Frequently Asked Questions
FAQs
When you book your first appointment you will be called back for a free 15 min telephone consultation so you can check your practitioner is the right fit before going ahead with your pre-booked appointment.
If you discover they’re not the right fit, you can cancel your appointment free of charge, and speak with another member of the team for 15 mins. We don’t take payment upfront, so you won’t lose out.
During your first session, we will offer an initial assessment to understand your needs and goals. This helps us tailor the therapy to best support you. It's also an opportunity for you to ask any questions and get comfortable with the process. We recommend two assessment sessions so we have a comprehensive understanding of the past and your present challenges.
We don’t take payments on our website because we work with insurers where clients usually don’t have to pay. If you’re self-funding or owe an excess we’ll invoice you for this separately. We take a range of payment methods including credit and debit cards and bank transfers.
Yes we do if there are no clinical risks.
We require 48 hours notice for cancellation otherwise the full fee is due. This is because we will not be able to fill the appointment with another booking in time without sufficient notice. Many insurers do not pay for missed sessions so you may be required to pay for the session if you don’t attend.
Please complete the consent and registration forms well ahead of your appointment so we can check your insurance details are correct for billing purposes.
We use a range of outcome measures depending on the age of the client. We like to send these to you at the beginning, middle and end of therapy to monitor your progress. We also ask for feedback at the beginning, middle and end of sessions. You can give this anonymously.
We do not offer any educational psychology assessments.
Please use our find a therapist filter and search by the age, location, insurer and issue you’d like to bring to therapy. You can then read the biographies and watch the team videos. If you’ve tried a specific therapeutic approach before and it wasn’t effective, you could try a new approach. You can also have a free 15 min consultation to see if you’re a good fit.
Our fees range from £100 - £250 depending on the provider, the insurer and the level of training and experience required. You can view our fees on this page. We sometimes offer low cost options at £60 for professionals who are in training.
We can offer consultations to professionals, doctors or family members supporting the person in crisis. We do not provide a crisis service.
Please make an appointment with your GP to refer you to your local Crisis Team. You can call NHS Direct on 111. If you feel unable to keep yourself safe go to your local Accident & Emergency (A&E) department and if you cannot get there safely call 999. You may also call a number of helplines provided below.
We know how distressing suicidal thoughts or voices can be. There are a number of helplines that can support you if you are having suicidal thoughts.
Call The Samaritans (24hr): 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org
Call Saneline: 0845 767 8000 (6pm – 11pm)
Call Rethink: 0845 456 0455 (Mon – Fri, 10am – 2pm)
Call Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM): 0800 58 58 58 (Everyday, 5pm – midnight)
Call Maytree: 020 7263 7070 (www.maytree.org.uk)
Text SHOUT to 85258: (24/7,) (www.giveusashout.org)
We do not have a waiting list. Your first appointment could be in as little as 48 hours. If you would like to see a particular professional who is not available, we may be able to create a waiting list for you to see them in around 3 months time.
If this is your child, please bring them to their GP, use NHS Direct 111 or call 999 or bring them to their local A&E.
If you are worried about a child and cannot speak to their parents, please contact the NSPCC, the duty social worker in their borough child’s or report any crimes to the police on 999 or through the police online referral system.
We do offer diagnostic ADHD assessments but do not offer a prescription for medication. We can use our report to refer you for medication on the NHS, through a private psychiatrist or local prescriber.
We offer a screening for autism to see if it’s worth your while investing in the full diagnostic assessment. However we do not currently diagnose autism in adults or children.
For babies and pre-school children we work with parents, families and nursery staff or nannies using indirect work as described in our article here. If the child is developmentally ready to work with a therapist this would involve play and art based techniques.
The difference is in the qualifications these professionals have. Psychiatrists are medical doctors and prescribe medication. Clinical and counselling psychologists are non-medical doctors of psychology with doctorate qualifications. A doctorate is a large body of research completed in their field usually over a three year postgraduate university degree.
Some psychotherapists are also trained at doctorate level and will have a doctorate in an area of psychotherapy. However, most are trained at masters level.
Counsellors and CBT therapists have diplomas and often train for fewer years than psychotherapists and psychologists. There are different professional bodies that each professional is accredited with and regulated by, by law.