An expert witness service is one of the range of services supplied by User Friendly Psychiatry Ltd (UFP), a mental health consultancy managed and led by registered mental health nurse and psychotherapist Caroline Williams. UFP provides training, corporate services and cognitive behaviour psychotherapy (CBT).
UFP’s mental health nursing expert witness service is provided by Caroline herself. She is a registered mental health nurse with additional skills and qualifications at both undergraduate and post-graduate levels in cognitive behaviour therapy, management and clinical teaching. She is also a teaching Fellow at the University of Manchester and has years of experience working for the NHS. Caroline is a trained expert witness and has completed the Bond Solon expert witness CUBS programme. She is also on the Royal College of Nursing expert witness database.
UFP also provides an intermediary expert witness service for law firms. That involves locating experts and engaging them appropriately across a range of medicolegal mental health services.
Clients can be confident that a professional will be supplied quickly, removing all the chasing and telephone calls a paralegal or solicitor would normally undertake. Following the agreed terms of engagement and agreed instruction, UFP will place the client in full contact with the expert.
Regular updates are required from the commissioned expert so clients can be provided with an outline of the current state of play.
Cognitive behaviour therapy
Cognitive behavioural psychotherapy (CBT) is an evidence-based psychological therapy that has proved effective in treating a range of mental health problems, including post traumatic stress disorder, depression, work-related stress, anxiety, schizophrenia, personality problems and many more. CBT was also recommended by Lord Laynard as a frontline treatment and he encouraged the recruitment of many more CBT therapists. Accredited therapists are in short supply, however all UFP therapists are accredited with the BABCP. UFP has provided CBT for individuals, insurance companies and rehabilitation companies.