Information for GPs and other health professionals
Referral criteria
Age: 18 years and upwards (no upper age limit).
Residence: We accept referrals for people who live within Lewisham OR are registered with a Lewisham GP.
Nature of problem: A primary diagnosis of depression and/or anxiety disorder including Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety, OCD, PTSD, Phobias and generalised anxiety.
Patients should not be receiving psychological therapy from another service or therapist at the same time as being seen in our service, although exceptions may be made occasionally, e.g. family therapy.
Referrals will be screened to make sure we are the most appropriate service for the client’s needs. Part of our role is to assess clients’ suitability for our service, and we may direct the referral elsewhere before assessment if needed.
Please note, just because a referral has been submitted this does not mean a referral has been accepted, so please manage clients’ expectations.
Once a referral has been screened and accepted they will be offered a triage appointment.
Exclusion criteria
Generally, we do not see people whose needs will be better met elsewhere by a specialist service and/or their other difficulties would be an obstacle to effective treatment in our service. For example:
- Level of risk that is not manageable within this service- The wait for some of our treatment options can be upwards of 6 months so if you do not think the person you want to refer will be able to keep themselves safe please consider referring them to a mental health crisis service instead.
- Addiction problem that is the presenting problem or would be an obstacle to effective treatment in our service.
- Eating disorder (unless relatively mild binge eating)
- People with a history or diagnosis of psychosis, bipolar affective disorder, personality disorder.