What to Expect

If, after your initial conversation, you would like to explore treatment further, the next step is an initial assessment. This is a structured conversation — usually by telephone or video call, though it can be in person — with a senior member of our clinical team.

The purpose of the assessment is to understand your situation properly: what you are experiencing, how long it has been going on, what has and has not helped in the past, and what your goals and priorities are. It is also an opportunity for you to ask questions and to get a clearer sense of what treatment at Cardinal Clinic might involve.

The assessment is not a test. There are no right or wrong answers. It is a clinical conversation designed to give us the information we need to recommend the most appropriate pathway for you — and to give you the information you need to make an informed decision.

Following the assessment, we will provide you with a written summary of our recommendations, including the level of care we believe is most appropriate, the likely duration of treatment, and the costs involved. If we do not believe we are the right service for your needs, we will tell you honestly and, where possible, suggest more appropriate alternatives.

Following your psychiatric assessment, your consultant will work with you to develop a personalised treatment plan. This is not a standard protocol applied to everyone with your diagnosis. It is a plan designed around your specific situation, your goals, your circumstances, and your preferences.

The treatment plan will specify the level of care recommended — outpatient, day patient, residential, or a combination — the specific therapies and interventions involved, the frequency and duration of sessions, the role of medication if relevant, and the criteria for stepping up or stepping down between levels of care.

At Cardinal Clinic, we have the full continuum of care available within a single clinical team. This means that if your needs change during treatment — if you need more intensive support for a period, or if you are ready to step down to a lower level of care — we can adjust your treatment plan without you having to change providers or lose the relationships you have built with your clinical team.

Your treatment plan will be reviewed regularly throughout your treatment, and you will always be involved in decisions about your care.

One of the most important things that distinguishes Cardinal Clinic from many other providers is our commitment to aftercare. Recovery does not end at discharge, and the transition from intensive treatment back to everyday life is one of the most critical — and most vulnerable — phases of the process.

For patients completing residential or day patient programmes, we develop a detailed aftercare plan before discharge. This plan specifies the level of ongoing outpatient support, the frequency of follow-up appointments with your consultant, and the crisis resources available to you if you need them.

Through our connection with Portobello Behavioural Health, we can also provide recovery coaching, case management, and community-based support for patients who need a higher level of ongoing support than outpatient appointments alone can provide. This might mean a recovery coach who works with you in your home environment, a case manager who coordinates your care across different services, or access to our secondary care programme for patients who need a structured transition between residential treatment and independent living.

We remain available to our patients long after their formal treatment has ended. If you have a setback, if your circumstances change, or if you simply need to talk to someone, you can contact us.