Conditions treated

Some stress in our everyday lives can be helpful to motivate us. Sometimes some people develop anxiety if they are under sufficient stress. Some life events affect our performance everyday and can lead to anxiety symptoms. Some life events like loss leading to grief is a common cause for anxiety. This loss can occur through bereavement, divorce, loss of job, loss of financial status, change of house or children leaving home. We cope with these events depending on our personality and how these events affect our functioning.

Most people who become anxious are concerned about their physical health and feel that they are seriously physically ill. Physical symptoms can include tension headaches, dizziness, palpitations, shortness of breath, nausea and often, in a panic attack, a feeling that we are going to collapse and die. Many people use chemicals to cope with their anxiety including caffeine, alcohol, nicotine or prescribed drugs such as tranquillisers. The person who is suffering severe anxiety needs to regain control as rapidly as possible. The first stage of recovery is to be able to stand back from the problem to see it more clearly. To be able to talk to somebody close about your difficulties is very helpful, or you can arrange to see Dr Roberts who will develop a suitable treatment plan aimed at trying to find the cause of the anxiety symptoms and removing them. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychotherapy and short courses of drug treatment can all be used for relieving anxiety.

Depression is quite different from just feeling sad. Sadness is a normal human emotional state. People who have depression have a combination of symptoms including low mood, loss of energy, loss of enjoyment or feeling pleasure, altered appetite, disrupted sleep, poor concentration and motivation, a loss of libido, a negative outlook and it some cases thoughts and ideas of suicide. The features are usually present for a period of at least a fortnight.

Dr Roberts is highly experienced in diagnosing and treating depression which may include medication in the form of antidepressants as well as recommend psychological help such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy or other self help strategies.

Repetitive and distressing thoughts that come into the mind again and again and experiencing urges to do the same thing over and over again may mean you have OCD. These experiences can dominate your life and stop you from enjoying things and requires treatment.

Obsessional thoughts can take their form of words or phrases or imagery in your mind which may repulseyou. Examples of this can be violent or sexual acts that are completely uncharacteristic for you to imagine.This can be very distressing. Dr Roberts has a vast experience of managing idistressing and unpleasant obsessional intrusive thoughts and will discuss with you the best way forward including medication and referring on for therapy.

Some people with OCD have endless ruminations about things to the point where they are unable to move forward in their lives.

In addition correcting obsessional thoughts may result in you performing rituals or in some way trying to correct the obsession which can be very time-consuming and embarrassing. This is called the compulsive aspect of OCD. Again Dr Roberts can help find strategies to overcome these.

Phobias are essentially irrational fears that we can develop, often as a reaction to being under severe stress, following an acute panic attack in a specific situation, such as a supermarket, crowded shop, bus, train, underground or lift.

Agoraphobia, which is a fear of open spaces, is extremely common in women and this prevents them from leading normal lives, because they avoid going into situations which make them feel anxious which increasingly limits their lifestyle.

Social phobia is more common in men and in these situations, the man is frightened of public speaking, authority figures and social situations.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy is a way of modifying the response to the phobia and is often carried out in a slow ‘step-ladder’ approach to gradually reverse the phobia. The person has to pursue increasingly more difficult tasks, whilst using relaxation therapy, to help to cope with their symptoms.

Dr Roberts will be able to help determine the best course of treatment for each individual as well as looking at prescribing any appropriate medication to help with relieving the anxiety caused by the phobia.

Stress is actually a normal physiological response to our environment. From an evolutionary perspective the “flight or fight” response is a protective mechanism to increase our chances of survival in the face of hostile surroundings.

There is however, a fine balance that needs to be maintained and when this doesn’t happen, we can experience unpleasant symptoms of excessive stress. If the mind starts sensing a lot of stressful events, or starts sensing ordinary events as stressful, you get the same “flight or fight” response repeatedly to everyday occurrences like traffic congestion, an unruly class, an argument with your partner, a crying baby, waiting in queues, a difficult meeting, your child misbehaving, etc. The body then starts feeling the effect of being in a constant state of heightened alertness, tensed muscles and readiness. This is chronic stress and can have very unpleasant psychological and physical effects.

The common features of this state are irritability, low mood and unhappiness, worrying and feeling anxious, problems with sleep, feeling dissatisfied, feeling indecisive and panicky, losing temper easily, poor concentration and motivation. The results of this include problems with relationships, difficulties at work and it can also have an adverse effect on your physical health.

Dr Roberts is able to help patients suffering from Stress and will develop an ongoing treatment plan that might include self-help techniques, counselling or Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, or medication.

Borderline personality disorder is characterised by significant instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image and mood, and impulsive behaviour. There is often rapid fluctuation of mood with fear of abandonment and rejection, and a strong tendency toward suicidal thinking and self-harm. Transient psychotic symptoms including brief delusions and hallucinations may also be present. Individuals with borderline personality disorder may experience substantial impairment of social psychological and occupational functioning . For this reason it is very important to make a diagnosis.

Dr Roberts has considerable experience in making a diagnosis of BPD as well as addressing coexisting depressive or anxiety symptoms.

Some people do not have a full diagnosis of borderline personality disorder but instead have emotionally unstable personality traits and this will be discussed at your assessment.

Dr Roberts will discuss with you treatment options which for the most part involve psychological therapy, DBT. On occasion she will offer medications to help with mood and emotional instability and this will be discussed at your appointment.

Sometimes people, for a number of reasons develop long term problems like bipolar illnesses or psychosis. These conditions are characterised by episodes of illnesses or chronic symptoms and may require a combination of evidence based treatments to promote their recovery from these conditions. The treatments often include medication, psychological approaches and self help strategies aiming to help people manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life.

Dr Roberts has considerable experience both in inpatient settings and community settings in diagnosing these conditions and formulating comprehensive care plans including crisis plans and risk management plans usually in conjunction with carers and family members.

Drug misuse involves being dependent on of regularly taking psychoactive substances. Alcohol misuse involves being dependent on or consuming harmful levels of alcohol.

Such misuse can lead to a wide range of physical psychological and social problems.

Individuals who misuse substances have a much higher rate of other mental health difficulties including anxiety, depression, personality disorder and ADHD. Other problems such as debt, gambling and sexual health issues may also be present.

Dr Roberts is able to assess your issues and advise you on the best course of action which may include detoxification and possibly rehabilitation. This will be discussed in your assessment and consideration given to treating coexisting mental health conditions.