At CY&A Psychology we work hard to ensure that we meet your needs and fulfil your expectations. Please read the terms and conditions below, they tell you what you can expect from us, what we will need from you, for example payments and cancellations, and what happens if you have a complaint or concern.

Our part

We will provide you with realistic expectations of what can be achieved with our service. We will provide you with the fees and an estimation of the number of sessions required. As a service we work inline with the HCPC Standards of conduct, performance and ethics. You can expect us to:

  • Promote and protect the interests of service users, parents and carers
  • Communicate appropriately and effectively
  • Work within the limits of our knowledge and skills
  • Delegate appropriately
  • Respect confidentiality
  • Manage risk
  • Report concerns about safety
  • Be open when things go wrong
  • Be honest and trustworthy
  • Keep records of our work

Your part

Please ensure that you have the authority to enter into any agreements with us on behalf of yourself or your child. If two parents have shared parental responsibility (this is common) then please ensure you both agree to this service. Please provide us with the information we will need to understand the difficulties and ensure we can the best suited of our team members. You will need to complete the registration form, consent form and read the terms and conditions before proceeding.

Consent

We need your consent to work with you and your child’s consent to work with them. If your child is under 12 years you may consent for them, although they do still need to be willing to see us. Above 12 years we will need your child’s consent. You will receive a consent form with your registration pack, you can sign this online and this is required before we can see you or your child.

Confidentiality

As per our professional standards of conduct (please see https://www.hcpc-uk.org/ for standards) we will respect your confidentiality and your family’s confidentiality. We will maintain confidentiality at all times unless we are concerned about your child’s safety or the safety of someone around them and then we will speak to a safe adult, usually you as parent. We are all trained in child safeguarding.

Fees

You will be informed of the recommended clinician’s fee, which is the fee per 50-minute appointment. You will discuss with your clinician, following the initial appointment or as part of the initial appointment, the number of sessions likely required (this recommendation is based on clinical experience and expertise, it may not be exact). If you have a finite budget for the work or are only available for a specific period of time please declare this so that the clinician can assess whether the goals are achievable within the requested timeframe.

Payment

Payment for your initial appointment is required at the time of booking to confirm your booking (as well as the completed registration form and consent form). 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. If you fail to pay for sessions your or your child’s treatment will be disrupted.

Many people prefer to pay via their health insurer. Please note that whilst this is possible we only work with a limited number of providers: Cigna, Cigna Global, WPA and Bupa Global. If you would like to pay via a health insurer then please make us aware of this at the time of your initial booking and in advance of your first appointment. Please provide:

  1.     The name of the insurer
  2.     The number of sessions that they will fund
  3.     Your membership number
  4.     The pre-authorisation code
  5.   Whether there is an excess on your policy and the amount
  6.     Your child’s full name, date of birth and address

Usually there is not a problem with health insurance reimbursement but you should speak to your provider before you attend an appointment. Please note that it is common for insurers to set an excess amount, which they will deduct from any settlement and it will fall to you to pay the shortfall directly, please check this with your insurer.

Our contract is with you, not your insurance company and unfortunately we cannot get involved with major correspondence with your insurance company on your behalf. We cannot monitor the number of sessions your child has had against the number the insurance have agreed to fund and you will need to keep an eye on this.

Appointments

You or your child will have been offered a routine appointment. We find that it is best to see you or your child at the same time on the same day each week where possible. However, we reserve the right to alter this if required due to clinician factors or if you regularly cancel or alter your slot.

Cancellations

We are keen to complete your or your child’s treatment within good time, so that you can move forwards as you hope to. Therefore, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to attend your sessions. Our electronic appointments system will send you an email and a text (if you opt in) to confirm your bookings and it will email and/or text you three days ahead of the appointment to remind you of it. We have the reminder set at three days to allow you time to cancel outside of the chargeable window if you need to.  

In order to provide the highest quality of care and to accomodate the needs of all families, we respectfully request a minimum of 48 hours’ notice for the cancellation or rescheduling of appointments. If a session is cancelled by you less than 48 hours prior to the appointment, even if you would like to reschedule, then 100% of the total cost will be payable, as this time has been specifically reserved for you or your child. Cancellations for Monday appointments must be made before 15:00 on a Friday, this may be more than 48 hours notice.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter. Your adherence to this policy allows us to maintain an efficient schedule and continue offering consistent care to all our clients.

