Frequently asked questions about the Centre for Anxiety Disorders and Trauma
At the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma we treat Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Social Phobia and Specific Phobias.
Please note that we do not treat PTSD as a result of childhood trauma, we
only treat PTSD as a result of trauma experienced as an adult. If you suffer
from PTSD as a consequence of a childhood trauma you should contact the Traumatic
Stress Service based at the Maudsley Hospital.
| General questions about the Centre:- | Questions about treatment at the Centre:- |
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Who is the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma for?
Treatment at the Centre is for:
- People who live within the South London and Maudsley area. (Please refer to the SLAM website for information on the area this covers.)
- People who require specialist treatment which their health authority is unable to provide. (In cases such as these, the local health authority must be in a position to fund the treatment).
How do I get to the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma?
The Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma is located at 99 Denmark Hill, London. Click here for more details.
What do I do if I need help in an emergency?
The Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma is NOT an
emergency clinic. Should you require help in an emergency you should either
contact your GP, the Emergency Department at Kings College Hospital or go to your local hospital’s accident
& emergency unit. Once you have started treatment your therapist will
discuss what other measures can be taken.
Who should I contact if I can’t make my appointment?
Missed appointments mean longer waiting times for everyone. Please try not to miss appointments – if you need to change the time of your appointment please telephone, e-mail or write to us. It is important that all appointments are kept; this will keep our waiting list to a minimum and will save the NHS time and money, which will benefit everyone.
If you do find you have to cancel please contact us, giving as much notice as possible. We will do our best to find a time that suits you but we need your co-operation by contacting us as soon as possible. If we know in advance that you cannot make an appointment we are then in a position to offer this time to someone else.
You can either call your therapist direct to let them know that you need to re-schedule or you can leave a message with one of our administrators. Your therapist will give you their direct extension and other useful numbers for our administration team are:
Margaret Dakin – 020 3228 2101
Sue Helen - 020 3228 3286
Julie Twomey – 020 3228 3733
Fax: 020 3228 5215
e-mail: anxietydisordersunit@slam.nhs.uk
Our policy for missed appointments
Assessment / First appointment
If you do not attend and fail to inform us of the reason, a standard letter will be sent asking you to make contact within 10 days, otherwise we will normally discharge you.
Therapy appointments
If you fail to attend an appointment without contacting us, we will normally ring or write to you offering another appointment. If you do not respond to the offer of a further appointment within 10 days you will normally be discharged and your referral closed, with a discharge letter sent to your referrer and GP.
What will happen when I come to the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma for the first time?
The very first time you come to the centre it will be for an assessment to see whether our treatments will be the best ones for your problems. Before the assessment you need to take a registration sheet to the outservice user department at the Maudsley Hospital which is a couple of minutes from the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma. The (blue) registration sheet will be sent to you with your initial appointment details.
In your initial assessment you will be asked a large number of questions. These will be about what your current problems are and how they have developed, the kind of person you are more generally, these problems aside, and some questions about your current circumstances and background. At the end of this session your assessor may be able to tell you straight away whether or not our treatments are the right ones for you. If they are, he or she will tell you a little bit about them. If they are not, he or she will discuss other options for treatment with you. Sometimes it is not exactly clear at assessment whether our treatments will be right for you. In these circumstances your assessor will discuss the situation in a team meeting and then get back to you. Sometimes there will be a few more questions to answer to clarify matters. We do all this to make sure that you receive the treatment that is best for you.
If I am offered treatment at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma who will I be treated by?
The person who treats you will be a cognitive-behavioural therapist. All treatment is carried out on a one to one basis.
All staff at the Centre are highly qualified in the treatment of anxiety disorders and are specialists in their field. Staff attend weekly supervision sessions. Our staff are also encouraged to attend training courses and conferences to ensure they keep abreast of all current practices and developments in the field of anxiety disorders and their treatment.
Can I bring someone along to my appointments?
Some people find it hard to attend the assessment appointments by themselves,
or even to leave their house alone. It is perfectly all right to bring someone
else to the appointment. However it is usually best that at least a part of
the assessment is with you alone. Certainly when treatment starts it will
be necessary for you to meet with the therapist by yourself.
Will my assessment and treatment sessions be taped?
It is routine practice at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma for all assessment and treatment sessions to be audio or videotaped. This is usual practice however if you have a problem with this you should discuss it with your therapist. The tape helps your therapist plan sessions and helps to ensure that treatment is delivered well. All tapes are kept confidential. The only other people who may hear or see the tapes are other therapists based at the Centre who provide supervision for your therapist. Your assessor and / or therapist will be able to answer any questions you have about this.
What happens if the treatment offered at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma is not suitable for me?
After you have been assessed the therapist will be in a position to say whether or not you can be offered treatment with our service. If not, this may be because you have been mis-diagnosed or because your symptoms do not meet diagnostic criteria for the particular disorder you were thought to be suffering from. In this case the therapist will write to your GP detailing the outcome of your assessment and, where possible, with suggestions of a more appropriate service to refer you to for help.
You could also try to find a therapist through organisations like the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies (BABCP). Here's how to contact the BABCP:
BABCPVictoria Buildings
9/13 Silver Street
BURY, BL9 0EU
Tel: 0161 797 4484
Fax: 0161 797 2670
Wesbite: www.babcp.com
You can also search for a therapist via the BABCP's CBT Register
Can I claim back my travel expenses for trips to the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma?
Who can claim? / Am I eligible to claim back travel expenses?
Service users can claim travel expenses if they are claiming Income Support, Income-based Job Seekers Allowance, Working Family Tax Credit and Disabled Persons Tax Credit.
Service users who are unable to travel alone and would like to claim travel expenses for an escort, must have a written and signed authority from the clinician who is assessing and / or treating them.
How do I make a claim?
When you attend your first appointment, the Administration staff at the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma will complete a travel expense form which you should take to the Cashiers Office for reimbursement. You must show the cashier proof of your benefit (e.g. benefit book or a recent letter from the DSS confirming your benefit) together with your travel expense receipt (e.g. bus or train ticket). You must also ask the cashier to take a photocopy of your proof for all future claims. If you do not request a photocopy, you will have to produce your proof of benefit at every appointment.
Service users on all of the above mentioned benefits can also claim for car mileage, which is currently calculated at 12 pence per mile.
The Cashiers at the Maudsley are unable to reimburse any travel expenses for service users on Incapacity Benefit. Service users on Incapacity Benefit must claim their reimbursement direct from the DSS by completing forms HC1 and HC5. The Centre can supply these forms or you can get them from any NHS outlet.
Who should I contact if I have any comments, suggestions or complaints about the Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma?
Any general comments or suggestions can be passed on to your therapist who will take appropriate action as required. If you have a complaint about any aspect of your assessment or treatment at the Centre this should be addressed to Dr Nick Grey or Mrs Margaret Dakin who will deal with the matter. They can be contacted by calling 020 3228 2101 or by e-mail to: complaints
You can also get further advice about making complaints from South London and Maudsley Patient and Advice Liaison Service (PALS)