How can the Sexual Health & HIV Psychology Service help?

Types of problems that we can help with include:

• Adjustment to HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs)
• Difficulties in taking the medication given to you to treat HIV/STI
• Distress about how HIV or the STI affects your relationships
• Concerns about the circumstances that led to your use of Sexual Health Sheffield
• Worries about getting HIV or STIs

These are just examples and you may have other concerns. We treat every person as an individual, so the type of support we offer will vary from person to person. If we decide to work together on your difficulties, this may include:

• Thinking about the impact of your problems on your life
• Understanding how difficulties may have developed
• Trying out different approaches

What is the difference between psychologists and psychiatrists?

As psychologists, we use a range of talking therapies, and may also have some practical ideas about things that may help. We do not prescribe medication, or carry out physical examinations.

Psychiatrists are trained as medical doctors specialising in mental health and can prescribe medication.

It may be helpful for some people to have support from both.

Click here to meet the team.

What happens at a first appointment?

The first appointment will be an assessment session, lasting up to an hour and a half. We aim to offer this within 5 weeks of receiving your referral. The main focus of the first session is to gain an understanding of your current concerns and difficulties. As part of this we may ask you to complete some questionnaires about how you’re feeling. During this session we will decide together what kind of support would be most useful for you.

It may be that another service would be more suitable for your needs. If so, we can help to arrange this for you.

What happens next?

If we decide together that this is the right service for you, you will be placed on the waiting list for therapy. We will contact you as soon as an appointment becomes available.

Some people find that they feel better after one or two sessions. Other people find it helpful to meet regularly for a longer time. We will discuss this with you at the beginning of our work together and review how it is going on a regular basis.

What about confidentiality?

Whatever you talk about will be kept confidential. We try to work as a team in Sexual Health Sheffield and we will write or talk to other health professionals directly involved in your care if we think this would be helpful for you.

We do not talk to anyone outside of this department about you, without having consent to do so.

However, we must share information if we are concerned that you, or someone you told us about, were at risk of being harmed in some way. If this happened, we would always try to discuss this with you before talking to anyone else about it.

How can I be referred to see a Psychologist?

Any member of staff within Sexual Health Sheffield or The Stonegrove Centre can refer you.

If you have any initial questions or concerns about the service please contact:

Emma Headley or Becky Green (Clinical Psychologists)

Sexual Health & HIV Service Leads

Royal Hallamshire Hospital

Glossop Road

Sheffield, S10 2JF

Tel: 0114 271 3555 (voice message only, we would return your call)