Medical Psychotherapy

What is a medical psychotherapist?

Medical psychotherapists are the only group of psychiatrists who are recognised by the General Medical Council as both able to diagnose and treat mental health conditions, as well as having expert knowledge, understanding and skills across multiple types of psychotherapy approaches. 

Medical Psychotherapy is a General Medical Council (GMC) specialisation that trains psychiatrists to become experts in psychotherapy, and less than 1% of psychiatrists have both qualifications.

Medical psychotherapists can provide expert treatment in both fields of: 

• General Psychiatry: diagnose, treat and prescribe medications for mental health conditions.
• Psychotherapy: provide patients with several different options for psychotherapy (psychological talking therapy) and provide therapy sessions for patients (in the same way as a clinical psychologist).

What does a medical psychotherapist do?

Medical psychotherapists provide expert recommendations about what kind of psychotherapy approach will suit you best and will tailor your therapy according to your personality style, symptoms and lifestyle. 

‍

Seeing a medical psychotherapist has many benefits, as they can:

• Assess which psychotherapy approaches would be most suited to a particular patient at a particular time.
• Carry out specialist psychotherapy assessments including personality assessments.
• Provide a range of these therapies themselves, or supervise/oversee the delivery of these therapies by others.
• Make specialist recommendations as to what the particular issues are that need to be focussed on in psychotherapy.
• Provide specialist integrated psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment to particularly complex and difficult-to-treat groups (e.g. those with treatment-resistant mood or anxiety conditions, those with personality disorders, complex trauma or medically unexplained symptoms).

What’s the advantage of seeing a medical psychotherapist?

The advantage of seeing a medical psychotherapist is that you access both psychiatry and psychotherapy assessments and treatment without having to visit a psychiatrist and psychologist separately. 

Unlike many non-medical psychotherapists, they will not be invested in providing you with a specific type of therapy because they have specialist knowledge of many different types of approaches. This means can objectively help you choose the best approach for you and your symptoms at the time of your consultation.

How can a medical psychotherapist help me?

Your medical psychotherapists will be able to provide specialist psychotherapeutic assessments and treatment planning, and often they will be able to provide your psychotherapy treatment themselves. 

Your medical psychotherapist will develop a highly sophisticated and flexible treatment plan that can adapt as your treatment progresses. Sometimes your medical psychotherapist might recommend a stepped approach, where you have different therapies at different stages of your treatment. For example, patients with complex trauma and personality disorder may be recommended to have Dialectical Behavioural Therapy or Mentalisation Based Therapy as the first step in treatment, followed by EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing) as a second step. 

Our team of medical psychotherapists:

Dr Guy Hillman

Psychotherapy approaches: 

• Psychoanalytic
• Psychodynamic
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT)

Dr Guy Hillman is a Private Consultant Psychiatrist with specialist training in Medical Psychotherapy and Forensic Psychiatry. Dr Hillman has almost two decades of clinical experience treating a wide range of mental health conditions and symptoms, including personality, mood, relationship and emotional difficulties. He also has specialist experience helping adults with personality disorders and complex or co-occurring conditions.

Dr Hillman has gained extensive clinical experience working as a psychiatrist in the NHS since 2004 and held multiple leadership and teaching positions, both in his clinical workplace and nationally. His previous roles have included working as a Consultant in Forensic Psychiatry & Medical Psychotherapy at several units and hospitals throughout the UK.

‍

Dr Jonathan Garabette

‍Psychotherapy approaches: 

• Psychoanalytic
• Psychodynamic
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Mentalisation-Based Therapy (MBT)
• Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Dr Jonathan Garabette is a Private Consultant Psychiatrist and Medical Psychotherapist who provides treatment using psychiatry, pharmacology, and psychology-based approaches including medication, psychological therapies and lifestyle modification. Dr Garabette has extensive clinical experience treating a wide range of different mental health conditions and specialises in mood disorders with emotional difficulties, complex conditions, performance and achievement.

Dr Garabette undertook specialist psychiatry training at the prestigious South London and Maudsley training scheme, and then undertook further training with Oxford, South West London and St George’s NHS Foundation Trusts. He also has a strong background and interest in Neuroscience and integrates modern neuroscience theories into his practice, which allows him to arrive at a more complete and precise understanding of a patient’s diagnosis and problems.