PRJ 2305 - Intercultural Therapeutic Service for Lewisham

NHS South East London Integrated Care Board (SEL ICB) intends to award a single contract for the delivery of the Intercultural Therapeutic Service (ITS) in the London Borough of Lewisham. The Intercultural Therapeutic Service (ITS) provides specialist psychological support for Lewisham residents experiencing emotional distress, trauma, isolation and mental health difficulties where cultural, racial, migratory, faith, identity and social experiences are significant factors in presentation and recovery. The service was established to address recognise inequalities in access to and outcomes from mental health services amongst communities who may be underserved by conventional psychological support pathways, including people from Black African, Black Caribbean and other ethnically diverse communities, refugees and asylum seekers, migrants, and individuals with experiences of complex trauma. The service forms part of Lewisham's broader commitment to addressing mental health inequalities and improving culturally responsive support. It complements, rather than duplicates, existing statutory and NHS mental health provision. The Commissioner considers that delivery of the service requires a distinctive combination of intercultural psychotherapy, trauma-informed practice, racially aware therapeutic approaches, specialist supervision arrangements and workforce development functions that are not routinely available through standard counselling or wellbeing services. The Intercultural Therapeutic Service is not a standard counselling service. The model integrates: • intercultural psychotherapy; • racially-aware and anti-oppressive therapeutic practice; • trauma-informed approaches; • culturally adapted therapeutic interventions; • multilingual provision where appropriate; • reflective and relational therapeutic approaches; • academic and clinical expertise through a specialist training environment. A key distinguishing feature of the service is the integration of therapeutic del