Cardiac rehabilitation service

There is a clinical psychologist providing input into the Trust's Cardiac Rehabilitation service as part of a pilot study.

Why is psychology important to your cardiac rehabilitation?

Having a heart event or undergoing heart treatment can be a very frightening and shocking experience, and can bring other feelings too. The process of recovery is made up of different stages, both physically and emotionally, and each person will experience this differently. While some people can feel quite hopeful, feeling that they have been given a second chance. For other people, adjusting to what happened can be much harder.

How can a clinical psychologist help?

The clinical psychologist in this team is trained to help people cope with the psychological and emotional effects of an illness. They work alongside the rest of your cardiac rehabilitation team and provide training and advice to the team on emotional and psychological aspects of your care. They also see patients for individual appointments for talking therapy, which can be in person or online.

Meeting with the clinical psychologist may be especially helpful if you are experiencing:

• Worry about the possibility of another heart event or heart problems in the future, so much so that it is interfering with your life
• Difficulty adjusting to or coping with the heart event, surgery or treatment, making it hard for you to move forward
• Flashbacks or nightmares about your heart event or your time in hospital, thinking about it all the time, and avoiding things or place that remind you of what happened
• Feeling very anxious or worried about an upcoming procedure or operation
• Struggling to take part in your cardiac rehabilitation programme because of worry about more heart problems.

What to expect

Your first appointment will focus on the clinical psychologist getting to know you, and understanding what has been happening for you. Together, you and the psychologist will think about what would be most helpful for you next, and agree on a plan. For some people, one or two sessions are enough, while others may benefit from a few more.

Depending on your needs, the sessions may draw on a number of different psychological approaches, such as:

• Cognitive behavioural therapy
• Acceptance and commitment therapy
• Compassion-focused therapy
• Eye movement desensitisation

You can expect to have a supportive space to express and explore any difficult feelings or concerns, without judgement.