FAQs

Emotionally Connected FAQs

How do I pay my fees?

Once we have arranged an appointment time, a deposit (50% of the session fee) is needed to secure the appointment, payable within the next 48 hours. Full payment is required 24 hours before your appointment. Payments can be made by online banking transfer, cash or cheque.

Invoices are issued monthly with payment expected within 7 days of receipt.

Do you accept payment by medical insurance?

Yes. I am covered to accept payments from the following insurers: AXA & Aviva; Please contact me for further information about whether I am covered by your insurance provider if it is not listed above.

Are you professionally registered?

Yes, I am professionally registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC). The HCPC are the body which monitors healthcare professionals in the UK, and provides assurances of safe practice. You can search for my registration under the HCPC by visiting their website https://www.hcpc-uk.co.uk/ and entering my registration number: PYL35218 in the 'check registration' box.

What if I need to cancel my appointment?

My time is valuable as I'm sure yours is. I ask that you give a minimum of 48 hours’ notice if you wish to re-arrange or cancel your appointment. I will then be able to do this for you. If you cancel within 48 hours of your appointment time or miss your appointment you will need to pay in full for the session as the time has been allocated to you. If I should fail to give you 48 hours notice of a session rearrangement/cancellation, your next session will be free of charge.

What if I am travelling from overseas or long distance?

For clients travelling from overseas or long distance, I can offer you 'block therapy' - sessions of up to 3 hours at a time. This way we can use our time together in the most effective and efficient way possible.

Will everything I say be treated in confidence?

As a registered professional Clinical Psychologist, I am bound by a strict code of confidentiality. However, to enhance my practice and give you the best possible treatment, I regularly seek to discuss my clinical work with a professionally registered supervisor who is also bound by confidentiality. As stipulated in my professional guidelines, in rare cases I would be obliged to contact relevant authorities if I thought that there was a possibility of harm to yourself or another person. In such circumstances, I would aim to discuss this with you first before contacting the relevant authorities.

How do I choose a psychologist?

Choosing a psychologist is a deeply personal choice that can make a difference to the overall outcome of your treatment. We know that the relationship you have developed with your psychologist has an important influence on the outcome of achieving your goals.

I would always recommend researching the psychologist you are considering to ensure they are adequately qualified to treat the difficulties you are seeking help with. Better yet, get a 15-minute consultation where you can ask them questions relevant to their ways of practicing.

Ultimately, therapy is something that is better felt and experienced than talked about. This is why I offer a trial therapy, where you and I will jointly assess whether this is the right approach for you. I can assess your response to interventions and, at the end, suggest the recommended number of sessions needed. You will be assessing whether I am a good fit for you. Many people describe seeing changes immediately from the trial therapy. I will always be honest if I do not think I am the most suitable person to treat you, and in these rare cases will provide a recommended therapist who can help.

Why videotape your sessions?

I recently heard a comparison that practicing ISTDP without videotape would be like a surgeon trying to learn the art and science of surgery without an operating room. Therapy is both an art and a science and involves attending to multiple pieces of information, both verbal and non-verbal, simultaneously. This can mean whilst attending to important information in one moment, another piece of information is not addressed. By videotaping my work, I am able to review the sessions to address these details later on, improve the quality of intervention the next time we meet, and can also mean a shorter treatment overall.