBT sessions will be discussed between you and your Psychotherapist. Typically, it is recommended to have between 10-18. 

An initial session will cost £75. Any further sessions will cost £60.

That would depend on your individual needs. Our Psychologist would first arrange to meet with you to discuss your difficulties and advise you as to the most appropriate and effective treatment. This decision would draw together your expert knowledge of yourself and your needs, together with our expert knowledge of psychological treatments and practice.

Together we will form a treatment plan and take it from there. For example, the evidence states that for difficulties such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a Cognitive Behavioural approach to treatment has shown to be highly effective in reducing symptoms. However, difficulties related to psychological trauma in the past have been shown to respond well to EMDR treatment.

They assess your emotional wellbeing, issues, and psychological trauma and how these may affect your life. They then, in discussion with you, decide if you require therapy to resolve these issues and if so the form and length of therapy that would be appropriate.

At the Oaktree Connect, we have both psychology and psychiatric services. Currently, we have Clinical Psychologists and therapists who have extensive experience in their field. For more information on their expertise, please see our website.

Our Psychologists can help with the following: Anxiety, Depression, Psychosis, Personality Disorders, Eating Disorders, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Complex Trauma, Addictions, Chronic Illness, Schizophrenia, Sleep Problems, Panic Disorder, Borderline Personality Disorder, Phobias, etc.

There are several advantrages of a video appointments. Some of these are:

• You can have therapy from the comfort of your own home.
• It’s easy to use and set up
• It’s convenient
• Many of us are already familiar with having video calls and like it (e.g. via Zoom, Whatsapp or FaceTime)
• You can see your therapist and they can see you, unlike over the phone
• It saves time. You no longer have to travel to and from where your therapy is based
• It can be less daunting than arriving at a clinic and sitting in a waiting room.
• You may find it easier to talk about your difficulties when in a setting that you are more familiar with
• Ability to share screens. Video sessions have a ‘share screen’ function which means that either you or the therapist can show each other what is on your screen. This is particularly helpful when talking about any homework tasks which have been completed in-between sessions, or when the therapist is introducing a new idea.

A recent survey on video sessions was conducted. Below are some of the key findings:

• On average patients rated their overall experience of video sessions as 4.4 out of possible 5 stars (88%)
• 84% of patients felt that video platforms were simple to use, and 95% felt that it was easy to learn how to use the video platforms
• 86% of patients felt that video sessions provided for their healthcare needs
• 92% of patients said that they would use video sessions again in the future.

No, you can ask for face to face (in person) appointments which are currently available for psychiatric assessment in Birmingham and St Albans (for London area) clinics.