Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma (CADAT)

The Centre for Anxiety Disorders & Trauma (CADAT) is a leader in research, training and the clinical treatment of anxiety in the UK and has made clear contributions in the fields of research, clinical care, education and training. CADAT is also a psychological therapy outpatient service offering Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and is based within the South London & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) which is part of the King’s Health Partners (KHP) Academic Health Sciences Centre. KHP brings King’s College London and three NHS foundation trusts (SLaM, King’s College Hospital and Guy’s and St Thomas’ hospitals) together in an initiative to produce world-class research, education and clinical practice for the benefit of service users. CADAT provides both a local and national service which spans primary, secondary and tertiary care, and we are the main contributor to research into anxiety disorders in the Trust. 

People

All our therapists are accredited CBT therapists with the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy (BABCP), the lead organisation for CBT in the UK. Most are also formally accredited supervisors and four are accredited CBT Trainers. Several of our therapists are involved in cutting-edge research furthering our knowledge of the applications of cognitive theory to the alleviation of mental health conditions. Staff on placement are also supervised by an accredited CBT therapist, ensuring that everyone is trained to a high standard and has their work closely supervised.

Research

CADAT treats people with CBT when their main problem is an anxiety disorder and our treatments assists in our various research programmes which focus on:

• Identifying maintaining cognitive factors in anxiety disorders
• Enhancing the effectiveness of existing cognitive therapies
• Evaluating how well these programmes generalise, reducing the therapist time required for treatment without loss of effectiveness
• Developing and implementing effective programmes for training others
• Identifying key change processes in cognitive therapy

Our clinic is a leader in research into anxiety in the UK and is the main contributor to the research into anxiety disorders in the SLaM NHS Trust. Many of the treatments we offer have been developed by our own teams, have been shown to be very effective in randomised-controlled trials, and are subject to high levels of quality control. Peer review publications from CADAT staff can be seen here.

Current recruitment

ADEPT study

We at CADAT and King’s College London are conducting a study aiming to find the most effective form of CBT therapy for pregnant women with anxiety disorders. The study is open to women in South London, who are between 12 and 20 weeks pregnant. For more information please contact Fiona Challacombe or see the ADEPT study website for further details.

Intrusive thoughts study

We are conducting a study about intrusive sexual thoughts and images which is taking place at Institute of Psychiatry and the Centre for Anxiety Disorders, Maudsley Hospital, London, under Professor David Veale. Such thoughts and images are common and may occur in some people with OCD, as well as other people. The aim of the study is to gain a better understanding of these thoughts and experiences in a range of people in order to refine therapy for people who are bothered by them. For a confidential and informal discussion or for more details, please contact Jess Simmonds.

Teaching, training and conferences

CADAT staff teach on a wide variety of CBT courses locally and nationally. We have particularly close links with the King’s College London courses of IoPPN Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and CBT Postgraduate Certificate and Diploma (PG Cert and Dip). The course director, Sheena Liness, is a member of CADAT staff and the deputy course director, Suzanne Byrne, also does her clinical work at CADAT. Alongside teaching, CADAT is a major supervision resource for the above courses, and for Specialist Trainees on psychiatry rotation. We also provide Continuing Professional Development (CPD) placements for more experienced staff from both local SLaM services and further afield.

CADAT staff can deliver learning opportunities on a broad variety of topics (see below).  We would be happy to provide training on all of the below.  Please contact Blake Stobie, Head of Service, in the first instance; Tel: 020 3228 3590; Email: blake.stobie@slam.nhs.uk

Clinical

We treat people with Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) when their main problem is an anxiety disorder, especially obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), hoarding disorder, body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depersonalisation disorder, social anxiety disorder, panic disorder, specific phobias (e.g. driving, flying etc), specific phobia of vomiting (SPOV or emetophobia), misphonia, general anxiety disorder and health anxiety.

We form a small part of each of Southwark, Lambeth and Lewisham  Talking Therapies Services, also known as Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT), and the Integrated Psychological Therapies Teams (IPTT) for Lambeth, Southwark and Lewisham. We also accept referrals nationally especially for people with OCD and BDD. In addition, CADAT holds a Highly Specialised Service (HSS) contract with NHS England to provide treatment for people with OCD and/or BDD for whom numerous previous treatments have been unsuccessful.

Referrals from other SLaM services

We are unable to receive direct referrals from other SLaM services for patients with a GP registered within Lambeth, Southwark or Lewisham. Please follow the most appropriate referrals pathway above.

Useful links

• BABCP (British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapists
• OCD Action
• Anxiety UK
• IoPPN Postgraduate Certificate Diploma in CBT
• IoPPN Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
• OCD UK
• SLaM CADAT's National Service