A sea change for sick doctors - how do doctors fare after presenting to a specialist psychotherapy service?

Background: Little is known about doctors who present to services following an episode of psychological distress. MedNet is a psycho-dynamically informed confidential self-referral service for doctors.

Aims: To examine the health and work trajectory of MedNet clients between 2002 and 2007 followed up in 2010.

Which doctors and with what problems contact a specialist service for doctors? A cross sectional investigation.

Background: In the United Kingdom, specialist treatment and intervention services for doctors are underdeveloped. The MedNet programme, created in 1997 and funded by the London Deanery, aims to fill this gap by providing a self-referral, face-to-face, psychotherapeutic assessment service for doctors in London and South-East England. MedNet was designed to be a low-threshold service, targeting doctors without formal psychiatric problems.