Depression, anxiety, PTSD, or addiction: all types of mental health issues are equally important and require professional treatment. Luckily, if you are in the UK, myriad services are available for those seeking help. The National Health Service (NHS), the government-funded institute to take care of your health, provides free healthcare to everyone covering mental health. In addition to the NHS, numerous support groups and charities are working independently to ensure that no one remains unsupported in times of crisis.
However, with the recent COVID-19 pandemic and its impacts on mental health, these services have come under severe stress. With long waiting lists in the NHS, sometimes ranging to months, people are finally seeking an alternative way out through private mental health clinics and hospitals.
While the NHS offers free of cost treatment or care for most of your mental health needs, you may decide to get a psychiatric assessment privately because of the reasons mentioned below:
Shorter Waiting Times
Due to a recent rise in mental health issues following the COVID-19 pandemic and the shortage of staff, seeking treatment in the NHS has become extremely difficult. Long waiting lists may require you to wait for months to get help. This may be inconvenient for people who are on the verge of crisis and opting for private treatment where support is available immediately seems like a better option.
A Choice of Where You Get Treatment
If you need treatment for your mental health through the NHS, you can only avail yourself of it in the area you live. The only exception to this rule is getting out-of-area care if there’s an emergency situation. On the contrary, you can easily choose the area where you wish to get treated if you decide to go private.
A Specialist of Your Choice
In an NHS-based hospital, there are limited numbers of doctors and therapists to avail yourself services from, and in most cases, you do not have a say in who gets to treat you. On the contrary, seeking private treatment gives you an edge to choose a treatment provider of your choice. All you need to do is look up the internet or ask your GP about an expert who best fits your needs and criteria and start seeking their expertise in private.
Extensive Range of Treatment Modalities
Despite being the most extensive health care system in the UK, not even the NHS offers all treatments related to mental health. For instance, you may wish to seek a certain type of therapy that the NHS does not routinely offer. In such instances, seeking it privately seems like the next best option without wasting time.
Most private facilities in the UK are well-equipped with trained psychologists, therapists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals. Most of them are published experts in their relevant fields to provide evidence-based treatment to their clients for easy and fast recovery. The care plans curated in private mental health facilities are often flexible and highly personalized. This means that as a client, you will receive the best treatment according to your circumstances to maximize your chances of success.
The following treatment plans are routinely offered in most private hospitals in the UK:
Outpatient Mental Health Treatment
During this program, you will visit a private treatment center regularly to receive therapy for underlying mental health issues. Each session lasts for one-hour, following which you return home.
Day Care Programs
This involves coming to the hospital on the appointed days each week for therapy.
Inpatient Treatment Programs
Inpatient or residential treatment programs require you to stay at a mental health hospital or a rehab for a specific duration of time. During the stay, you will be looked after round the clock and provided all necessary therapeutic care, including detox, therapies, etc. This type of program is usually suggested for patients who are highly unstable or pose a risk to their own safety or the safety of others and require medical and therapeutic assistance to get better.
Depending on individual circumstances and requirements, most mental health care facilities working privately provide therapies in one or more of the following formats:
One-on-one therapy
This type of therapy takes place on an individual basis, and each session is conducted between you and your therapist with no third-person involvement.
Group Therapy
As the name indicates, group therapy is carried out in the form of small groups of patients who are going through similar issues or share a similar mental health diagnosis.
Family Therapy
Family therapy requires you and your family to work together to develop a sound understanding of your underlying mental health issue and work together toward recovery. The therapist works with both parties to ensure they understand and support each other in the future.
Online Therapy
This type of therapy is offered to people with busy routines who are unable to take time out of their daily life to visit a therapist in person. Hence, the sessions are conducted over the internet, usually through a video call which means that you can get the treatment while enjoying the comfort of your own home.
Couples Therapy
This type of therapy involves you and your partner under the supervision of a trained therapist. The aim is to help you communicate better with your better half, understand what effects your mental health issue can impose on your relationship and how to manage them together.
So you have decided to avail private mental health services? Good for you! But before you make any hasty decisions, there are some things you need to think about to avoid getting into trouble later.
The Cost of Treatment
Private health care is expensive in every part of the world. So before opting for it, make sure you know what you are getting into, how much it will cost, and how you plan to pay for it. Discussing it with your insurance company as well as the dedicated team of the hospital you are planning to get treatment at can be a good idea in this context.
The Accreditation of your Specialist
If you have decided to see a professional who offers mental health services privately, it is essential to inquire about their accreditations and qualifications. Being accredited means that they are registered with an official body that makes sure that the services these specialists provide have high standards. For example, all psychiatrists working in the UK, under NHS as well as in the private sectors, need to be registered with the General Medical Council to be eligible for practice.
The Quality of Service
Double-check to confirm if the private healthcare provider of your choice has adequate patient satisfaction scores. Look them up online and read reviews and reports relevant to them. Another way to ensure high quality is to check them in reference to the Care Quality Commission (CQC), an organization that publishes results of hospital inspections for both private and NHS facilities on their website.
