UK first for the Northern Trust’s Pyschological Therapies Service

The Northern Trust Psychological Therapies Service has become the first service in the UK to meet all the standards set by the Accreditation Programme for Psychological Therapies Services (APPTS). This is a substantial achievement in which the team received special commendations for their compassionate care, clinical effectiveness, and outstanding team work.

APPTS accreditation is an acknowledgement of high standards of psychological therapy provision and the Northern Trust team became the first in the UK to meet 100 percent of the best practice standards, assessed through rigorous examination.

The award winning service was also the first in Northern Ireland to achieve the highly prestigious accreditation from the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the British Psychological Society and they now add this UK first to their list of achievements.

Expressing his delight at the recognition, Dr Kevin Dyer, Lead Clinician – Psychological Therapies Service said:

“Our team were delighted to receive the 100% level of accreditation from the APPTS. As a service, we put our clients first and strive to provide them with the best possible care for their mental health needs. This accreditation is testament to the quality of our therapists and their strong principles of person-centred care. We hope to use this achievement as a platform to further improve the psychological therapy we provide for people living in the Northern Trust area.”

Relative to other nations, the Northern Ireland population continues to have markedly higher levels of mental health difficulties, such as post traumatic stress disorder.

Working in partnership with GPs, Community Mental Health Teams and community sector organisations, the Psychological Therapy Service offers a Trust-wide service for adults with a range of mental health difficulties. The service provides assessment and intervention for individuals with a variety of mental health needs, including depression, anxiety, psychosis and complex post traumatic stress disorder.

In addition to individual therapy, the team works with local groups to deliver a range of services including stress control training, an outreach project with community partners and two service user groups.