Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx) Blog
Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx) Blog
Posted by ma403
29 September 2023Bridging the Gap: The Story of Inclusion Thurrock: Psychological Therapy Service (IT:PTS) – Dr Richard Pione
Within talking therapies provision, the importance of accessible primary care talking psychological services for a range of patients with more complex needs cannot be overstated. They can be an essential service for individuals grappling with mental health difficulties, offering much-needed therapeutic input. In Thurrock, South Essex, a transformation and modernization of the existing model of care was required. The existing primary and secondary care service specifications left a gap in provision to be filled.
In response to this gap, the NHS Long Term Plan and the NHS Community Mental Health Framework set forth a vision for new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care. These models aimed to provide greater choice to adults and older adults with severe mental illness. IT:PTS was commissioned to set forth this vision and bridge the gap between primary/community and secondary care in Thurrock, specifically targeting the previously unmet needs of the ‘missing middle.’
IT:PTS offers a wide range of therapies, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), CBT for Psychosis and Bipolar (CBT-PBP), CBT for Eating Disorders (CBT-ED), CBT for Personality Disorder (CBT-PD), Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Interpersonal Psychotherapy (IPT), and Mentalization Based Therapy (MBT).
IT: PTS has made a commitment to engaging in research opportunities and contributing to the evidence base where possible. Excitingly, I was awarded an NIHR Three Schools Fellowship which allowed me to partner up with the Exeter Primary Care School. This funding enabled a small case series to take place to test the efficacy of a novel psychotherapy for patients with treatment resistant depression. Chief Investigator, Professor Barney Dunn, and the Access to Evidence Based Psychotherapies (AccEPT) clinic have been an invaluable partner to enabling; our NHS service to engage in research, staff members to receive high quality supervision and more broadly, develop a mutually beneficial relationship between organisations.
The team has subsequently won an HSJ award for Primary Care Initiative of the Year award. The NIHR Three Schools Fellowship made a significant contribution to the service’s achievements. We have seen this award as validation of the service sitting in the gap where there are gaps in service provision.