Document 6474931

Confidentiality
In order to provide high quality treatment services,
we do need to record personal information about you.
However, only information relevant to your care
will be recorded. Naturally only staff directly
involved in your care will have access to this
information and they are bound by strict
confidentiality rules.
In general, your information will not be shared
with any organisation or person outside the mental
health network. The exceptions are where you
have given permission for this to happen (this will
be recorded) or if there is an obligation medically
or legally, to do so.
Some statistics, such as data gained from
questionnaires, are analyzed and reported as part
of service planning. Again we stress that you will
never be identified in this process.
If you have any concerns regarding your privacy,
please discuss this with your therapist. If you want
to access information we have recorded about
you, you may apply to access following procedures
defined in the Freedom of Information Act.
Discharge Policy for non-attendances
Regular attendance will ensure you obtain
maximum gains from therapy, and we will do the
best we can to help you find appointment times
that suit you.
If you do not attend, it wastes valuable therapy
time and means someone on the waiting list has to
wait even longer.
As a general rule, if you miss three appointments
you will be discharged to make room for other
clients.
Bonython
Park Tram
Station
Centre for Treatment
of
Anxiety & Depression
(CTAD)
Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy
and Mindfulness and
Acceptance-Based Therapies
Disorders treated
Major Depressive Disorder
Dysthymia
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Social Phobia
Health Anxiety
Panic Disorder
Specific Phobias
30 Anderson Street, Thebarton. S.A. 5031
Ph: (08) 8222 8100 Fax: (08) 8222 8101
[email protected]
Background & History
Depression and Anxiety are common and disabling
problems. CTAD was established to offer scientifically
proven treatments for these disorders through
specialist programs. We also provide training and
supervision in specific psychotherapy treatments and
we conduct clinically relevant research.
What types of therapies are offered?
CTAD provides specialist evidence-based treatment,
utilising the latest, up-to-date practices, including
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), and Mindfulness
Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT).
What is CBT?
In CBT the focus is on thinking (cognitive processes)
and behaviour.
CBT helps people understand that they can influence
their moods by identifying and changing their thinking
and beliefs.
For example a person who is depressed may think very
negative thoughts about themselves, the world and
their future. This can increase depressed mood. A
person who is anxious may experience a sense of
threat relating to situations, thoughts and physical
sensations.
CBT helps you discover and challenge unhelpful
thinking and this promotes the development of
more balanced and helpful thinking. In CBT we also
explore behaviours that keep unhelpful thinking
going and experiment with behaviours that help
change your thinking and your moods and feelings.
Behavioural strategies are diverse and include
experimenting with more helpful behaviours, goal
setting, assertiveness training, time management
and structured problem solving.
The psychological therapies used are structured and time
limited (for example, weekly appointments for a total of 820 appointments). We focus on problems you are
experiencing in your life now, helping you to define and
prioritize them. We work in a collaborative way with you, as
opposed to simply telling you what you should and
shouldn’t be doing.
In the initial assessment, these will help serve the important
function of determining which mode of therapy best suits
your needs. These also directly benefit both you and your
therapists by acting as a means of measuring your progress
throughout therapy.
CBT is a very active form of therapy, which will involve
you doing ‘homework’ between sessions. This helps you
practice the skills learnt in sessions so that they become
easy for you to use.
What is MBCT?
Mindfulness meditation teaches people how to focus
more on the present moment with full attention and in a
non-judgemental accepting way. It can help people with
recurrent depression observe their thoughts and feelings
and disengage gently but deliberately from them.
Instead of worrying, people can learn to bring awareness
back to the here and now by using meditation. At the
same time, participants are encouraged to cultivate a
kind and accepting stance towards the difficulties
experienced so that they are seen more clearly and in a
relaxed way.
Once participants have learned mindful meditation,
cognitive therapy strategies are woven in as part of a
planned skilful approach to deal with the emergence of
any negative mind states and depressive symptoms.
This treatment is taught in a series of 8 x 2 hour classes at
weekly intervals and participants practice mediation for
about 45 minutes daily, using CDs or tapes that can be
purchased or loaned.
Therapists
CTAD is fortunate to have therapists with a wide
range of experience and expertise. Clinical
psychologists and consultant psychiatrists provide
psychotherapy.
Given the dedication to ongoing training there are
also psychiatry trainees and psychology interns.
They will be providing direct clinical services under
supervision in both group and individual work.
Research and Education
In addition to providing a clinical service, CTAD is
dedicated to ongoing research and education. This
will help in providing increasingly effective
treatments for future patients by a process of
continually updating techniques and training future
therapists.
You are an important and indispensable part of this
process. A significant source of information
collected is from various questionnaires and rating
scales that we will ask you to fill in.
In the case of research, you will only be involved in
such studies if you give INFORMED CONSENT to us
in writing. You will never be identified in data used
in analysis.
We will always inform you both verbally and in
writing about the nature of the study, alternative
therapies, the risks and benefits of each therapy as
well as confidentiality.
It is important for you to know that should you
choose not to partake in this process, there will be
no penalty and your care will not be compromised
in any way.