Treatment information

All the psychiatrists at Grove Psychiatry Group have a comprehensive approach to helping patients deal with the psychological, personal and social problems.

Patient choice is central to treatment success and management plans take into account both the nature of the problems as well individual preferences.

Assessment

The first assessment session is an opportunity to talk about your problem and the difficulties associated with it.

When you arrive you may be asked to fill in some mood rating scales. They are short and should not take more than five minutes to complete. They are not used for diagnosis but will give an idea of how severe things are at the moment. I may ask you to complete these again at future appointments so that we can reliably assess how well your treatment is working. 

The first interview will probably last about an hour. During the initial assessment we will talk about your general background and about any serious illnesses or emotional problems you may have had in the past. We will also discuss what has been happening in your life recently, how your problem has developed and whether you have had any treatment for it already. It can sometimes be difficult to answer all these questions, but they help me to get to know you as a person and to get an idea of the kinds of treatment options that would suit you best. 

Towards the end of the hour we will talk about what is wrong, possible treatments and what the likely outcome might be. 

The consultation is an opportunity to answer any specific questions you might have about your illness. Some people write their questions down beforehand, as they come to mind, so that they can be sure to cover them during the visit. You may also bring a relative or friend with you if you wish. 

Treatment

Some people have specific preferences for medication or for talking treatments. We can discuss the pro’s and cons of each treatment and decide on a course of action that suits you best. 

Treatment may include:

*  Medication advice and management
*  Assessment of memory and brain function
*  Psychologically-minded approaches to understanding and treating mental illness
*  Counseling
*  Complete confidentiality

Patient follow-up and quality assurance

Once treatment has begun, we will arrange follow up sessions to check your progress and ensure that you are maintaining your treatment goals. 

Our psychiatrists are committed to delivering excellent, evidence based treatments. They audit their treatment program regularly to ensure that treatment outcomes are in line with those of other treatment centres around the word.