A First!
The Cannabis Clinic for Patients with Psychosis is the first NHS clinic in England specifically dedicated to cannabis users with psychosis.
Dr Marta DiForti
 | The clinic is run by Dr Marta Diforti Consultant Adult Psychiatrist, Early Intervention, South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellow at King's College London's, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience. Dr DiForti note: |
“I have emails from parents and young people across the country asking to come to the clinic. I can only see a fifth of the people who get referred to me. Before the clinic existed, I used to refer my patients to cannabis addiction centres. They would say to me, ‘I don’t have anything in common with the rest of the group because my relationship with cannabis is very different.'"
Innovation & Collaboration
In collaboration with Maudsley Learning, Dr Diforti and team have been running live, private online PEER group sessions facilitated by peer Mentors with lived experience of both psychosis and cannabis use, with a wealth of renowned experts on the topic from around the world.
Accompanying the live sessions Maudsley Learning have created a Virtual Learning Environment with presentations from speakers, co-produced learning resources and other blended learning activities to support the group.
This innovation is another first in treatment of psychosis in cannabis use through:
- Psychoeducation
- Mentoring by patient experts
- Peer-to-peer learning and support
When are they?
- Days: Tuesday fortnightly
- Times: 4pm - 5pm
The live online CPP clinic runs fortnightly PEER group sessions open to all first episode psychosis patients enrolled in the CCP programme, which currently accepts referrals from the Lambeth Early Onset (LEO) unit and STEP Early Interventions Community Mental Health Teams with the of supporting patients achieve a significant reduction/cessation of their cannabis use.
The sessions include psychoeducation through presentations from a range of subject matter experts and online learning materials; mentoring by patient experts who have all experienced a psychotic disorder while using cannabis and have subsequently stopped using; peer-to-peer learning and support.
Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) that accompanies the live online PEER group sessions is available to patients involved in the sessions and includes co-produced learning activities across a structure programme of learning and talks, presentations and other resources from expert speakers.
To access the group you must be a patients enrolled in the CCP programme, referred from the Lambeth Early Onset (LEO) unit or STEP Early Interventions Community Mental Health Teams.
If you are within this group, programme staff will send you an access code which you can enter once you have clicked Book Now to register.
What you will learn from taking part in the CPP PEER Group:
- Increase understanding of cannabis addiction
- Increase understanding of the mental and physical harms associated with cannabis use
- Engage and motivate users towards cessation
- Increase awareness of quitting strategies and signposting
- Support users in discussing cannabis-related issues
For more information and access to the Cannabis Clinic for Psychosis Online (CCPO) please contact:
- Dr Marta DiForti at or marta.diforti@kcl.ac.uk or marta.diforti@slam.nhs.uk
Course schedule
Group bookings
Discounted rates are available for group bookings. Please contact us for more information. Maudsley Learning has a full range of courses to meet the needs of your organisation. Most can be delivered to you flexibly and tailored to your requirements.
Bespoke courses
We are able to offer custom-made programs, whether digital or face to face, to meet the education and training needs of your organisation in the UK or internationally.
Research
We value research and knowledge-sharing and will continue to contribute to the literature base on mental health education, addressing important research questions in this exciting field.
