A Manchester-based education specialist who spent years seeking an explanation for symptoms later diagnosed as Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) has launched a clinically reviewed professional education programme to help GPs recognise, assess and manage the condition.

Sophie Bell founded Pattern Health Education after her own experience highlighted what she believed was a gap in professional education around PMDD, a recognised condition that can be difficult to diagnose and is not always taught in sufficient detail.

The company’s first programme, PMDD: Recognition, Diagnosis and Management in Primary Care, provides GPs with three hours of structured, self-directed online learning covering recognition, assessment, prospective diagnosis, differential diagnosis, treatment, safety-netting and referral.

The programme has undergone independent clinical review by two practising NHS clinicians with expertise in general practice and gynaecology.

Independent specialist gynaecology review was provided by Dr Navani, MBBS, MD, FRCOG, FCSRH, a Women’s Health Specialist in Menopause, Sexual Health and Community Gynaecology and author of the Greater Manchester Menopause Guidance.

Dr Navani said:

“PMDD is an important condition that is not always recognised or taught in sufficient detail. This is an excellent, informative and evidence-based resource for clinicians in both primary and secondary care, with a strong emphasis on prospective diagnosis using the DRSP, differential diagnosis and appropriate treatment.”

Sophie’s background is in psychology and education. She has a degree in Psychology, completed teacher training and gained Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), specialising in special educational needs and teaching students with autism and ADHD. She also developed and delivered professional training for staff on supporting autistic students in educational settings.

Her own experience of PMDD first highlighted the education gap she wanted to address.

Sophie said:

“My diagnosis gave me an answer, but it also made me question why it had been so difficult to reach that point. What became clear to me was that better patient awareness needs to be matched by opportunities for healthcare professionals to learn about conditions they may be seeing.”

“My experience showed me where I felt there was a gap, but having lived with PMDD doesn’t make me a clinical expert. My role has been to bring my background in education to the problem I had identified and to make sure the programme is informed and scrutinised by appropriate clinical expertise.”

The programme gives GPs practical guidance on cyclical symptom patterns, the Daily Record of Severity of Problems (DRSP), distinguishing PMDD from PMS and premenstrual exacerbation, treatment, managing suicidal ideation, and communication and shared decision-making with patients.

Dr Navani, who has worked across both primary and secondary care, said she has encountered patients whose PMDD had been misdiagnosed as depression or other mental health conditions, sometimes leading to inappropriate management.

PMDD is a severe premenstrual disorder that can have a profound impact on everyday life. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis of 44 studies involving more than 50,000 participants estimated that 3.2% met the criteria for a confirmed diagnosis of PMDD.

Research has also found that women with PMDD are significantly more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide than women without premenstrual disturbances.

The launch comes as women’s health and the education of the healthcare workforce are firmly on the national agenda. The renewed Women’s Health Strategy for England, published in April, sets out a ten-year ambition to improve women’s health and healthcare, while the Government has also highlighted education and workforce training as part of efforts to improve menstrual health.

Sophie said:

“We’ve made enormous progress in talking more openly about women’s health and encouraging women to speak up when something isn’t right. But listening to women also has to mean equipping the healthcare professionals they turn to with the knowledge and confidence to respond.”

“Better awareness and better patient information really matter, but they need to be matched by professional education. That’s the gap I wanted Pattern Health Education to help address.”

GPs receive a certificate on completion of the programme, while group access is available for GP practices, Primary Care Networks and Training Hubs. Individual enrolment costs £225.

PMDD is deliberately the starting point for Pattern Health Education rather than its sole focus. Sophie’s longer-term ambition is to develop the company into a trusted healthcare education provider, building specialist programmes in areas where conditions remain under-recognised and there is an unmet need for practical, clinically relevant professional learning.

She added:

“PMDD is where Pattern began because it’s the condition that exposed this problem to me personally, but the bigger issue isn’t about one diagnosis.”

“My ambition is for Pattern Health Education to help close education gaps around conditions that can otherwise be missed, so that more healthcare professionals have the knowledge and confidence to recognise them and more patients have the opportunity to reach appropriate care sooner.”

Pattern Health Education’s PMDD: Recognition, Diagnosis and Management in Primary Care programme is available online now.