Primary Care Mental Health Specialist Service

"My PCMHS’s support has been invaluable. She is highly understanding, respectful, open-minded and non-judgmental. Her listening skills are extremely fine-tuned and beneficial to me as she really ‘hears’ me and gives a voice, which you don’t always feel like you have when you are going through mental distress. She also has a very skilled way of reflecting on what I tell her regarding what’s troubling me and how my condition impacts on my everyday life, which then helps me to gain further insight into my condition. I feel I can tell her anything and I feel free to express all my feelings in my sessions with her. This is extremely valuable as I have a tendency to ‘bottle things up’. She is also very patient and kind and flexible. It’s reassuring to know she would contact my GP if need be. She also has a good working relationship with my GP which is also reassuring. It’s also fantastic that she visits me at home for our sessions. I am a lot more relaxed here and I believe home sessions are of much better quality and assistance to me because of this. It’s great I have easy access to her as I can text her at times of crisis on her work mobile and she replies quickly. Overall I am very lucky to have the PCMHS’s support, she is consistent and informative and I thank her and your service profusely."

South Kent Coast Patient

"Thank you for helping me, I have been mentally ill all my life. I don’t know what I should do without the PCMHS help. God bless you all."

South Kent Coast Patient

"During the three years my PCMHS has been providing counselling, I have found him to be very supportive and always on time. He is understanding of, and supportive with my anxiety which allows me to relax and be open about how I am feeling in times of distress. My PCMHS’s caring and professional nature is something I have come to rely on and I feel that I would not cope without his continued support."

South Kent Coast Patient

"After being diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder for 17 years this course has been the first real insight in to Bipolar. It has been most informative and I have gained a lot of knowledge. It is good to listen to other people’s experiences – who suffer from bipolar. It is helpful to have all the information given which will enable me to look back on this in the future. I look forward to coming each week and meeting the other people and completing the session. I think completing this course will help me stay well in future. I have gained a lot of insight about a condition I have had for 17 years. I just wish I had the opportunity to do this course when I was first diagnosed."

South Kent Coast Patient

"Invicta Health Services have been one of the best services I have been under the care of. I felt completely let down by other mental health services. If I hadn’t had the PCMHS support I can honestly say I would have given up on life. He has been life saving support. He is professional and knowledgeable and compassionate towards my mental health and has a calming presence. I am so grateful with all my heart for Invicta Health Services and my PCMHS’s work caring and supporting people with mental health. This is probably the best service I have received for my mental health. Thank you."

South Kent Coast Patient

"I am writing regarding the mental health care I received from Invicta Health. After a very upsetting experience with a previous Therapist I came into contact with the PCMHS team and what a difference and contrast. My PCMHS went out of her way to get the adequate care I desperately needed. When I had the previous therapist I did nothing. I was beside myself, had a meltdown and it took all of the PCMHS’s patience, calming presence and professional skills to soothe things. Because I was really badly in need of that referral if fell back onto the PCMHS quite early on into therapy to get that sorted and she did not disappoint. She agreed to stay with me (which she was not obliged to do!) until the referral came through which prevented me to have a breakdown and come to harm. The letter came through in July which is when we decided to call it a day. She was very capable to work with, punctual, polite and with a professional empathy and patience beyond anything else. I was not always the easiest person to deal with due to circumstances but she always stayed impartial and it has been noted a professional understanding, listening skills beyond reproach, essential qualities if you work within mental health which was something I appreciated. I would without any doubts recommend her to anyone who faces mental health problems. She was a great help to me and could you please forward her with the biggest ‘Thank You’ and may her good work continue. I do wish her all the best in the future. She is a credit to the profession."

South Kent Coast Patient

"My PCMHS's support has been invaluable. She is highly understanding, respectful and open-minded and non-judgemental. Her listening skills are extremely fine-tuned and beneficial to me as she really ‘hears’ me and gives me a voice, which you don’t always feel like you have when you are going through mental distress. She also has a very skilled way of reflecting on what I tell her regarding what’s troubling me and how my condition impacts on my everyday life, which then helps me to gain further insight into my condition. I feel I can tell her anything, I feel free to express all my feelings in my sessions with her. This is extremely valuable as I have a tendency to ‘bottle things up’. She is also very patient and kind and flexible. It’s reassuring to know she would contact my GP if need be. She also has a good working relationship with my GP which is also reassuring. It’s also fantastic that she visits me at home for our sessions. I am a lot more relaxed here and I believe home sessions are of much better quality and assistance to me because of this. Its great I have easy access to her as I can text her at times of crisis on her work mobile. She replies quickly. Overall I am very lucky to have her support, she is consistent and informative and I thank her and your service profusely."

South Kent Coast Patient

"Having completed the PCMHS bipolar psychoeducation course and been under her care as my CPN I wanted to say a few words in support of both her and the course. The course and her care have been the most helpful interventions I’ve yet experienced in managing my Bipolar II disorder so I want to make sure that such services are made available for as many people for as long as possible. I worry that both might find themselves in the firing line of cuts in the name of austerity. The deep understanding provided by the course of the nature of my condition, its triggers and the steps to keep myself and others safe means I am more confident than ever in my capacity to manage my condition. Furthermore, the sense of community fostered by the course significantly addressed the feelings of loneliness and alienation I was feeling at the time. The PCMHS skilful facilitation meant that she was both able to deliver the course content whilst allowing space for catharsis and contribution amongst group members. As a professional facilitator myself, I know that this is no mean feat. I have no doubt that I would be in significantly poorer mental health were it not for this course. My guess is that this kind of proactive intervention represents good value for NHS money given how likely it would have been for me to end up in A&E without it. I urge decision makers to make this kind of course available as widely as possible. Finally I want to say how attentive and helpful the PCMHS has been to me following the course in her capacity as my CPN. She has been thoughtful, available and encouraging during the time it has taken to find the right drug regime for me. I doubt if I would have come to such a helpful outcome as soon, if at all, If left to my own devices. I could not have asked any more of her and will remain forever grateful."

