Spring 2026 GP newsletter

Upcoming cycles of the Mood Disorders Programme

Direct referrals from GPs are now being accepted for the upcoming cycles of the following Mood Disorders Programmes at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services:

• The Bipolar Recovery Programme: This programme is a 10-week psychotherapy online group intervention, offering education and support to those diagnosed with bipolar disorder or who experience the symptoms associated with bipolar disorder. The programme is run by a team of mental healthcare clinicians including cognitive behavioural therapists and psychiatric nurses, with input also from a multidisciplinary team including a consultant psychiatrist, occupational therapist, pharmacist and social worker. The programme incorporates a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy, compassion-focused approaches and mindfulness-based stress reduction. It offers the opportunity to gain an understanding of bipolar disorder and equips participants with the tools necessary to effectively manage their symptoms and improve their quality of life. Next cycle commences 8 April.
  
  
• Building Healthy Self Esteem Programme: This programme is aimed at service users with low self-esteem and uses cognitive behavioural therapy to help individuals understand and improve their self-esteem. The programme can help participants to recognise, understand and manage symptoms of low self-esteem; learn new skills to cope with symptoms and gain peer support through meeting other people with similar difficulties. The BHSE programme is an online group intervention which runs for one half-day for 10 weeks by a team of mental health professionals, including a cognitive behavioural therapist and nurses with expertise in cognitive psychotherapy, compassion-focused therapy and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Next cycle commences 17 April.
  
  
• Depression Recovery Programme: The Depression Recovery Programme is a 10-week psychotherapy online group intervention, offering education and support to those diagnosed with depression or who experience the symptoms associated with depression. The programme is run by a team of mental healthcare clinicians including cognitive behavioural therapists and psychiatric nurses, with input also from a multidisciplinary team including a consultant psychiatrist, occupational therapist, pharmacist and social worker. The programme incorporates a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy, compassion-focused approaches and mindfulness-based stress reduction. Next cycle commences 14 May.

Click here for more information.

Referrals to the Compassion-Focused Therapy for Psychosis Programme

The Psychology Department at SPMHS is now accepting referrals for the Compassion-Focused Therapy for Psychosis (CFT-P) programme. CFT-P is aimed at people with experiences of psychosis, such as paranoia or delusions. Within a safe and supportive group environment, participants are invited to develop greater understanding of, and compassion towards, their experiences of psychosis. It is not necessary to have a diagnosis related to psychosis (eg, schizophrenia) to participate - both those with and without such diagnoses are eligible to attend.

The programme comprises 11 weekly in-person group sessions and one individual review session. Please note that the referrer retains clinical responsibility for the service user while they are attending the CFT-P programme.

If you have any queries regarding an individual’s suitability for the CFT-P programme, please contact Ms Tara Deehan, Senior Counselling Psychologist, Tel: 01 249 3578 or email: tdeehan@stpatricks.ie. 

Older adult programmes at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services

SPMHS offers a number of psychological therapy day programmes for older adults. The older adult psychology team will assess which programme is most suitable so please add assessment for older adult psychology day programmes to your referral.

• Living Well with Mild Cognitive Impairment: This group programme offers support for people in managing the emotional, cognitive and practical elements of a mild cognitive impairment diagnosis. The programme runs on a rolling structure and new members can be added to the current cycle pending assessment of suitability.  
  
  
• SAGE: This group therapy programme is designed to address mental health difficulties in older adults whose coping style involves patterns of emotional suppression, distance in relationships, and maintaining a high level of standards and routines.
  
  
• Compassion-Focused Therapy for Older Adults: This group therapy programme is designed for older adults who experience high levels of self-criticism and shame which may be underlying their mental health difficulties. It supports adults to cultivate compassion in their lives and reduce self-criticism and shame.
  
  
• The Older Adult Formulation Group: This group has been specifically designed for older adults who are interested in developing a psychological understanding of their mental health difficulties.

More information about the older adult programmes at SPMHS is available here.

Psychology Skills Group for Adolesecents open for referrals

The Psychology Department at SPMHS is accepting GP referrals for its Psychology Skills Group for Adolescents (PSGA). PSGA is a psychological group therapy for young people, aged 14 to 18, who are experiencing a range of mental health difficulties such as emotional dysregulation, low mood, anxiety or eating disorders. The group takes place online via Microsoft Teams, with referrals accepted on a rolling basis every four to six weeks.

For more information on PSGA, click here.

Referrals

If you have any queries regarding a referral to our services, please contact our Referral and Assessment Service on 01 249 3635. You can make a referral directly through our eReferral system or by completing a referral form on the GP section of stpatricks.ie.

Many day programmes at St Patrick’s Mental Health Services are covered by health insurance. Please note that upon receipt, all referrals will be processed by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services’ Day Services for insurance clearance purposes.

Upcoming webinars

The next two webinars in the 2026 GP webinar series will take place in March and April on the topics of burnout for GPs and insomnia. CPD from the ICGP will be sought for these events.

Register for the upcoming webinars here.

Irish researchers among those leading in largest ever international study on clozapine usage for the treatment of schizophrenia

Irish researchers from St Patrick’s Mental Health Services and University College Cork are among those leading in a major international study on clozapine usage for treatment-resistant schizophrenia. The global study is the largest ever assessment of clozapine usage and included data from 75 countries gathered over a period of 10 years from 2014 to 2024.

For more information, click here.

St Patrick’s Mental Health Services and University College Dublin strengthens partnership in the training of clinical psychologists

A recently signed partnership agreement between St Patrick’s Mental Health Services and University College Dublin’s (UCD) School of Psychology will see an increase in the number of candidates supported by St Patrick’s Mental Health Services to take part in UCD’s Doctoral Programme in Clinical Psychology.

This updated agreement will see trainee psychologists undertake clinical placements with St Patrick’s Mental Health Services as part of their doctoral training programme. The doctoral trainees, with input from service users, will advance research to strengthen evidence-based approaches furthering understanding and addressing mental health difficulties, with the goal of improving service user outcomes and informing best practices in mental healthcare both nationally and internationally.

For more information, click here.