Information for your Talking Therapies assessment appointment

After you've booked your appointment

Thank you for booking your telephone assessment appointment online. The appointment will take approximately 45 minutes. Please note when we call the number will show as withheld.

All our clinicians are trained to assess people who have a common mental health problem such as depression or anxiety. During the telephone appointment you will be asked a number of questions to help us get a better understanding of the symptoms you are experiencing in relation to your mental health and how these difficulties are impacting upon you at the moment. This will then enable us to identify the appropriate service we can offer to help you with your difficulties. During the appointment we will provide you with information about our service and discuss the treatment options available to you.

Please can you ensure you are somewhere private and quiet without distractions to take this call so that you are able to get the most from this therapy appointment. Please note, due to the nature of our assessment, it is not appropriate to be driving on hands free during this appointment.

You will receive a Questionnaire via email approximately two days before your assessment appointment. We would like you to complete this at least 24 hours before your appointment.

We will refer to these questionnaires during your telephone appointment and your responses along with the answers to our questions help us to get a better understanding of your symptoms and it also helps us to get a baseline of your needs that we can track during your treatment.

We will also ask you about current medication you are taking, previous therapy you have had and what you want to achieve by accessing our service so it would be helpful for you to think about this and have the information to hand before the appointment.

Some people who are feeling low or anxious may have thoughts of harming themselves or others. If you experience these thoughts we will discuss this during your appointment to ensure we provide you with the support you need.

Information about the services that you can contact if you feel unable to keep safe and you are at risk of harming yourself or others is also included below.

Contact your GP or call 999.

Alternatively you can phone 111 if:

• You need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergency.
• You think you need an NHS urgent care service
• You don’t know who to call or you don’t have a GP to call.
• You need health information or reassurance about what to do next

If this appointment is no longer convenient for you or you decide that you no longer need our help please contact the relevant team as soon as possible so that we can rearrange your appointment for a more convenient time and allocate this appointment to someone else.

Please be aware that if we are not able to speak with you at the agreed time we will assume that you no longer want to continue with therapy and will discharge you from the Service.

What to expect from your assessment

The aim of the assessment is to get an understanding of your mental health problem and the impact it is having on your life. We can then identify your goals for treatment.

You will be asked a range of questions in a structured manner about:

• The symptoms you are experiencing. For example, changes to your sleep, appetite and motivation.
• How the problem impacts on your day-to-day living and any changes to your behaviour. For example, things you do differently or have stopped doing because of how you are feeling.
• The sorts of thoughts you have been thinking. These could be worries, self-critical thoughts or upsetting memories.

To make the most of your assessment, it would be helpful for you to think about these things before we speak to you. Some people find it helpful to write this information down to help remember.

Please don’t think that we are not interested in other aspects of your life. As we only have 30-45 minutes, it is important that we focus on your current symptoms. We can then get the information that will help us make the best decision about your care.

What can I do before the assessment?

Questionnaires are an important part of assessment and treatment. Your answers help us to understand how you have been feeling over the last two weeks. Please complete the questionnaires before the assessment and have them to hand. 

We will ask about your current medications. Please have the names and doses of any medication you are taking.

If your assessment is on the telephone, there are a few more important things to think about.

• Please charge your phone if required.
• Where possible, take the call somewhere with a good mobile signal.
• Be somewhere quiet and confidential with no one else around, especially children who may need your attention. We will be asking you a number of personal questions so you will need to be able to talk freely and be able to concentrate. We will not be able to complete the assessment in public.

What happens after my assessment?

At the end of your assessment, we will explain the options available and recommend the treatment that would be most suitable for your needs.

This treatment may be via a computerised package, in a course, via telephone, or face to face. At times, our service may not be appropriate for your problems. If this is the case, we may refer you to another service or signpost you to other community services.

Why do we collect information about you?

We create and manage the patient records relating to Mental Health and Learning Disability services in Lincolnshire. To do this, LPFT asks for personal information so that we can make sure you are receiving the best care, information, advice, treatment, and support that is right for you. To do this effectively, efficiently, and safely, we must keep records about you, your health, and the care we have provided or plan to provide to you. 

These records may include information such as:

• Your address, date of birth and emergency contact details.
• Equality and diversity data (for example, ethnicity, religion, etc.). We are legally obliged to collect this information so that we and our commissioners can be sure that we provide our services fairly to anyone from any background or community who may need them.
• Notes and reports about your health, and information about your treatment and care.
• Information from other people who are involved with your care, such as other health and social care professionals, relatives, or friends.
• Records on other contacts we have had with you, for example, if you have contacted us with an enquiry, or have attended an event, and agreed for us to send you our newsletters.

It is important that we hold accurate information about you, and we rely upon you to inform us of any changes. The information about you and the services you receive will be recorded on our patient information systems. We scan paper letters and reports into this system so that everything is in the same place.

The patient information systems we use are secure and comply with Data Protection requirements and NHS standards of security. Your information cannot be accessed from outside our organisation without appropriate permissions.

As partnership working strengthens between health and social care agencies to ensure best care, information about individuals and whole communities is increasingly being shared across disciplines and organisations.  This means that some of our records are shared or held jointly with other statutory agencies, and other Health and Care organisations that may also be involved in your care such as your GP, Lincolnshire County Council, the Lincolnshire Transformation Network of Care Delivery, and United Lincolnshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust; however this will be discussed with you by your healthcare team.

You can find more information about your rights in regard to your information and health records on our website at: https://www.lpft.nhs.uk/contact-us/your-rights/your-information-and-health-records