+447511546374Our Diagnosis and Treatment Process
Here to provide support from psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists. Start your wellness journey with Oaktree Connect here.
We believe in a multi-disciplinary approach to mental health care so we have a team of experienced psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists to ensure that you receive excellent and bespoke care tailored to your needs. We like to provide all aspects of your ongoing care so your experience is streamlined and you do not have to ‘google’ different services from various different providers.
At Oaktree Connect, you will have a detailed assessment with a psychiatrist, diagnosis will be made, if your struggles prove to be due to a mental disorder. The doctor will then recommend a treatment plan. This may involve medication or a referral to another cliniccian who may be able to help you further with talking therapies, the psychologists and therapists.
Assessment
One of our psychiatrists will conduct a comprehensive mental health assessment online using the latest evidence-based practice. Psychiatrists may ask questions about the following:
- Issues you have been experiencing, their frequency,
- Home and school/ work life.
- Previous mental or physical health history
- Personal History
Individuals below 16 years of age or older adults with memory problems, will need a parent or carer respectively, to be present during the whole or part of the appointment
Diagnosis
The practitioner makes a diagnosis using various sources of information, including the diagnostic interview with you, your completed psychological questionnaires, history provided by your carers. They then use this information against the diagnostic criteria set out by the International Coding systems to establish the diagnosis.
They will explain the disorder and diagnosis to you and discuss the implications with you in detail. They will be able to answer the questions you may have about the diagnosis.
Investigations
This follows the doctor’s diagnosis after the psychiatric or psychological assessment online. The incestigations may include:
- Blood tests- these provide information about whether your mental health symptoms could be caused by any physical illness. They are also necessary to ensure that your organs are working well before prescribing any long or short term medication.
- ECG may be required to ensure your heat function is good before medication can be prescribed, in some cases.
- An MRI or CT scans may be carried out to rule out physical illness in some and older adults as a way to support the diagnosis of certain types of dementia.
- Sleep studies
Treatment
As part of the comprehensive care plan the practitioner may recommend the following:
- Medication
- Talking therapies with a clinical psychologist or therapist.
- Follow up Meetings: the frequency and duration of each appointment with a psychiatrist is tailored to your needs and depends on your circumstances, diagnosis, and treatment mode.
- Sign-posting to other organisations that may be able to help you with information or assistance. These will mostly be non-profit or charity organosations.
Referral
Following on from the completion of your assessment, you will receive a report from the clinician within 7-10 working days. The report is likely to include many aspects discussed during the assessment and will conclude with the diagnosis and treatment plan (if they were given).
With your consent, the report can be shared with your GP. Your practitioner may also refer you to a clinician with different expertise, if required.
Ongoing care
After your diagnosis and initial treatment, your clinician will ensure that you have all the information about the right level of support which may include:
- Follow up appointments with them
- Level of support you need from your carers
- Recommend any reasonable adjustments that employers or educational institutions can make to assist you.
- They may also signpost you to other organisations, including charities that offer educational and career advice, or that support carers.
All of our services are provided online so you can be seen by a clinician in the comfort of your own home. When you sign up, you will have access to a free portal where you can upload any clinical documents for our practitioners to see, make future appointments, complete questionnaires the clinician assigns to you and see the contact details of the organisations the practitioner may have signposted you to.
After the appointment, the psychiatrist or therapist will be able to communicate directly with your GP, with your permission.
If medication is prescribed, our pharmacy partner will send you the medication straight to your doorstep.
Oaktree Connect All Age Services
In mental health services, all the specialists are categorised by age groups. This is because each age group has different requirements according to the stage of life they are in. The practitioners are trained differently to best serve these differing needs. Certain disorders and issues are more likely to affect certain age groups, for example, dementia in older adults and ADHD in younger adults.
There may be some crossover between issues typically seen in a particular amongst people from 16- 18 years of age and they may be assessed by general adult psychiatrists rather than by a CAMHS clinician.
If you have doubts about the best practitioner for you, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Treatments
We provide specialist treatments and services to help you on your journey to full recovery and ongoing wellbeing. We provide modern, evidence based treatments in line with government guidelines. Please contact us for if you can’t find what you are looking for.
There are many different treatments for a single issue, whether those are physical, psychological, or social. See below to find out more information about the treatments we offer.
Physical
Physical treatments involve inciting a response to disorders using physical methods. Medication is used extensively to treat and reduce the symptoms in disorders such as depression, anxiety, and psychosis. rTMS is another increasingly common treatment for neuropsychiatric disorders. If you are considering TMS as a treatment, contact us or book an assessment with one of our psychiatrists.
Psychological
We offer several types of therapy that may be given in conjunction with physical treatment or on their own. Your psychiatrist may refer you to a psychologist or therapist for sessions of therapy. The number of sessions varies for different therapies and different people. If you are interested in what we offer, you can find information about specific therapies below.
Social
Our practitioners may refer you to a third party for social treatments. These often involve activities done is a social setting and interacting with multiple people.