New Priory therapy and counselling clinic opens in Wimbledon Park to provide access to mental health support ‘on the high street’ - and as easy as going to the gym

• The Priory reports a ‘tsunami’ of inquiries from people seeking help for depression, anxiety and eating disorders among other mental health conditions
• Psychotherapists from its world-famous Roehampton Hospital will lead the team at the new mental wellbeing clinic in Wimbledon Park
• The aim is to make access to therapy quicker, easier and more straightforward
• Priory Roehampton Hospital Director Steve Clarke says: “Similar to our Wellbeing Centres in central London, the aim is to put therapy ‘on the high street’ so it is as easy to access as going to the gym”
• The clinic will offer a ‘pathway’ to the Priory Hospital for those in need of more intense support, while patients already receiving therapy there will be offered the Wimbledon Park clinic as an alternative location

The Priory, specialists in mental healthcare, has invested £100,000 in a new outpatient therapy centre ‘on the high street’ near Wimbledon town centre, for people seeking counselling and other supportive mental health therapies.

Priory has witnessed a huge increase in people seeking help for anxiety and depression among other conditions.

Patient inquiries about depression treatment were 40% higher in 2021 than 2020, and inquiries about anxiety were up by a third.

Inquiries in the first quarter of 2022 for both conditions are running higher than for the same period in 2021 and 2020.

Priory has also witnessed a ‘tsunami’ of inquiries for help for eating disorders, an issue widely reflected in the media, and a significant increase in inquiries around attention deficit hyperactivity disorder support.

The Priory Wimbledon Park Clinic in Arthur Road, formerly known as Arthur House, will offer people access to therapy at appointment times to suit them, in discreet surroundings specially designed to make people feel relaxed.

Based within a few metres of Wimbledon Park tube station, which is on the District Line, the clinic will provide therapy for a wide range of conditions, including depression, anxiety, stress, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), ADHD, trauma, social anxiety, eating disorders, grief and bereavement counselling, and addictions.

The service, which will be CQC-registered, opens in June and offers a combination of remote and face-to-face, 1:1 therapy, using a range of specialist therapy techniques and treatments including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and psychodynamic therapy, which focuses on the past as a way for understanding feelings and moving forward.

Day care group therapy will also be available from September 2022.

The aim overall is to make therapy easier to access locally, as well as for those travelling into and out of central London by Tube, and will allow Priory Hospital Roehampton to extend its therapy services so more people can gain access to them.

Priory Roehampton Hospital Director Steve Clarke said: “We know there are long waiting lists for therapy across London and the UK, and this clinic will go some way to meeting demand. Our experts are among the very best in the country. Their experience is huge and I am frequently receiving compliments from past patients whose lives have been turned around. That is a great pleasure of my job.

“People want fully-qualified therapists who are easily accessible and affordable. Many people will be able to access therapy through their health insurance. Although the pandemic has eased, the knock-on effects of lockdown on people’s mental health has been enormous.

“I am delighted Priory has made this commitment to expanding services in south-west London. We want to help people to lead their fullest and most fulfilled lives.”