If you are a doctor, dentist or pharmacist in postgraduate training (irrespective of stage or specialty) working in Thames Valley (Oxford Deanery) with a Thames Valley training number, then you are eligible for our service.

Yes, any doctor in postgraduate training within Thames Valley is eligible for our service, including those here on MTI with an up-to-date Certificate of Sponsorship.

No. Medic Support is only commissioned to work with doctors, dentists and pharmacists in postgraduate training.

If you have already completed training, please see our ‘Signposting’ or ‘Find a Therapist’ tabs for information on other resources you can access.

You can refer yourself, or you can be referred by a colleague such as an educational supervisor, or occupational health physician, with your consent.

We are happy to accept referrals from GPs, educators and other healthcare professionals and agencies acting on your behalf, with your consent.

If you would like to discuss a possible referral, please contact us.

 

Medic Support is not a crisis service. If you are in crisis or feel unsafe or at risk to yourself or others, then you should contact 111/999, your own GP or attend your nearest Emergency Department/A&E as soon as  possible.

The NHS help for suicidal thoughts webpage includes phone and text lines, plus tips for coping in a crisis.

The Samaritans: 0161 236 8000 (local call charges apply) or 116 123 (free to call) can also provide confidential support and are open 24 hours a day.

The following links may provide additional support:

• Staying Safe
• Suicide Prevention
• Mind

No-one will know that you have contacted us unless you choose to tell them.

We do not share information with others (such as your GP, educators, or occupational health) unless this is with your consent, necessary for your safety or that of others, or if we are required to by law (eg child protection).

Please see our confidentiality policy for further details.

No. We need to keep information about you to help us provide the best possible care for you. The information you provide is kept on a secure electronic clinical recording system. This system is separate from the one used by your GP and other organisations. Only Medic Support staff will routinely have access to this information.

No electronic patient record is created unless you disclose personal information to us. We can explain the support we offer and how we store personal data before you share anything personal with us. You can then choose whether you wish to proceed with making a self-referral. Simply send a ‘general enquiry about confidentiality’ to our email inbox medic.support@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk.

No. Medic Support is free of charge.

You can refer yourself directly:

It is usually helpful to start with a brief phone call where we can discuss the problems you are experiencing and consider the appropriateness of psychological therapy.

It will usually be possible to offer you a therapy appointment within 4-6 weeks of your initial contact, often much sooner depending on factors such as your work/domestic commitments and the availability of our clinicians.

Not necessarily. Our clinicians do not hold individual waiting lists. We will contact you with the first available appointment we can offer, according to which clinician has availability.

However, if you have worked with a particular clinician in the past and have a preference to see them again, we will take that into consideration.

We will contact you by email as soon as your name reaches the top of our waiting list and offer you an online or in-person appointment (depending on your preference) at a time convenient to you.

Ahead of each appointment, you will be sent a link to our routine clinical questionnaires, which we ask everyone to complete during their contact with us.

These help us with our assessment of how best to help you and provide a way to track your progress and hopefully note improvement in your situation. If you have consented to receiving SMS text messages from us, we will send you a link to complete the questionnaires ahead of each appointment. If you prefer to receive the link by email then we will be happy to do this.

We will explore your needs in more detail, understand how your problems have developed and what is maintaining them, as well as introducing you to a range of evidence-based strategies to help you make positive changes.

We will talk about your hopes and expectations for therapy and agree a treatment plan based on your goals and the changes you wish to make. We will work with you as a team towards improving your situation.

Talking and reflection are necessary and healing components of good therapy, but these alone may not be sufficient to bring about lasting change. You will need to take action.

Therefore, we will encourage you to actively apply your new learning/coping skills outside therapy, as research shows that people who practice news ways of behaving between sessions, have the most positive therapeutic outcomes.

Therapy sessions are usually 60 minutes. The frequency will depend on your schedule and the plan you have made with your therapist.

Medic Support specialises in providing brief, therapeutic interventions (up to 6 sessions).

The precise number of sessions you need depends on the nature and on your willingness to work on issues between sessions.

In general, the more you apply evidence-based methods outside the sessions, the fewer sessions you will need.

For complex issues, it may be necessary to work over a longer period. If we think that you would benefit from this we will signpost you to longer-term support elsewhere.

We offer appointments Monday to Friday between 9:00am and 5:00pm.

Earlier or later appointments are occasionally possible.

We offer predominantly online appointments but some in-person appointments are available at the Warneford Hospital in Oxford.

Send an enquiry to medic.support@oxfordhealth.nhs.uk