• Reduced concentration and attention
• Poor self confidence and self esteem
• Negative thoughts, often centred around guilt, self-blame, worthlessness or hopelessness
• Disturbed sleep (problems going to sleep or waking earlier than usual)
• Appetite changes (either reduced or increased appetite)
• Tiredness
• Anxiety
• Loss of sex drive
• In severe depression, thoughts of self-harm or suicide

For a diagnosis of depression to be made symptoms should be present every day for at least two weeks, and the symptoms must cause at least some difficulty in continuing with ordinary work and social functioning (http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/bluebook.pdf).  It is important to point out that depression is often unrelated to personal circumstances.

Depression is one of the most common mental health problems.  About 10% of the UK population will suffer from depression at any one time (Hale 1997).  Depression is more common in women, people who are unemployed, people with a family history of depression, and people who have few supportive friends or relatives.  Factors like these make it more likely that you might become depressed compared to those without any of these risk factors.

Most people do recover from depression but some people may experience more than one episode of depression.  Treatment, either in the form of talking therapy or anti-depressants, helps by speeding up recovery and reducing the chances of becoming depressed again.  Recommend treatments are as follows:

For mild-moderate depression:

-         Computerised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy

-         Guided self help (based on CBT principles)

For moderate-severe depression:

-         A combination of antidepressant medication and either CBT or IPT

-         Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), for those who have experienced three or more previous episodes.

• Pounding heart
• Sweating
• Trembling or shaking
• Dry mouth
• Difficulty breathing
• Chest pain
• Nausea
• A feeling of losing control, going mad, fainting or dying.
• Feeling hot/cold
• Numbness or tingling sensations

Panic attacks can last several minutes and it may take some time before the sufferer’s anxiety has subsided to pre-attack levels.   They can often feel particularly frightening because of their unpredictable nature and the severity of the anxiety symptoms and fears often experienced.

• Flashbacks or nightmares of the event
• Intrusive images of the event
• Avoidance of any reminders of the event (e.g. thoughts, feelings, people or places)
• Feelings of numbness
• Intense fear or distress when faced with reminders of the event.
• Lack of interest in previously enjoyed activities
• Depression
• Sleep disturbance
• Concentration difficulties
• Anger or irritability
• Hypervigilence

A formal diagnosis of PTSD requires that the symptoms last more than a month and have a significant impact on the person’s daily functioning.

The preferred treatment for PTSD, recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Effectiveness (NICE), is Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) or Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR).  It is important to say that PTSD can be treated successfully even if the traumatic event took place a long time ago.

• Agoraphobia:  a fear of crowds or public places
• Social phobia:  a fear of being judged or evaluated negatively by others, or of behaving in an embarrassing or humiliating way.
• Specific phobias:  a fear of a very specific object or situation.  Some of the most common specific phobias include:
  • Animals
  • Birds or insects
  • Heights
  • Flying
  • Blood
  • Being sick

One of the key symptoms of any phobic disorder is avoidance of the feared object or situation.  Other symptoms may include:

• Palpitations or a pounding heart
• Blushing, trembling or sweating
• Dry mouth
• Difficulty breathing
• Fear of choking
• Chest pain or discomfort
• Nausea
• Dizzyness
• Fear of losing control, going mad, fainting or dying

The symptoms cause intense distress and are usually considered excessive or unreasonable by the person themselves as well as by others. 

As with panic disorder, the recommended treatment for phobic disorders is CBT rather than medication.

Obsessions might include:

• Fears about contamination
• Fears about harm, for example the death or injury of a loved one
• Violent or sexual thoughts

Common compulsions include:

• Hand washing
• Counting
• Checking
• Ordering
• Cleaning

OCD can sometimes be helped using medications such as Fluoxetine, but this will rarely be effective in alleviating all the symptoms.  Most often the treatment will involve either CBT, or CBT in combination with medication.

• Frequent focussing on and monitoring of minor bodily changes and/or pains
• Excessive information-seeking about the feared illness, for example by surfing the internet
• Repeated visits to the GP and/or health care specialists for tests and scans
• Avoidance of anything relating to the feared illness (e.g. TV documentaries, newspaper articles)

In terms of treatment, there are few medications available and the main treatment recommended by NICE is CBT.

Clinical Psychologists are experts in psychological assessment, clinical diagnosis and treatment.  Therapy is usually based on one or more theoretical orientations – all the clinicians working at Changing Minds specialise in Cognitive Behaviour Therapy, which is the treatment of choice recommended by the Department of Health for most common mental health difficulties.

All Clinical Psychologists have completed an undergraduate degree in Psychology followed by a 3 year Doctorate Training in Clinical Psychology.  This training includes at least 6 NHS based placements covering clinical areas such as adult mental health, children and families, older people and learning difficulties.  Many Clinical Psychologists have also completed further training such as Post Graduate qualifications or Certificates in particular theoretical orientations or special interests.

All Clinical Psychologists in the UK must be registered with the Health Professions Council (HPC), which is a regulatory body set up to protect the public by ensuring adequate standards for professional training, skills and behaviour.  You can check whether the psychologist you are seeing is registered with the HPC by logging on to http://www.hpcheck.org .  Chartered Clinical Psychologists adhere to the criteria set down by the British Psychological Society and a register of Chartered Psychologists can be found on this website.