If a session is cancelled by us at any time prior to the appointment we would refund 100% of the amount paid.

Missed appointments

We are keen to complete your or your child’s treatment within good time, so that you can move forwards as you hope to. Therefore, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to attend your sessions. Our electronic appointments system will send you an email and a text (if you opt in) to confirm your bookings and it will email and/or text you three days ahead of the appointment to remind you of it. We have the reminder set at three days to allow you time to cancel outside of the chargeable window if you need to. 

If you do not attend your appointment you will be charged. This is because our clinician’s will have attended the appointment and will not have been able to use their time to see another client.

We operate a very full clinic schedule. If you miss an appointment and want to be seen before your next scheduled session then please ask to be added to the cancellation list for that week. We will endeavour to fit you in if we can.

Missed appointments: online appointments

We know technological issues can happen. We have tried to simplify things by giving you one zoom link, which we send as a link and also as a code you can type in. This link should then be used for all appointments. Please save it to avoid issues accessing your appointment!

We will join the zoom link at the time of the appointment. Please dial in then too and you will be asked to wait in the virtual waiting room until we can start. If you are not there when we join we will wait for 10 minutes, to allow for you being late (everyone is late sometimes)! After that we will email, call or text you or your parent once, depending on your preferences (as given in the registration form). We will repeat this after another 5 minutes. If we cannot reach you and you do not arrive then this is a missed appointment. We have to strike a balance between supporting you to attend and allowing you the option to not attend, we do not want to be intrusive. 

If you do not attend your appointment you will be charged. This is because our clinician’s will have attended the appointment and will not have been able to use their time to see another client.

We operate a very full clinic schedule. If you miss an appointment and want to be seen before your next scheduled session then please ask to be added to the cancellation list for that week. We will endeavour to fit you in if we can.

Reports & letters

We charge for reports and letters. The price you pay will be dependent on the length of time the report takes; this will be agreed with you before it is written. We may be unable to provide reports following any break in contact/treatment. The content of our reports will be based on our professional opinion based on the information you have provided us with and our contact with you or your child. Whilst we can and will amend any factual inaccuracy if we have misreported it, we cannot change opinions and we cannot report according to specific requests or requirements (such as leaving out key information, altering key information or changing our opinions). You will receive information on costs when you register with the practice.

We will write a brief letter to your health insurer to support a request you might make for additional sessions without charge but you will need to request this with reasonable notice ahead of your funded sessions running out.

Changes to treatment

You can change your mind with regards our service provided to you at any point in time. Please manage your cancellation in accordance with the cancellation policy above. Other than asking that you cancel with 48 hours notice we do not have any other notice period regarding ending your work with us.

Sometimes people wish to take a break or ‘pause’ their sessions. This is possible but we cannot promise that we can offer you the same appointment upon return to the work; we cannot leave an appointment empty without charge. However, we will always do our best to support a return to treatment. We pride ourselves on our continued relationships.

Sharing of information

Our consent form includes permission to share information with relevant professionals. Professionals may include: GPs, therapists, Psychiatrists other health professionals and occasionally education staff. Being able to share information supports a joined-up approach to support and knowledge. We will not share any information without discussing it with you first, we will maintain your confidentially, please see section on confidentiality above.

Prices

Our pricing structure is straight forward and you will be told of the fees for suitable clinicians when you make your enquiry but if you have a query please ask:

  • £200-250 a session for senior Clinical Psychologists
  • £190 a session for all other Clinical Psychologists

Compliments and complaints

We are confident that we will offer you a service that you will be pleased with. If you would like to pay us a compliment then please email in or you can write any feedback on ‘www.i want great care.com’. We know that sometimes someone may be unhappy with or have concerns about the service received. We would prefer to deal with concerns before they ever become complaints and we would aim to do this within our ethos of ‘personalised care’, so in-person or on the phone in the first instance. If you do have a complaint that cannot be resolved satisfactorily by talking it through then it can be raised in writing or by email and will be reviewed and responded to by the Clinical Director within 10 days.

Professional standards

We will carry out our services in accordance within the standards expected of a HCPC practitioner psychologist and in accordance with the British Psychological Society charter for Clinical Psychologists. All clinicians receive regular clinical supervision and maintain their continued professional development requirements via trainings, conferences and other development.