The team works together to provide a holistic approach to our service users, addressing their psychological needs alongside promoting healthy living, daily living skills, education, and employment opportunities. The hospital is geared towards working within a recovery model to enable service users to achieve personal growth and independence. The Therapies Department work collaboratively with the service users as well as their care network to enhance mental health, re-integration into the community and quality of life.
The Psychology, Occupational Therapy and Active Life teams work together to design and deliver a comprehensive therapies programme tailored to the needs of the service users and presentations on each of the wards. The programme is revised regularly in order to offer the most suitable timetable taking into account feedback from the service users. The programme includes off-ward, cross ward and on-ward groups as well as individual sessions; all of which are informed by evidence based practice for the different populations.
Psychological Therapy
The Psychology Department is a large, diverse team with a wide range of experience and they offer a broad array of psychological interventions from different theoretical approaches; these include: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Psychodynamic approaches, Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Behavioural Family Therapy.
The team covers all four wards and the Lodge offering individual therapy to every service user, group therapy, daily mindfulness, risk assessments / safety planning, staff reflective practice, staff training programmes and consultation.
On admission every service user will be offered a psychological assessment and the opportunity to work with psychology on an individual basis for the duration of their stay. The work carried out with psychology will inform a formulation, individualised care planning and recommendations for further work in the community, if appropriate. Psychologists regularly attend multidisciplinary team meetings, ward rounds and Care Programme Approach (CPA) meetings in order to inform the psychological aspects of care and to encourage psychological thinking in all aspects of patient care.
The Psychology team also facilitate various groups which are often ward specific, for example, DBT groups on the ward for those with a diagnosis of personality disorder. Other groups include a hearing voices group which is facilitated by the service users, music / movement groups and preparing for discharge groups. Addiction groups are also offered and Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) facilitate a weekly evening group to support with all addictions. All groups promote psychological well-being through psycho-education, self-awareness and personal growth.
The Psychology Department has been active in research projects, service development, and encouraging service user involvement at all levels. They have been instrumental in the development of a psychological and trauma informed culture on the wards to cultivate an enabling and empowering environment.
Occupational Therapy
The Occupational Therapy team at Cygnet Hospital Kewstoke are a large and creative team with a wide variety of skills and backgrounds, bringing a range of therapeutic ideas and approaches. We are in an exciting point of transition from using the Model of Human Occupation to adopting a VdTMoCA (Vona Du Toit Model of Creative Ability) informed approach, meeting service user’s where they are at and tailoring our intervention accordingly, in a truly person-centred and holistic way.
As part of the Occupational Therapy provision, service users have access to a large amount of resources, within the hospital and nearby community, which aid in developing tailored therapeutic input, which aim to align with patient’s interests and occupational needs. We are fortunate to be in the process of developing an on-site farm and horticulture area, giving patients the opportunity to mix and integrate with other people from across the site, whilst developing new skills and interests in an outdoor environment. We have a Therapies Corridor, where we have access to a large creative therapy & activity room, an ADL kitchen and in the near future our own music production and recording studio.
Other occupations, such as drawing, painting, creating or playing music, pottery, and gardening act as valuable opportunities to encourage meaningful engagement during a patient’s admission to hospital. We work closely with a visiting Expert by experience who uses creative activities as a way of linking in with patients in the hospital and sharing her own lived experience and use of art as a positive coping strategy. We also coordinate and support with a range of external visitors/therapy providers, from weekly Yoga/Tai Chi sessions to monthly Animal Therapy afternoons and we are in the process of developing links with a nearby community farm.
There are also opportunities to work towards AQA accredited courses through our on-site Recovery Education program. Further educational/vocational support opportunities are also accessible via our links with the local college, community courses which can help with practical skills (learning a new language, driving test preparation) or through on-site volunteering opportunities. We run a service user led café 6 days a week, with is located at the main building and is a great space to meet other people in a laid back environment. We work closely with the Active Life team, who support patients to access the on-site gym, attend swimming sessions, community sports (badminton, tennis, football), and watch football matches at our local football club.
The Occupational Therapy team aim to actively promote the exploration and consolidation of meaningful occupations and activities, which support with the development of positive coping strategies in a safe environment. We work with service users to maximise their independence and adapt our approach to ensure we meet them at their pace, in order to support them in achieving their goals and reintegrate back into the community.
