Frequently Asked Questions

Clinical Psychologists have a degree in Psychology and a Doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology. They are trained to identify mental health difficulties through specialist assessments and to offer a range of therapeutic interventions in line with the evidence-base (treatments demonstrated to have efficacy by way of clinical research). They often do research, teaching and supervision alongside their clinical work. They often work or have worked in the NHS and work closely with Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses and other therapists.

Clinical Psychology is a protected title in the UK and therefore you can only call yourself this if you have completed the necessary trainings and maintain your continued professional development by further study and trainings as well as maintaining your registration and accreditation with professional bodies, the HCPC is essential but many Clinical Psychologists have other accreditations.

Your contact with your clinician is private and confidential. We do not write reports or letters about the work together unless you request this. However, if your clinician became worried about your safety or the safety of others around you then they would need to speak to you and your parent and may need to break your privacy, those are exceptional circumstances.

This can be hard to accurately predict. At CY&A Psychology our clinicians like to have 4 sessions at a time and then informally review, to keep a close eye that the experience is proving useful and we are moving towards our goals. Some people need as few as just one session, others with more long lasting difficulties may need more longer-term intervention.

The aim of our work is to expand and develop the knowledge, skills and resources you need to manage your difficulties so that you no longer need to see a clinician.

We have afternoon and evening clinics but these are heavily in demand. We have one Saturday clinic. If we cannot accommodate your preferred appointment time and the reason you are seeking help is non-urgent then we have a waiting list; if it is urgent then we will advise you to try to find a practice with availability.

Yes, sometimes home visits are possible but travel costs are added into the session cost. Please contact us to discuss this option.

Reports and letters for your GP, Health Insurer or other healthcare providers will incur additional fees, which are determined by the amount of time it will take to prepare the requested report. Fees will be discussed with you in advance.

The practice has a 48 hour cancellation policy in place for all initial and follow-up appointments. Cancellations with less than 48 hour notice are chargeable. Cancellations for Monday appointments must be made before 15:00 on a Friday, which may be longer than the 48hour notice period.

Your first session will be an initial assessment-focused session. It would be helpful to bring relevant paperwork to this session, such as CAMHS reports, Psychiatrist reports and school reports detailing their concerns. You may have recently had an assessment with another professional (e.g. a Psychiatrist) and if you send us this (at least 48 hours in advance) then your clinician will read this ahead of your session and will be sensitive to the, often negative, experience of repeating information.

It is important for your clinician to start to get to know you and the reasons that you have decided to come to see them and this will involve some questions. Your clinician may also do some drawings, activities and questionnaires or quizzes (depending on age). If you are an adult you can be seen alone, if you are a young person then part or all of this session will be with your parent or carer. The ‘fit’ between you and your psychologist is a very important predictor of success in the work so this session is for you to ‘check us out’ too. At the end of this session your clinician will be able to give you some recommendations for moving forwards but there is no commitment to continue to see them.

At CY&A Psychology we think it is important that children and young people are not managing the challenges of distress alone and that if possible they can be supported by a parent, carer or loved one. Therefore, our clinicians like to have parents/carers join for part of each session to learn some of the techniques and processes so that they can support the work that their child is doing in their therapy. This does depend on client’s choice too. Parents are welcome to have their own sessions focused on understanding and supporting their child.

We will carefully pace our work with you and as part of this we will be tracking change and movement towards the goals set at the beginning during the treatment planning. You will be given a suggested number of sessions at the start of the work and your clinician will check in with you informally every four to six sessions, depending on the planned length of the work. We may agree a more formal review session as required. We may use measures or questionnaires to also track change. All of our clinicians welcome feedback throughout their relationship with you but if you wish to provide this anonymously then please rate us on I want great care https://www.iwantgreatcare.org/

Payment for your initial appointment is required at the time of booking to confirm your booking. Payment will be taken by credit or debit card by our administrator over the telephone. Should you decide not to go ahead then this is refundable up to 48 hours ahead of the booking, with less than 48 hours notice it is non-refundable. Payment for any future sessions is taken automatically on the day of the appointment. All payments are taken via Stripe. We require your credit or debit card details at point of registration and they are then stored securely via Stripe. You will receive a receipt for each payment. Should payment fail then we will contact you for payment via alternative means, this needs to be paid before the session takes place. We no longer accept cheques and prefer not to receive cash.

We accept full or part payment from some health insurance companies. If you would like to pay for your treatment this way then please agree this with our administrator before starting sessions. Unfortunately, we are not able to manage the administration of this for you, you will need to discuss with your insurer and obtain the pre-authorisation code and handle any issues with payment shortfalls, declined payments and monitor the number of sessions you have had against the number they have agreed to pay. We will write a request for additional sessions if they are required clinically but you will need to request this from us in good time, before the sessions run out. You will be required to settle any amounts that your health insurer does not.

We sadly do not have the resources to offer a crisis service. We always advise that you contact your existing care team, if you have one, such as your psychiatrist.

If you are worried that you cannot keep yourself safe or you are a parent who thinks that their child needs urgent assistance due to self-harm or suicidal thinking then you will need to attend A&E out of hours or your GP or existing mental health provider within hours. If you are bleeding or have ingested a harmful substance then please attend A&E immediately or dial 999. We also recommend the Crisis Messenger service for young people and parent help line provided by the national charity Young Minds. For 24/7 text messaging support text YM to 85258.