What To Expect
Step 1
Please send me an email with a brief summary of your concerns and the type of support you are looking for. We can then have a phone consultation to understand more about your concerns and discuss what is going to be most useful for you and your family. This usually lasts 15-20 minutes and is free of charge. If I don't feel I am the best person to offer this support I can think with you about where you might access it.
Step 2
If we decide to proceed we would have an assessment appointment where we would discuss in more detail what your concerns are and what you would like to be different. This usually lasts for 50-80 minutes. If the concerns are about your child you may wish to attend the first appointment alone so you can discuss your concerns as openly as possible. However we can think together about what would suit your family's needs best.
Step 3
Following the assessment I would recommend an intervention plan with a suggested number of sessions and we would come up with some goals to work towards. The formulation (understanding of the problem) will determine the intervention (what we will do). A range of psychological models influence my clinical practice but ultimately we will decide together which approach will fit best.
Liaison
When working with children, it is often important to liaise closely with other professionals such as school staff, social workers or speech and language therapists as we know this often provides the best outcomes.
Confidentiality & Safety
Everything we talk about will remain private and confidential unless I am worried about your child’s safety or the safety of anyone else. In those circumstances I have a professional responsibility to share information with relevant professionals. Unless there was a specific reason not to, I would always have a conversation with you about this first. As is the case for all Clinical Psychologists, I have regular clinical supervision where I discuss my clinical cases in order to provide the best possible care for my clients. Information during supervision is anonymised and no personal information is disclosed.
