NHS Doncaster Talking Therapies has a specialist long-term conditions (LTC) service. We offer support for adults diagnosed with long-term health conditions and who are experiencing symptoms of depression, anxiety and/or stress, through a variety of talking therapies. This can be on a one-to-one basis or through one of our workshops.
Living with long-term health conditions can be stressful, frightening and difficult to manage at times. It is very common for health conditions to affect how you feel, this can then affect how well you manage, or don’t manage, your long-term health condition. For many people, stress, anxiety and low mood can even make physical symptoms worse, or more difficult to cope with.
We know that the mind and body are closely linked, and learning more about this link can help people to understand and manage their symptoms better.
The video below explains more about the LTC team and how they may be able to support you:
Long-term health conditions we work with
Currently, our LTC team works with the following conditions:
Cardiac
Cardiac conditions which include:
- heart failure
- coronary heart disease
- angina
- atrial fibrillation
- arrhythmia
- valve disease
- cardiac arrest
- cardiomyopathy
- cardiovascular disease
- heart attack
Diabetes
Diabetes including:
- type 1 diabetes
- type 2 diabetes
- brittle diabetes
Respiratory
Respiratory conditions which include:
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
- asthma
- bronchiectasis
- emphysema
- chronic bronchitis
- pulmonary disease
- pulmonary hypertension
Long Covid
Persistent physical symptoms
Persistent physical symptoms which include:
- fibromyalgia
- chronic pain
- chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) / myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)
- irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
Musculoskeletal
Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions which include:
- osteoarthritis
- rheumatoid arthritis
- psoriatic arthritis
- gout
- ankylosing spondylitis
- osteoporosis
- bone fractures
- sarcopenia
- back and neck pain
- lupus
- connective tissue disease
Dermatology (skin conditions)
Skin conditions which include:
- psoriasis
- eczema
- rosacea
- acne
- hives
- vitiligo
Functional Neurological Disorder
- FND
Multiple Sclerosis
- MS
Differences to treatment
Just like the other NHS RDaSH Talking Therapies services, we offer treatment in many forms; face to face appointments in local clinic venues, telephone appointments, virtual video appointments, and group therapy. We want to make sure our service is as accessible as possible.
Within our long-term conditions service, we are also able to adapt the length of the session to help support an individual. For example, we could book longer appointments to allow for short breaks within the session, should this be required. We recognise that certain health conditions can affect someone’s ability to sit for a long period of time and that a patient may benefit from regular breaks.
We also offer a higher number of total appointments and follow a different non-attendance and cancellation policy. We are aware that individuals who have long-term health conditions may need to cancel due to their health, or may have other health care appointments that need to be attended.
We work closely with other physical health teams too. This means we are able to offer ‘joint working’ appointments with other healthcare professionals, such as specialist nurses, to ensure both mental health and physical health needs are being met.
We are also able to offer home visit appointments should an individual be housebound due to their health condition.
How to refer to the LTC service
To self-refer, call us on 03000 211 563, complete our self-referral form, or speak to your health professional who can make a referral on your behalf.
What should be expected after a referral?
After a referral has been received, you will be added to our waiting list for an initial assessment appointment. You would then be contacted to book your first appointment. This appointment will last for 60 minutes, and will be booked at a convenient time, with one of our Psychological Wellbeing Practitioners.
Following your assessment, you will then be given information about what treatment options would be suitable for you based on the information you have provided during the assessment. A shared decision will then be made between yourself and your practitioner, as to which option would be most beneficial.