Treatment Options

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Case management

Following review of your registration form and/or our first assessment it may become clear that ongoing case management with a lead clinician is indicated. This lead clinician would usually be the person who manages your care journey with PH. This can be supportive and therapeutic and is a good way for patients to get a more objective opinion on how their treatment is going. Case management may run alongside other interventions, such as CBT, brief intervention psychotherapy or any group therapy.

Talking therapy

Practitioner Health offers a range of treatment options which includes talking Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and Brief Psychotherapy. These sessions are usually between 8-12 sessions. We are unable to provide longer-term talking therapy. 

If we feel following assessment that longer term talking therapy is  most likely to help you then we can help guide your choices and signpost you accordingly however we are unable to provide or fund this directly.

Cognitive behavioural therapy

CBT is a form of treatment that many of you may be familiar with. It is a psychological approach based on scientific principles, which research has shown to be effective for a wide range of problems. Patients and therapists work together, once a therapeutic alliance has been formed, to identify and understand problems. It is based on the idea that thoughts, feelings and behaviour are related and that changing one response, such as behaviour, usually results in change in another response, such as mood. The approach usually focuses on difficulties in the “here and now”, and relies on the therapist and patient developing a shared view of the problem.

The mainstay of treatment within PH is CBT which is provided by both in-house therapists and and external providers of CBT who we commission to help with delivery of this talking therapy across the country.

Psychotherapy

Brief intervention psychotherapy is time limited, to an absolute maximum of 12 sessions. This can be used for a number of different reasons but it often used to help patients through a difficult or transition period in their life.

Group support (group psychotherapy)

Group psychotherapy is a form of therapy in which one or more therapists treat a small number of patients together. Groups can help reduce the isolation of unwell practitioner-patients and allow them to overcome barriers to becoming patients and disclosing their issues. Once in a group, most find them extremely beneficial and therapeutic.

Groups help to reduce the isolation of sick doctors and allow them to overcome the barriers to becoming a patient and of disclosing their issues. Once in a group, doctors find them extremely beneficial and therapeutic. There are a range of different groups offered at PH which your assessing clinician can discuss with you.

Treatment for addiction

We know that it is hard for those in healthcare to seek help with addiction problems due to the deep sense of shame and humiliation that is associated with them. There is also a great deal of fear that is experienced as it is not clear what implications admitting to an addiction and seeking help will have for them both professionally and personally. 

At PH, we can provide a safe therapeutic and treatment space for these professionals with the confidence that we are operating within the parameters of our memorandums of understanding with the health and social care regulators. 

Treatment will inevitably involve a comprehensive assessment with a PH clinician, a multidisciplinary team approach to treatment, and a risk assessment. Treatment options may include abstinence, replacement, referral for talking therapy or group therapy or, in more severe cases, residential treatment.

Clouds House

Clouds House, in South West England also known simply as Clouds, treat all forms of addiction including: alcohol, drugs (prescribed and non-prescribed), gambling, gaming, sex and love (including pornography), and some food related disorders.

Visit Action on Addiction for more information

Bayberry clinic

Bayberry clinic offers tranquil, residential recovery centres - treating alcohol addiction in Solihull, West Midlands and surrounding rural locations. The treatment is provided within discreet surroundings.

Prescribing

Within the service, we are able to prescribe for you if this is indicated, ideally with your GP’s knowledge and consent for safety reasons. However, this is not always essential and you can discuss your prescribing needs with your lead clinician.

Links with OH

Practitioner Health is not an occupational health service or a replacement for occupational health, it is an additional service. At PH, we can however liaise with the relevant Occupational Health team regarding a patient’s role in work, time off work or their return to work where appropriate and only with the consent of the patient.

Report writing

Practitioner Health can provide reports for patients, however this will be with the explicit consent and approval of the practitioner-patient. PH can provide reports to employers, Trusts, or to the reglulators. Normally these will be short, confirmation of fact reports. PH does charge for reports in some circumstances. We will not charge for reports where the cost would be incurred by the practitioner patient.

All report fees are reinvested in PH for service development or the improvement of existing services for practitioner patients.

View our details of report fees.