At St Patrick's Mental Health Services (SPMHS), we have developed a range of supports to provide GPs with relevant mental health information. This aims to help GPs in their practice with patients who present with mental health difficulties.
GP Webinar Series
Each year, we host a GP Webinar Series. These webinars are hosted by clinicians from across our services, who, in each webinar, focus on a mental health topic relevant to GP practice. Each webinar also includes a question and answer session with the presenting clinicians.
The webinars are recognised for Continuous Professional Development (CPD) points by the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP), with available points confirmed ahead of each webinar. Please note that CPD points are only available to those who attend the live webinar.
Registration for the webinars is free.
Check our events calendar to see and register for upcoming GP Webinars.
Mental health films for GPs
We also host a range of on-demand mental health information films for GPs.
These films cover a wide range of mental health topics relevant to the GP surgery, including on:
- recognising and assessing different mental health difficulties
- supporting people living with mental health difficulties
- exploring different types of therapy, medication management and treatment approaches.
Visit our YouTube channel here to get the full playlist, or find out more about and watch the films below.
If you have any questions about our CPD opportunities or mental health information supports for GPs, please email communications@stpatricks.ie.
Supporting GP practice
Films on recognising and assessing mental health difficulties
Click on the arrows below to see more on and watch each film.
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Assessing and managing Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents
Dr Sarah Buckley, Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist in the Dean Clinic Cork here in SPMHS, gives an overview of ADHD in children and adolescents. Dr Buckley covers:
- how ADHD is assessed
- understanding executive function
- an overview of the medications used to treat ADHD
- the link between Phenylketonuria and ADHD.
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Assessing, treating, and supporting people experiencing memory difficulties
Our Memory Clinic offers a comprehensive, multidisciplinary diagnostic assessment of service users who present with a range of memory and cognitive difficulties.
Dr Karen Looney, Principal Clinical Neuropsychologist, and Dr Sarah O’Dwyer, Consultant Psychiatrist here at SPMHS, describe the work of the Memory Clinic and discuss a variety of related topics, such as cognitive screening tools and normal versus cognitive changes more likely to reflect an underlying clinical condition.
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Recognising and managing binge eating disorder
Dr Gary Cooney, Consultant Psychiatrist in Eating Disorders here at SPMHS, explores the recognition and management of binge eating disorder.
Dr Cooney presents a clinical overview of binge eating disorder, its features and diagnostic criteria, as well as discussion around the evidence-based effective treatments for binge eating disorder. Dr Cooney concludes with advice on clinical screening and referral pathways to treatments.
Films on supporting patients with mental health difficulties
You can learn more about or watch each film by clicking on the arrow beside its name.
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Anxiety: Question and answer workshop
Dr Michael McDonough, Consultant Psychiatrist and Head of our Anxiety Disorders Programme team at SPMHS, and other members of the Anxiety Disorders Programme team, explore assessments and referrals for anxiety presentations; the impact of COVID-19 on anxiety presentations; managing complex presentations of anxiety in the GP surgery; and therapy for anxiety disorders.
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Bipolar affective disorder in primary care
Sean Lonergan, Cognitive Behavioural Therapist on the Bipolar Recovery Programme here at SPMHS, explores how GPs can treat and support their patients living with bipolar affective disorder. This includes:
- how patients may present with symptoms of bipolar affective disorder in primary care
- how to differentiate bipolar affective disorder from unipolar depression
- types of bipolar affective disorder diagnoses
- risk factors and stressors for people living with bipolar affective disorder
- how to support patients when they are well, becoming unwell or when a severe mood episode occurs
- when to refer to specialist care.
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Medical Emergencies in Eating Disorders (MEED)
Eleanor Sutton, Eating Disorder Specialist Dietitian and Dietitian Manager; Michelle Ward, Registered Nurse Prescriber, Specialist Supportive Clinical Management in Eating Disorders and Team Liaison Nurse; and Dr Ann O’Donoghue, Senior Registrar, discuss how GPs can treat and support their patients experiencing eating disorders in line with the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Guidelines on MEED. The webinar will cover MEED guidelines in clinical practice, including:
- assessing, monitoring, and managing risk and comorbid factors
- refeeding syndrome and the role of the dietitian
- roles of, and supports for, parents, relatives, and carers
- accessing specialist care.
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Older adult mental health
Dr Karen Looney, Principal Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist, and Dr Cliona Hallissey, Senior Clinical Psychologist, explore common themes in mental health among older adults and what GPs need to be aware of.
They also explore how to engage older people in conversations about their mental health, barriers to older people engaging with mental health services, and the evidence base of psychological interventions for older adults.
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Overcontrol and its impact on mental health
Dr Rachel Egan, Principal Clinical Psychologist, and Dr Clíona Hallissey, Senior Clinical Psychologist, discuss overcontrol and its associated impacts on mental health.
