ΕΝΗΛΙΚΕΣ, Ψ.Π.Σ.Α.
210 959 1000
ΠΑΙΔΙΑ & ΕΦΗΒΟΙ
210 959 5314-317
ADULTS, H.B.P.T.
210 959 1000
CHILDREN & ADOLESCENTS
210 959 5314-317
Department for Adults
The Department for Adults (Esperidon str. 85 Kallithea) of the Institute of Mental Health for Children and Adults(I.M.H.C.A.)provides the following services:
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Long-term psychoanalytic therapy, individual or group.
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Treatment for all psychiatric disorders
with psychological assistance and medication, if necessary. -
Systematic monitoring on a permanent basis(follow – up).
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Counselling for couples and family problems.
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Adult Speech Therapy (speech and voice disorders).
In the Department for Adults (Esperidon str. 85 Kallithea) the whole range of neuroses, psychoses and personality disorders are diagnostically and therapeutically treated. Indicatively: anxiety disorders, panic disorders, depression, obsessive compulsive disorder.The multidisciplinary team consists of psychiatrists, psychologists, psychotherapists (individual psychodynamic psychotherapy, group therapy, couples therapy) and speech therapists.
The Adult Department’s clinical work is based on the principles and methodology of social and community psychiatry, the psychoanalytic theory and technique as well as the teachings of the Institute’s founder, Professor of Psychiatry - Child Psychiatry, P. Sakellaropoulos. Key aspects of the department’s therapeutic identity are the following:the Psychoanalytic perspective in clinical approach, thesimultaneous support of close relatives of the mentally ill,the support of the patient’s treatment plan, when necessary, with the assistance of all members of the interdisciplinary team.In every clinical-therapeutic practice the psychodynamic perspective (the psychoanalytic perspective) and the principles of social-community psychiatry coexist.The theoretical concepts of the unconscious, mental causality and conflict as well as the technical instruments of transference and countertransference, interpretation, technical neutrality and emphasis on the importance of the therapeutic framework are utilized for the cultivation of a therapeutic relationship with the patient, for his systematic and long-term monitoring.
The Department of Adults also operates a specialized Unit for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy. The Unit’s philosophy is that psychoanalytic psychotherapy should be accessible to all social classes of the population, to all individuals, who can benefit from it. Therapy can be short or long-term, provided by therapists with high psychoanalytic training and supervision and the frequency of sessions varies depending on the specific nature and needs of the patient.The criteria are not so descriptive(clinical picture:anxiety, phobias, depression, psychosomatic problems, behavior disorders etc.) as dynamic (the degree of organization of the Ego, the defenses used, the quality of object relations), with emphasis on the patients’ ability in psychological thinking and motivation to better understand and change him/herself.The formulation and drafting of the request for therapy is estimated in the initial diagnostic sessions, after which the most appropriate form of treatment is decided, in collaboration with the patient.
The clinical and empirical contribution of the Department for Adults of the I.M.H.C.A., has established this department of the Institute, as one of the most reliable spaces for psychoanalytic psychotherapy.The stability in psychoanalytic psychotherapies, the reduction of the discontinuation rate and the dramatic increase of sessions in the past years, are some of the major achievements of its work in recent years.The personal referrals to the services of the Department (35% of referrals from current or past patients) is the most significant credit to the clinical staff and the department, while its complementary operation with the public health system is evidenced by the fact that approximately 40% of referrals come from psychiatrists and psychologists of the National Health System (E.S.Y.).
Practically supporting the necessity of an open community mental health agency, the clinical staff of the Department of Adults welcome any request for relief from suffering, and not only from people acquainted with the psychodynamic mentality.The necessity of the Department's services is enhanced both by the results of our work to date as well as by our documented assessment that the growing need of the population for psychotherapy cannot be covered, not even fundamentally, from the public health system.The communication and intervention within the social system through community psycho-education and pilot projects (seePsychodynamic Psychotherapy Zone18-25), the simultaneous support of close relatives of the mentally ill and the support of the patient’s treatment plan, when necessary, with the assistance of all members of the interdisciplinary team, compose the special character of the Department and the Institute in general.
After receiving a request for therapy by the Department for Adults, an appointment is scheduled within one week of the first diagnostic - exploratory session. At the end of the exploratory phase, which may last for several sessions, an individualized treatment plan is proposed and discussed with the patient.
