The Portman Clinic aims to disseminate its expertise through both in-house formal courses and through outreach consultancy. Psycho-analytically informed consultancy and supervision is offered to individuals, teams and organisations in the health, prison probation and social services as well as the voluntary sector. The work can address the particular needs of a specific group, discipline or institution and is largely conducted off site. Consultancy may be provided to assist individuals or groups of practitioners and/or managers in an organisation in the way they think about their work with patients. An important aspect of this work is the understanding of the relationship between staff and clients, patients or users and how the impact upon staff of this relationship affects their practice. Consultancy would be offered on site and this would usually be on a regular basis. This might, for example, be to specific disciplines such as the mental health nursing group within a hospital or prison. A different example would be that of consultancy to disciplines and managers of an entire institution such as work that is being currently undertaken by Portman Staff at Ashworth Special Hospital in Liverpool.
Consultancy may also be sought in relation to treatment and management issues around specific patients. An example of this would be risk assessment and management in the case of child abuse or violence where consultancy might be offered to a community network. Another example may relate to the treatment and management of a patient whose level of acting out behaviour is causing particular concern in a secure or medium secure unit.
For further information about the Portman Consultancy Service please contact:
The Clinic Manager
Portman Clinic
8 Fitzjohns Avenue
London NW3 5NA
Tel: 020 7794 8262
Fax: 020 7447 3748
Email: jvolger@tavi-port.org
