Psychosis - Assessment & Diagnosis Services

An Overview of Psychosis

Psychosis is a mental health condition which can cause people to interpret and perceive things and situations differently than would be interpreted by the majority of other people due to an altered state of mind. Often the person experiencing the psychosis will be unaware that they are undergoing such an episode. The symptoms can include:

• Delusions (fixed and unshakable false beliefs)
• Hallucinations (when a person's senses convey different sensations to reality - this could be seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting or feeling things that are not there)
  

There can be many causes for someone to have psychotic symptoms including:

• Various mental health conditions
• Physical conditions or injury
• Medicinal side effects
• Drug Misuse / Withdrawal

Benefit of Getting an Assessment

Obtaining a diagnosis, for any condition, is often the step towards an improved life. A diagnosis will enable the person diagnosed to access information relevant to them, to obtain specific and tailored treatments and where relevant – medication.

With the right support and / or outlook a diagnosis can be extremely comforting, especially if a condition has been present for some time.

Whether you share your diagnosis with others or keep it private it can benefit interpersonal relationships including family, friends and work - making life easier.

If your assessment provides a negative diagnosis, that is that you don’t meet the criteria for this specific diagnosis, that can be equally as rewarding. Plus, our trained clinicians will advise if they recognise any potential, further, avenues for consideration.

How to Get an Assessment With Us at MHWS?

Privately

Private healthcare refers to health services which you purchase yourself directly with the provider (MHWS) or via medical insurance.

Although here at MHWS we do provide some services to the NHS for certain conditions we also provide our full range of services privately too.

What are the benefits of Private Healthcare?

1. In many instances choosing to go private means shorter waiting times and therefore quicker diagnosis and treatment.
2. For some conditions a private practice may have access to a wider range of treatments, therapies and medications than the NHS

To find out more about seeing MHWS as a private patient please contact us.

The Assessment

Usually undertaken by a consultant psychiatrist. The focus of the assessment will be primarily on eliciting whether a person has symptoms of perception abnormalities including hallucinations or abnormalities of thoughts or beliefs such as delusions.

It is often helpful to have a collaborative account from someone living with or caring for the person involved which can help in making a diagnostic formulation. Treatment of psychosis will depend on the cause, therefore, getting a diagnosis and assessment by an experienced professional is the key.

Treatments for Psychosis

Antipsychotic medications can be very effective in treatment of psychotic symptoms. Psychological treatments, support, psychoeducation, support to carers and on-going follow up consultations with a psychiatrist can help in controlling and alleviating the symptoms of psychosis.

Fees and Summary of Payment Terms for a Psychosis Assessment

We offer Initial Assessments privately at a cost of £350, which includes a 60-75 minute clinical assessment and report.

We require full payment for the service, at least, 7 working days (monday-friday) before the appointment, otherwise the appointment will be cancelled.

Cancelling an Appointment

Should you need to cancel an appointment, we require 1 full working day notice so that we may otherwise use this time.

If you cancel before 3 full working days of the appointment, we will be able to arrange a refund or reschedule the appointment.

Cancellations or failure to attend an appointment, without the required 3 full working day's notice, will result in you being liable for the full amount. This will mean that any outstanding balance must be paid and that any associated payment already received will not be eligible for refund.

Next Steps

For more information or to find out how to book an appointment then please contact us.