Welcome to the Derbyshire Health Psychology Service.
This website explains the type of support we can offer. It also includes skills, tips, and links to other support.
This website can also help family members to understand more about the support we offer.
Psychology is about understanding how people think, feel and behave. We can use psychology to help with problems we all have.
Professionals in Derbyshire can also use this website to find information to help their patients and support them in their work with them.
We hope you find everything you need on this site. Please get in touch if you have an idea or feedback.
Psychology can mean focusing on our thoughts, our emotions, our behaviours (what we do) and how these interact with our body.
We are a psychology service that focuses on health which means that we work with people with physical health conditions or symptoms.
Referral to our service happens when somebody has a physical health problem, but where medical treatment isn't the only answer. We often see people when their health problems are having an impact on their mood and quality of life.
We provide assessment, advice and therapy. This can be one-to-one or in groups.
We work with:
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People with long term conditions
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People with life limiting or terminal conditions
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People who have conditions which they are finding tough to manage
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Health care and other staff working with these patient groups.
It is normal to experience worry, disbelief and shock when you experience health problems and treatment. Usually, these feelings become easier to manage.
With time and support you may begin to feel more able to cope with your thoughts and feelings. This support may come from family, friends, and health professionals.
However, sometimes these feelings continue or get worse. You might feel stuck with your distress. This might be a useful time to think about asking for psychological support.
These are some of the areas we can help with:
- If you have problems coming to terms with your illness or diagnosis
- Low mood, anxiety and stress about your illness and treatment
- Dealing with worries about your health in the future and your treatment
- Keeping control and independence
- Getting used to everyday life and recovering after your health problem and your treatment
- Making decisions about your treatment
- Worries about family problems in relation to physical health problems
- Helping you to manage pain or other symptoms
- Coping with loss and change
- Reconnecting with things that are important to you.
People who see us often have health problems such as:
- Chronic pain
- Chronic fatigue
- Fibromyalgia
- Coronary heart disease
- Diabetes
- Cancer
- Respiratory conditions
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Neurological conditions
- Functional Symptoms.
Health problems often have a number of different names. Don’t worry if you don’t recognise your condition above. These are just some examples.
We are not a crisis service. If you need urgent help with how you are feeling, please click here: I need urgent help.
When we first meet, we will ask you about your situation. We will talk together about what might be most helpful for you. This is called an assessment.
If we think our service is right for you, we will try to offer your follow up sessions as soon as possible. There may be a waiting list. It may take some months between your assessment and starting your sessions.
Our sessions are usually between 9am and 5pm during the week (Monday-Friday). You will normally have 6-8 sessions which will each last for 1 hour. You will usually see the same psychologist for each session.
You can find out more about appointments on our appointment information page.
About Us
We are a Psychology team who work in lots of different ways, including areas such as:
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Psychological health
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Physical health
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Public health
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Prevention.
Our staff have regular training and supervision.
Our practitioner psychologists are registered with the HCPC (Health and Care Professions Council).
Being registered with the HCPC means that we have standards that we work to. These include:
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Treating you as an individual
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Being honest and trustworthy
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Putting your safety first.
These experiences are from patients who have been supported by the Health Psychology Service.
If you would like to share your experience, please contact us.
“I was very cynical and sceptical at my first appointment but I am so thankful now that I attended...the psychologist gave me the confidence to cope with and get on with my life.”
“I was worried that people thought I was going mad when they mentioned seeing the psychologist. But she was really nice and I could begin to get my head around everything that was happening through talking to her.”
“I feel the service is a really important part in learning how to accept and manage.”
“It was an exemplary service, fantastic. It was nothing short of awesome. After 2-3 sessions I could already see a way forward.”
Feedback
We are always looking at ways to improve the service we offer. This is so we can make it as useful and helpful to patients as possible.
We would like to make sure our patients’ voices are heard when we want to change or develop our service.
We would love to have your feedback about your experience with the service. Please fill in the form below.
You can also give any compliments or complaints to your local Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).
Your feedback and ideas will help us make sure that our service meets the needs of those who use it.
There are lots of ways you can let us know your views, for example:
- Answering a questionnaire.
- Coming to a meeting or focus group.
- Helping us to interview new members of our team.
- Reading and commenting.
- Writing a patient story.
- Being part of a discussion.
If you are interested in joining our Patient and Public Involvement Panel, here’s what to do:
- Call our office on 01246 515520 for more information.
- We will then get in touch with you to ask you to opt-in.
- You can opt in by post, telephone or email.
- We will add your name to our database.
What can I expect if I decide to opt-in?
- We will let you know about upcoming PPI projects. You can decide whether you want to be involved or not.
- You can choose to be involved in a project if you are interested. We are always happy to give you more information before you decide if you want to be involved.
- We will let you know how our projects are going. We will send you occasional brief newsletters.
- You can opt-out at any time. Just ask us to take your name off the database. We will stop sending you information.
- We will ask you if you want to stay on the database after 1 year. If we don’t hear anything from you, we will take your name off the database.