Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Psychology Service

The Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Psychology Service provides psychological support to people with a life-limiting illness, as well as providing specialist support to carers, partners and other family members affected by a person’s illness. The service also provides specialist support to people experiencing complex bereavement reactions.

If you would like support from this service then please talk to your GP who can then make a referral to our service if they feel this would be appropriate.

The Service is also available to provide consultancy and teaching on psychological aspects of end of life care to other health professionals

Coronavirus (COVID-19) 

Referral criteria

Please refer to the guidelines below when making a referral to the Specialist Palliative Care Clinical Psychology Service, based at The Rowans Hospice. Please feel free to call us to discuss any potential referral. Referral forms are available on request. We are happy to receive letters from GPs in place of a completed referral form.

You should consider making a referral when:

• The identified individual has demonstrated persistent acute emotional distress and/or is presenting with challenging 'out of character' behaviours. The distress/behaviour continues over a period of time and seems to relate to adjustment to their illness.
• The identified individual is demonstrating signs of depression and/or anxiety that are significantly reducing their quality of life, coping, and/or daily functioning 
• The identified individual is expressing suicidal thoughts and feelings 
• The identified individual is expressing unrealistic ideas (in comparison to expected treatment outcome), which are adversely impacting upon treatments, advanced care planning or relationships 
• The identified individual appears to have significant communication difficulties with their family or significant others, such that this impacts their quality of life and/or they are impeded in their adjustment to their illness 
• The identified individual is at risk of a complex bereavement reaction as a result of a number of factors including: previous mental health problems, poor social support/social isolation, poor communication skills, a known history of poor adjustment to loss, a number of concurrent life stresses 
• The identified individual is presenting with characteristics of a complex or prolonged bereavement reaction