Overcontrol, sometimes referred to as too much self-control, underlies a range of mental health difficulties. This film focuses on what costly and harmful overcontrol looks like, how costly and harmful overcontrol presents and the three core areas (themes) in which it impacts people’s lives.
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Psychosis
Dr Séamus Ó Ceallaigh, Consultant Psychiatrist here in SPMHS, explores the topic of psychosis and how GPs can treat and support their patients living with psychosis.
Dr Ó Ceallaigh covers:
- engagement in psychosis
- early intervention and improved outcomes
- assessing and managing risk and comorbid factors
- improving whole health outcomes in psychosis
- pharmacological strategies for psychosis management
- accessing specialist care.
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Understanding psychosis from a psychological perspective
Dr Conal Twomey, Senior Clinical Psychologist here in SPMHS and Adjunct Associate Professor in University College Dublin (UCD), and Tara Deehan, Senior Counselling Psychologist, present on psychosis from a psychological perspective.
Topics explored include:
- the psychological lens of experiences of psychosis using the compassion-focused model
- building a compassionate mindset in managing experiences of psychosis
- research exploring service users’ preferences for group interventions.
Watch the GP film on a psychological perspective of psychosis here.
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Understanding personality in clinical practice
Dr Conal Twomey, Senior Clinical Psychologist and Adjunct Associate Professor of UCD, explores the topic of personalities in clinical practice.
Dr Twomey offers insights into understanding the personalities of service users from diagnostic, contextual and dimensional approaches. Diagnostic approaches focus on the presence or absence of symptom clusters that represent so-called personality disorders. Contextual approaches often focus on attachment, relationship and life event factors that shape personality. Dimensional approaches focus on “personality on a continuum” and the universality of personality traits.
Films on different treatment approaches
To watch or learn more about any of the films below, click on the arrow beside its name.
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Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and its relevance to GP practice
ACT is an evidence-based, third wave cognitive behavioural approach. It blends acceptance and mindfulness strategies with commitment and behaviour change techniques to increase psychological flexibility.
This film, hosted by Aisling Leonard-Curtin and Dr Trish Leonard-Curtin, Counselling Psychologists here in SPMHS, is designed to help inform GPs in terms of how they could integrate some elements of ACT and Focused Acceptance Commitment Therapy into their general practice.
GPs will learn about identifying when ACT might be helpful for patients and referral pathways are shared. The webinar will also help GPs to integrate ACT into their own lives, which has been shown to increase psychological wellbeing and decrease probability of burnout.
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Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT): An introduction
Marion Mernagh and Sinéad Ní Chaolain, Clinical Psychologists, explore what CFT is, who it is aimed at, and its core therapeutic elements.
GPs will learn some of the key concepts and principles within CFT, and learn about why compassion is important from a mental health perspective. Speakers also discuss the 'Three Systems' model of emotion regulation and how GPs might apply this model to their own work as practitioners, as well as to the needs of their patients.
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Exploring group programmes in the treatment of mental health difficulties
Edel Fortune, Programme Manager here in SPMHS, focuses on group and day programmes for people experiencing ongoing mental health difficulties, and how these programmes can be of benefit.
Group programmes fall into a number of categories including diagnosis-specific, recovery-focused and relapse prevention. GPs will learn about how their patients can access day programmes at SPMHS, the referral criteria, the referral process and clinical responsibility.
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Psychological formulation and addiction
Dr Violet Johnstone, Senior Counselling Psychologist, and Dr Aideen O’Neill, Clinical Psychologist, explore how addiction and substance use disorders fit into a psychological formulation.
They explore how the history of addiction has been understood and treated to date, addiction from a psychological perspective, and emerging psychological theories related to addiction.
Watch the GP film on addiction and psychological formulation here.
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Psychological therapies for older adult mental health
Dr Karen Looney, Dr Aideen O’Neill, and Dr Mairead Losty of our Psychology Department give an introduction to the evidence base for psychological therapies for older adult mental health difficulties.
They cover the therapies available within SPMHS which are specifically focused on the needs of older adults, and the broader offering of psychological therapies for all adult service users, which can also be accessed by older adults.
Watch the GP film on psychological therapies for older adults here.
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Understanding pharmacology and medication management
Ciara Ní Dhubhlaing, Chief Pharmacist here in SPMHS, and Dr Sarah Casey, Senior Registrar and Clinical Lecturer, discuss pharmacological options for patients experiencing mental health difficulties. GPs can get insights into specific treatments, such as anxiolytics, antidepressants, anti-psychotics, and mood stabilisers. This film focuses on evidence-based options, dosing regimens, side-effect profiles, monitoring, and emergency presentations.
