What can we do for you?
We are able to assess, diagnose and treat mental health conditions such as ADHD, Autism, Depression, Anxiety, OCD, Eating Disorders and Psychosis.
We are also able to help parents make sense of difficult behaviour or emotional disturbances that don’t necessarily have a diagnosis. We use a range of approaches alongside the medical model, such as behavioural, cognitive, psychodynamic and systemic principles in order to understand and make sense of child and adolescent behaviour.
We offer three mental health services both in live meetings and through telephone/video forms: Consultations, Assessments and Follow up appointments.
What do Consultations involve? These are discussions, in person or at a distance with parents, professionals or, in occasions, children and adolescents, that do not involve an assessment or direct clinical involvement with the child.
For example, parents may want to discuss the need for an autism assessment or the meaning of a behaviour they have observed in their child.
Consultations do not normally involve reports or letters to GPs as we will not take clinical responsibility for the child in question. It is possible however for us to produce a summary of the discussion as an add memoire for the family as an extra service.
What does an Assessment involve?
Assessments involve the collection of information, examination of the child and the parents, the production of a clinical opinion about the mental state, formulation, diagnosis and a suggestion for treatment or management of a particular child or adolescent.
Assessments involve at least one meeting in person with the child and the parents. The exact set up depends on the age of the child and the nature of the problem. We recommend that prior to the appointment the family complete an online Assessment Form with standard information as this allows the time in the appointment to be used more efficiently.
Normally an assessment would involve a meeting with the child and the parents, a meeting with the child on his/her own (if possible and if the child is comfortable) and then a meeting with the whole family again to discuss findings. If there is a need for a meeting with the parents without the child this is better arranged in a separate appointment, as we do not have childcare facilities. The process normally takes one and a half hours, but sometimes other appointments, consultations with other professional or school visits are needed.
If necessary, we can prescribe medication and ask your GP to issue repeat prescriptions. We are also happy to offer Shared Care Agreements.
Afterwards we would normally send you a letter summarising our assessment and copy it to your GP. This is not a report, a detailed report about the assessment can also be produced at the end of the assessment.