Screening and earlier diagnosis
What is Psychosocial Support?
A cancer diagnosis can have a big impact on many aspects of a person's life. As well as the physical and practical challenges it brings, cancer can affect how someone feels about themselves, their relationships, their work, the activities they value, and the plans they may have for the future.
Cancer can also change how someone thinks and feels, influencing their mood, their confidence, and their overall wellbeing. It’s important to remember that cancer can also have a big impact on those close to the person diagnosed.
Psychosocial support helps people affected by cancer to manage some of these challenges, to manage their emotional and psychological wellbeing, to connect with others and to be able to engage meaningfully in the things which matter most to them.
To find out more about psychosocial support, watch our animation below:
What are the different levels of psychosocial support and what are the key services?
Psychosocial support should be personalised, based on individual needs, which can change over time. Psychosocial support should be flexible and inclusive, and tailored to the level of support each person affected by cancer needs.
There are three levels of psychosocial support in South East London. These are:
- Universal support: support that should be offered to everyone affected by cancer and personalised to their needs. This could include signposting to NHS or voluntary services, such as social prescribing, as well as personalised care planning, health and wellbeing programmes and support tools.
- Enhanced support: for those who need more psychosocial support, such as first-line support from their key worker (for instance their clinical nurse specialist or allied health professional). It may also include support from NHS talking therapies.
- Specialist support: support for those who experience persistent and complex distress because of cancer. This includes specialist NHS psycho-oncology services, with professionals such as clinical psychologists, counselling psychologists, psychotherapists and psychiatrists. Specialist support can also include palliative care services and mental health services.
To find out more about the different levels of psychosocial support in South East London, watch our animation below: