NHS Forth Valley – Clinical Health Psychology

What is Clinical Health Psychology?

Living with a long-term physical health condition can be challenging. It often involves significant changes to your lifestyle which can affect your qualify of life. Health conditions can involve uncomfortable physical symptoms, change what activities you can do, and change how you manage your roles and responsibilities in daily life. Treatment plans can be demanding, and you may worry about the future of living with your condition.

It is not surprising that people living with long-term physical health conditions are more likely to also experience psychological challenges. These can include low mood, anxiety, panic and difficulty managing pain, fatigue and the demands of treatment.

Clinical Health Psychology (CHP) is a specialist team within NHS Forth Valley’s Psychological Services. Our role is to help people live well alongside their long-term physical health conditions. We offer assessment and a range of evidence-based psychological therapies to adults whose psychological health has been significantly impacted by living with long-term physical health conditions. We aim to help you notice and make sense of the links between your physical sensations, emotions, thoughts and actions, and to understand how these can all impact how you live with your condition. Therapy aims to help you make achievable changes that improve your quality of life.

CHP staff mainly work within NHS teams who specialise in helping people with specific conditions such as chronic pain, type 1 diabetes, cancer, long covid, or who have had an ICU admission. We have staff who work within maternity and perinatal care (see link NHS Forth Valley – Maternal & Paternal Mental Health). We also offer ‘stand alone’ psychological assessment and therapy to patients with other long-term physical health conditions not mentioned above.

What we offer

Firstly, we will listen to you to understand how your health condition affects you and your quality of life. We will also explain how the service could assist you. Staff and you then work together in therapy to develop ways of coping with the demands and impact of your condition. This may involve learning new information and developing new skills and strategies. It may also mean helping you notice existing strengths and resources. The overall aim of therapy is to help you to adjust to living well alongside having your condition.

Therapy can be offered on an individual or group basis; staff will discuss which is the best approach for you.

Group Interventions

Groups can be helpful as they allow participants to learn new skills whilst gaining peer support from those who ‘get’ the challenges of living with the same or similar conditions. Group options include:

Pain Management Programme (PMP) – details can be found here NHS Forth Valley – Pain Management Programme (PMP)

STEP (Scottish Type 1 Education Programme) which is a group for patients newly diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.

Living Better with Illness group uses psychological strategies to improve the ability to live well alongside a long-term physical health condition.

Individual Interventions

We also offer individual therapy. The following evidence based psychological therapies are commonly offered to people living with long-term physical health conditions.

cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
acceptance & commitment therapy (ACT)
compassion focussed therapy (CFT)
TF-CBT (trauma focused CBT) and
eye movement desensitisation reprocessing (EMDR)

Which therapy is offered will depend on your individual needs and staff will discuss therapy choices with you.

Practicalities

Appointments are offered at Falkirk Community Hospital and at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

Online appointments can be offered using a video call service called Near Me (powered by Attend Anywhere) – click here for further information: NHS Forth Valley – Near Me Near Me is free, safe, confidential and easy to access. You will need a laptop, tablet or smart phone and access to the internet. It is important when arranging a Near Me appointment to have a confidential space to receive the call.

CHP telephone: 01324 614387

Opening Hours: Monday – Friday 09:00 – 17:00

Useful Resources

If you are concerned about somebody who may be at immediate risk out with these hours, contact either your local GP surgery, NHS 24 (dial 111) or go to your nearest Emergency Department.

For further information the following websites and resources may be helpful.

NHS Inform