Frequently asked questions

We use various bases in North Oxfordshire. We are happy to arrange to see a young person in school or at home to minimise the disruption of appointments. We will travel throughout Oxfordshire and the surrounding areas (e.g. Buckinghamshire and Northamptonshire). However, we do charge travelling time (see costs section) so this doesn’t suit everyone.

60-90 minute assessment appointment: £155.00
(This includes any written follow up necessary)

Sessions: £110.00 (60 minutes)

Cognitive assessments: £550.00
(This includes up to two hours of testing, up to one and half hours of scoring, interpretation and report writing and one hour of feedback)

Travel rates: £60.00 per hour

Free if more than 48 hours notice is given
50% of the session if 24 - 48 hours notice is given
100% of the session if less than 24 hours notice is given

If you arrive late for your appointment and haven’t notified us we will aim to contact you to check you are on your way. If you have forgotten we will still charge you for the appointment.

For costs for professional services please see the relevant page about these services.

This is a question that lots of families ask but is very hard to answer.

For individual work directly with a child or young person: The research from the NHS suggests that ‘simple difficulties’ resolve in approximately 6-10 sessions and more ‘complex’ ones take 16-20 session. This is based on a neurotypical population and the research in the neurodiverse population suggests that positive progress is much longer. We usually agree an intervention based around specific goals. We aim to check in with you regularly (about every 6 sessions) to check that you are happy with the progress and to shift focus or stop the intervention if that is most appropriate. If we start working with your child and think they are likely to find talking therapy difficult or make slow progress we will aim to bring your awareness to this early and discuss with you how you want to proceed.

For work with parents: These interventions tend to need fewer sessions. We often negotiate a 3+1 model where we aim for up to 3 intervention sessions at a pace that suits you. Some parents spread these out over a long period of time. Even if we have agreed a specific number of sessions it is possible to change that (either to add more or to stop earlier) if that seems most appropriate for your needs.

If you have emailed us for the first time you should expect a reply within 2-3 working days. The exception to this is in the main school holidays when we often take annual leave or reduce our working hours. Responses during this time are slightly longer and an out of office reply should alert you to this.

We sometimes find that our emails don’t arrive. This is due to the spam filter on the receiving email and isn’t something that we can predict or control. We have found that gmail and Hotmail are particularly prone to this. If you haven’t received a reply to your email please contact us again either by email or text to check. Putting our email address into your contacts reduces the chance that the email doesn’t arrive.

We allow up to 90 minutes for an assessment. It sounds like a long time, but it usually passes quite quickly. We will ask you for some logistical information (date of birth, address etc) and then ask a bit about what is difficult. We will also ask you who is in the family and about your child’s developmental history (what they were like growing up). At the end of the meeting, we will aim to give you some feedback about what we think would be helpful to your child and some of the practicalities around how that might work. Some young people find it very difficult to come and talk about their difficulties. Let us know if you think that this is the case as it might be better to arrange to meet without your child present.

We all use rooms in different clinics so each room looks a bit different. You can look at the pictures below for more specific information depending on who you are going to meet.

Did you know, anyone can use the term psychologist as a job title in the UK and it’s not illegal. However, it is ethically and morally wrong and leave the public open to risky practice. This can mean that you have people offering a service to children and young people who are not appropriately qualified to do so. This leaves adults, children and young people open to unsafe practice.

A psychologist offering a service to the public MUST be on the HCPC register. This is called professional regulation. If you want to know if your psychologist is actually a psychologist who can offer a service to the public then this simple check will tell you. The psychologists on this register have gone through the necessary training to be able to work with members of the public safely. It’s as simple as that. All our psychologists are on the HCPC register. Use this link to double check this for yourselves https://www.hcpc-uk.org/check-the-register/ We all also hold a membership with either the Association of Clinical Psychologists UK https://acpuk.org.uk/  or the British Psychological Society https://www.bps.org.uk/

We want to help educate the public via the campaign to #checktheHCPC #keeppsychologysafe

It is illegal to use any of these protected titles if you are not registered with the HCPC:

• Clinical Psychologist
• Counselling Psychologist
• Occupational Psychologist
• Forensic Psychologist
• Occupational Psychologist
• Sport & Exercise Psychologist
• Heath Psychologist
• Educational Psychologist
• Practitioner Psychologist

If your child is experiencing difficulties or you would like additional help developing your parenting skills, you might find these resources helpful. Some of them will be available to request from your local library.

How to talk so kids listen and listen so kids will talk, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
How to talk so teens listen and listen so teens will talk, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
What Every Parent Needs to Know: The incredible effects of love, nurture and play on your child's development, Margot Sunderland
Manage Your Mind: The Mental Fitness Guide, Gillian Butler & Tony Hope
The Incredible Years, Carolyn Webster-Stratton
The Huge Bag of Worries, Virginia Ironside
Think Good - Feel Good: A Cognitive Behaviour Therapy Workbook for Children and Young People, Paul Stallard
Helping Your Anxious Child: A Step-by-step Guide for Parents, Ronald M. Rapee & Ann Wignall
Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too, Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish
The Highly Sensitive Child: Helping Our Children Thrive When the World Overwhelms Them, Elaine N. Aron
The Parent Survival Guide: From Chaos to Harmony in Ten Weeks or Less, Theresa Kellam

These books are particularly suitable for foster carers and adoptive parents

Connecting with Kids through Stories: Using Narratives to Facilitate Attachment in Adopted Children, Denise B Lacher, Todd Nichols & Joanne C May
Creating Loving Attachments: Parenting with PAC, Kim S Golding & Daniel A Hughes
Attachment in Common Sense and Doodles: A Practical Guide, Miriam Silver
First Steps in Parenting the Child Who Hurts: Tiddlers and Toddlers, Caroline Archer

There are also lots of good resources on youtube. We really like ‘How to ADHD’ by Jessica McCabe and a number of Russ Harris’ videos about the caveman man. Curious Kids Psychology is also a good resource.