At Umid, our multidisciplinary team offers a range of mental health services, which are detailed below. Our approach begins with a thorough assessment to determine your needs. Sometimes, people are unsure about what service they require, and we are always happy to discuss available options. Upon receiving an enquiry via web form or email (umid@umid.co.uk), our Clinical Director, Sarah Wilson, will contact you to discuss your needs and assist you in accessing the right service.
- Psychiatric Assessment and Treatment by Dr Baig
- Psychological Assessment and Treatment across the lifespan
- Neurodevelopmental diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathway for children and adolescents
- Occupational Therapy assessment and interventions for both children and adults
Psychiatric Assessment and Treatment by Dr Baig
Dr Baig is a Consultant Neuropsychiatrist specialising in Neurodevelopmental psychiatry in addition to support for general mental health difficulties. He offers both in-person and online psychiatric assessment and treatment for various mental health difficulties.
Autism and ADHD Assessments Adult General Psychiatric assessments Follow-up Psychiatric Support
General psychiatric assessments last 50 minutes, while follow-up appointments last 25 minutes. ADHD and Autism assessments follow different structures according to the age range, and some are offered as multidisciplinary assessments.
Once an assessment appointment is booked, we will send you a personal details form and some questionnaires to complete, if required. GP records or copies of any previous assessment are helpful. It may be unsafe to prescribe medications without knowing your medical history or establishing potential interactions with other medications you may be on, or your GP may prescribe you later.
After all appointments, a detailed letter covering the assessment and treatment plan is sent to you and the GP, usually in a week for general psychiatric assessments and within two weeks for autism and ADHD assessments.
Please refer to relevant sections of this website for details on services offered by Dr Baig, fees, information on assessments and frequently asked questions.
Psychological Assessment and Treatment across the lifespan
In your psychological assessment, we would explore the nature of your difficulties and personal goals, share our understanding, and discuss how we can provide you with the support you need. A psychological assessment aims to provide a shared formulation with you and a psychological intervention plan tailored to your needs. A detailed psychological assessment report will be sent to you and, with your consent, to your GP within seven days of the appointment. Please allow up to 75 minutes for the assessment appointment. Follow-up therapy sessions are 50 minutes long.
Different modalities of therapy available with Umid are:
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) CBT is a highly evidenced psychological therapy that explores the connection between our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It is a practical therapy that seeks to explore skills you can use to challenge your thinking patterns and support you in changing certain behaviours. Both of these will improve your mood and reduce emotional distress.
With CBT being underpinned by your personalised formulation, CBT will help you gain a psychological understanding of current challenges. CBT is supported by research to treat a variety of common mental health difficulties, namely anxiety disorders such as OCD, GAD, social anxiety and PTSD, and depression, alongside more severe and enduring mental health difficulties such as eating disorders, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.
CBT-E CBT-E is a psychological therapy for the treatment of eating disorders, such as Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Based on the ‘CBT-E map’, with the core CBT principles at the heart, CBT-E will support you in exploring the specific struggles that might be commonly present in an eating disorder.
Topics include connecting your thoughts, feelings, and behaviours that you may be experiencing around the over-evaluation of shape, weight, and size. CBT-E will support you in developing body acceptance and commencing and maintaining regular eating while managing your personal internal and external triggers. CBT-E will also support you in redeveloping your identity away from your thoughts of your shape, weight, and size and will help you reconnect with your values and other areas of your life.
Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) DBT is a psychological therapy initially adapted from the principles of CBT. It aims to support individuals in developing emotional resilience by gaining awareness of the acceptance of difficult emotions, connecting with their values, enhancing their relationships, and ultimately developing a life worth living. There are four core modules within DBT: mindfulness, distress tolerance, emotional regulation and interpersonal effectiveness.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) ACT is a psychological modality based on the principles of CBT. ACT is a mindful therapeutic approach which aims to support you to focus on the present moment and better manage overwhelming and difficult thoughts and feelings. By utilising and connecting with your values and personal aspirations, the goal of ACT is to support you to connect with your thoughts in a different manner with the aim of then responding in more helpful ways.
Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT) CFT is a psychological therapy which will aim to support you in promoting your mental and emotional well-being by developing compassion towards yourself and others instead of being self-critical and shaming. Core elements in mindfulness, self-appreciation, and the use of imagery. CFT can benefit for many reasons, specifically to boost self-esteem, reduce and respond differently to critical thoughts of self and support the development of an act of kindness and compassion towards ourselves.
Maudsley Model of Anorexia Nervosa Treatment for Adults (MANTRA)
MANTRA is a specialist therapy which has been devised and developed specifically for the treatment of anorexia nervosa. MANTRA consists of 7 core modules, all aiming to address the cognitive, emotional, relational and biological factors which might maintain symptoms of anorexia nervosa. All modules will be personalised to your own needs and goals. MANTRA aims to support individuals in developing the motivation and courage to make effective, meaningful changes by improving food intake and nutrition, addressing possible interpersonal difficulties, developing more helpful styles of thinking, developing effective emotional coping skills, and developing a sense of identity away from anorexia nervosa.
Schema Therapy
Schema therapy is an integrative model that draws on aspects of cognitive behavioural therapy, attachment theory, and Gestalt psychology. Our schemas describe our thinking patterns and behaviours connected to how we interpret and engage with the world around us. The schema therapy model aims to utilise a combination of both experiential and relational techniques to bring clinical change and support you to work towards your personalised therapy and life goals. It connects our childhood with our present and the possible experiences which have developed our sense of self in the world around us.
Integrative Therapy
Integrative therapy is a holistic support approach. It draws on different therapy techniques as they are needed and adapts them to your specific needs. Various therapies are combined into a cohesive experience, to improve the efficacy and efficiency of treatment. This will help to understand different aspects of yourself such as your mind, emotions, thoughts, body, and relationships.
