Ashburn Clinic

Ashburn's Gwen Wilson and Frank Hay units are residential care units for inpatients. They are staffed with nurses, as well as inpatient clinical teams which includes psychiatrists, psychotherapists, occupational therapists, general practitioners and a dietitian. We provide nursing care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each patient has their own bedroom.  

Your treatment in the Gwen Wilson and Frank Hay units will involve both group and personal activities throughout the working day. Individual treatment may include sessions with your own psychotherapist and appointments with any of the other clinical staff as necessary. Group treatment revolves around small therapy groups, community activities, meetings and interactions with staff and other patients.

Ashburn also provides Alexander House as a self-care accommodation environment for people who do not require the intensive, 24-hour nursing care of the inpatient units.

Patients in Alexander House are able to take responsibility for their own medications and safety, and can work together with other residents to manage any day-to-day issues that arise. Access to an on-call doctor is available after hours.

Ashburn offers outpatient psychiatric and psychotherapist services within our private grounds at 496 Taieri Road, Halfway Bush.

Our psychiatrists are skilled in assessment and a range of treatments.

• Psychiatric assessment, consultation and ongoing management of adult psychiatric disorders
• Psychiatric assessment for medicolegal, occupational or accident related reasons
• Psychotherapeutic assessment for ongoing psychotherapy
• Psychotherapy sessions
• Group therapy sessions
• rTMS (Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation) for treatment-resistant depression.

This programme is attended by inpatients and day patients who reside in the Dunedin community and attend our Therapeutic Programmes during the week, Monday to Friday.

The main Therapeutic Programme is designed to help you communicate with others and understand the reasons behind your own difficulties. This way, you will be better equipped to make personal changes in your life.

The programme's structured day has an emphasis on group meetings, as well as individual therapy with your psychotherapist or psychiatrist. You will also take part in a range of activities, from art to housekeeping, which will be an important part of your therapy.

Using an individualised combination of medical, psychiatric, educational and therapeutic interventions Ashburn has a good track record of success, particularly when it comes to those needing a period of inpatient treatment to break the addiction cycle.

With increasing demand for this specific inpatient service, Ashburn offers a focused, intensive time-limited, abstinence-based programme aimed directly at adults motivated to recover from addictive behaviours. Ashburn’s Addiction Programme has two distinct phases of Assessment and Treatment and follows detoxification which can either occur prior to admission or at Ashburn Clinic.

The Eating Disorder Programme, incorporated in the Gwen Wilson and Frank Hay units, specialises in the treatment of people with the whole range of eating disorders.

A registered dietitian, who is part of the Eating Disorder Team, works closely with both the clinical and kitchen staff to ensure the dietary needs of each patient are addressed.

Specific activities are provided to help patients address issues associated with their eating disorders e.g. shopping and cooking, and a psychoeducation group looks at issues including body image, nutrition etc. Individual and group time is spent exploring relevant issues through a variety of creative media.

Each person has an individual therapist. Group participation with people who have similar problems is a powerful and effective treatment method. A defined protocol guides weight restoration, and in combination with the programme and individual work, an environment is created for positive change.

The Southern Support Eating Disorder Service provides education and collaborative working partnerships for health practitioners in the Southern region (Waitaki, Otago, Southland, and Central Otago). We work alongside other clinicians and offer a clinical learning model, providing support, expertise and resources to plan and complete appropriate assessment/treatment interventions for clients who have disordered eating/eating disorder issues.

You can access the SSED service through:

1. The Co-working pathway [see link below].  Requests can be received from any source, including primary health services, NGOs, community and inpatient mental health services
2. Request for education/training on topics related to eating disorders.

The SSEDS model provides for two pathways:

1. Pathway 1: Clinician work only: SSEDS provides specialist knowledge and consultation to the clinician, regarding specific client needs, assessment tools, treatment approaches and referral pathways that the clinician could utilise. This could consist of an initial consultation and/or ongoing support and advice. 
2. Pathway 2: Clinician and client meeting: SSEDS works face-to-face with the clinician and their client. This usually would consist of one session per client, at the assessment or treatment planning stage, followed by ongoing support and advice to the clinician as required.

NB: Prior to commencing the co-working process with the SSED service, please confirm which pathway you plan to utilise. From there it will be determined what client information may be required to assist the process; obtaining consent for information-sharing is the responsibility of the clinician.  

The Homebase Detox Service offers:
• An initial confidential assessment
• Support for you, your family or friends
• Monitoring of your detoxification on a day-to-day basis 
• Education and information
• Referral to other agencies if necessary
• Liaison with your GP.