Canterbury and Coastal Patient

"Very happy"

Canterbury and Coastal Patient

"I have suffered from my mental health condition since January 21st 1991. There have been various interventions from the Mental Health Team over the years. This service suits my needs and is the best support I have received in all that time. My specialist is a very good listener and very knowledgeable. Her advice very often speaks right to the core of the matter. It is a very flexible, person centred service which adapts to my situation and needs. I value the support I receive. The team are welcoming and responsive and also efficient."

Canterbury and Coastal Patient

"Seems a far more patient service than prior dealings with Mental Health Team. Set goals for my improvement rather than doing this or that course to tick boxes. The PCMHS coming to see me at home means I can always make my appointments, previously had to cancel when unwell or unable to drive (no suitable public transport from our village). Have a much clearer view of acceptable outcome and easier to review medicines if necessary."

Canterbury and Coastal Patient

"Initially I didn’t see the benefit of group and thought that one-on-one would be more beneficial. However, any scepticism was gone, the different topics were brilliant and it was nice to have a range of ages and people in different parts of life for a different perspective. Overall, it really helped me understand my condition more and my control of my emotions drastically increased. Knowing I wasn’t alone and understanding it more has been beyond amazing. I would only say that more sessions on understanding the condition filters and challenges would have been beneficial as that helped to logicalise the condition more. The PCMHS was extremely friendly, inviting and made everyone feel comfortable in saying what they truly felt. I wish it didn’t end! I haven’t felt this good in years and I can’t recommend this enough!"

Canterbury and Coastal Service User

"I found the programme excellent. The PCMHS was brilliant at running the course and made the group work well together. I would have liked more sessions on distorted thinking and challenging times. I would say that the programmed has greatly improved my BPD by giving me techniques to manage my emotions and filters. Would happily to the course again."

Canterbury and Coastal Service User

"Absolutely excellent!! Didn’t think group work was for me to start with, but I think it really helped. It was mainly the discussions the group has helped me start to sort my life out. Only thing I would change, was more in the 1st session, felt it was pointless as it was sometimes people who talk allot, were allowed to dominate, but wasn’t too much of a problem."

Canterbury and Coastal Service User

"Thank you I enjoyed the lesson on recognising filters and on how to distance myself from things and also I learnt about what filters are most prominent in my behaviour but my favourite part of the therapy was all the personality questionnaires I did!"

Canterbury and Coastal Service User

"This course has been extremely useful. It is the first intervention I have had since I was diagnosed with Bipolar in 2004. I found it useful as it was based on NICE guidelines and also has the opportunity to discuss as well. It is a practical course and is wide ranging in content. I think this course should be available to everyone who has Bipolar Disorder."

Canterbury and Coastal Service User

"Thank you very much for your request for feedback on your team and services. I am very satisfied with the services that you provide to the patients that have been transferred to you from our Community Mental Health Team to your Primary Care Mental Health Team under Shared care. You have continued to provide excellent access to services to many of our CMHT former service users. Many of them seem happier to engage with mental health services when the service is based in general practice. I believe we have excellent cooperation in our area and that you and your services have always been extremely helpful and responsive I particularly appreciate your team’s professionalism and commitment to your patients. I believe all the patients that have been transferred are now enjoying better services than previously under our CMHT that is staff-depleted, overburdened with administrative work and constantly changing. Most are reluctant to be referred back when they are relapsing. Thank you for your extra effort and commitment to continue to support some of our service users experiencing relapses in their conditions and unable to be immediately re-allocated and fast tracked back to our services. Unfortunately for the CMHT many of our most experienced professionals have left to join your team. I can understand their preference for a service that is clinician-led and allows for excellent community mental health work with your patients. I still provide local consultant cover clusters 11 and 12 and Early Intervention before new geographical arrangements are in place (PODS). The service users experiencing psychotic illnesses that have been transferred from our CMHT and Early Intervention Services to your Primary care MH Services seem to benefit not only from the excellent quality and range of services provided by very experienced practitioners but also from the stability and commitment of your team. The psychoeducational activities that your team has started to provide recently (Psychosis, Bipolar Illness…) are an excellent initiative that we all appreciate. We need those to promote self-management and relapse prevention. Service users still under the CMHT are also benefitting from your work in that area. Being now more experienced, available and accessible to service users than many of the workers in our depleted CMHT, your team has been very responsive and has managed to maintain the engagement of many complex patients under shared care. I’m aware that many patients were initially transferred not being appropriately clustered and still you managed to engage and support former assertive outreach clients. Thank you very much for your excellent work and your Team cooperation with our secondary community mental health services (EIP and CMHT)."

Canterbury and Coastal Consultant Psychiatrist, CMHT