Person-Centred Therapy (PCT)
Person centred therapy aims to help you achieve your full potential and become your true self. To help you do this, the therapist will offer:
- Unconditional positive regard – accepting and valuing you
- Congruence – honesty and transparency
- Empathetic understanding
At its core PCT is about you leading your sessions, with less direction from the therapist, encouraging you to become more self-aware with greater independence.
Humanistic Therapy
Humanistic therapy focusses on helping you overcome your challenges through personal growth; not concentrating on what is wrong but emphasising your positive skills and characteristics. This therapy has roots in the belief that people are innately good and can help you express your thoughts and feelings without judgement. Humanistic therapy is a good way to learn coping skills and stress relief whilst building a positive relationship with your therapist.
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is based on helping you understand how your current behaviour and emotions are influenced by your past experiences. Through talking with your therapist, you can expect to explore your behaviour patterns, recognise repressed emotions, and improve your relationships with others.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is your awareness of your internal thoughts and emotions alongside your surroundings. This helps equip you with skills of consciously remaining in the present moment instead of your past or predicting the future. Mindfulness is the intentional process of observing, describing and participating without judgement in the moment. The goals of mindfulness are to reduce suffering, increase control of your mind, and experience reality as it really is.
Couples Counselling
Couples counselling provides a safe and supportive space to communicate and reconnect with your partner. This therapy can help resolve problems such as past relationship trauma, jealousy, lack of intimacy and communication breakdowns. Understanding why you and your partner behave a certain way in relationships can help to identify the roots of issues and resolve them. Couples counselling may involve both individual sessions with each of you, and sessions with both of you together, but this would be decided with your therapist.
Neurodevelopmental diagnostic and post-diagnostic pathway for children and adolescents
Autism assessment with children and young people
At Umid, we offer specialist autism assessments for children and young people in line with evidence-based practice and specialist assessment tools, the ADOS-2 and the ADI-R. The ADOS-2 is completed with the young person by a member of our specialist neurodevelopmental team and takes between 60 and 90 minutes. The ADI-R is completed by another member of our specialist team with a parent or carer who knows the young person well and takes between 2 and 3 hours. With consent, we will video the ADOS-2. The two parts of the assessment are then reviewed and scored by the neurodevelopmental team in a multi-disciplinary meeting to help ensure the quality and validity of the scoring and conclusions. We arrange a follow-up appointment within two weeks of the assessment meeting to discuss the conclusions and next steps. A comprehensive report is available within 4-6 weeks time and is shared with the family.
Post-diagnostic support for children, young people, and the wider family
We offer a comprehensive intervention programme that involves working with the child, young person and the family to devise a bespoke plan of practical support the family requires. This could include individual psychological therapy with a member of our team, occupational therapy input or our specialist programme involving 1:1 work with the child, ‘Unleashing My Potential’, which aims to achieve the following:
• Understanding autism and what this means for you
• Understanding your struggles but equally your strengths and the benefits that come from being neurodiverse
• Reducing possible masking and supporting you to be true to yourself
• Support you to understand your feelings, your needs and how to manage these in helpful ways
• Understanding and managing sensory overload and reduce the opportunity of meltdowns • Increase emotional regulation
To support a neurodiverse child or young person to reach their full potential, at Umid we recognise the benefit that can come from working holistically with the family and carers of the child or young person. Therefore, we have set up both an individual programme, ‘Unleashing Their Potential’ for parents and carers, which aims to achieve the following:
• Understanding Autism and what this means for your loved one.
• The importance of co-regulation and self-care, and strategies to achieve both.
• Developing and enhancing communication within the family.
• Building on family strengths and working together effectively
Occupational Therapy assessment and interventions for both children and adults
All of our Occupational Therapy assessments are in person, and we require pre-assessment information prior to meeting which you can send to us by completing the pre assessment questionnaires. This information ensures that the appointment time in clinic is utilised for maximum benefit.
An Occupational Therapy assessment involves meeting with you and your child/young person to identify and explore functional strengths and challenges within activities of daily living both at home and at school. This will include discussions around school, play, home, self-care tasks and leisure occupations. The assessment may also include clinical observation of tasks suitable to be carried out in clinic. You will identify areas of need and either follow Occupational Therapy recommendations or engage with a 1:1 intervention plan. In addition to a clinic-based assessment, it may be required for the Occupational Therapist to carry out school or at home observations, which will be discussed following an initial assessment.
Following assessment and observation, a goal-oriented intervention plan will be created, bespoke to your child/young person’s needs. Occupational Therapy interventions include, but are not limited to:
Zones of Regulation You will work with the Occupational Therapist to formulate an individualised programme with the aim to improve emotional regulation. -Combining sensory integration, executive functioning, and emotional regulation to improve self-regulation -Improved ability to read facial expressions and recognise a broader range of emotions -Tools and problem-solving abilities to improve control over actions
Sensory Advice and Toolkits (previously known as Sensory Diets) The Occupational Therapist will work with you to identify a child-centred and individualised plan to support functional challenges in day to day activities.
Identify challenges with sensory processing -Clear strategies to complement your child/young person’s daily routine -Improvements with engagement, function and quality of life for the child/young person and family
Individual ‘Special Yoga’ sessions -A specialist form of yoga therapy for individuals across the lifespan with additional needs including Autism, ADHD, Cerebral palsy, PMLD and Downs Syndrome. -Specialised movement, breath work, sound, massage, relaxation and mindfulness for the populations named above -Evidence-based physical, emotional and cognitive benefits including increased body awareness and motor planning -Improvements with communication and interaction as well as social, emotional, and mental health needs