Clinical Health Psychology

We provide a service for people who are struggling emotionally as a result of a problem with their physical health. We work with people who have a range of conditions including cancer, heart disease, kidney disease, diabetes, chronic pain and respiratory disorders amongst others.

Coming to see a psychologist does not mean that your physical problems are in your head, nor are we able to cure your symptoms. Our aim in therapy is to help you to live well with your condition.

If you have agreed to a referral from your doctor, nurse or someone else involved in your health care, you will receive a letter from us asking you to attend an appointment. This, like all appointments, will last no more than 60 minutes.

At the first meeting, we aim to provide a safe, private space to discuss your health and what it means to you. We are keen to hear about your present difficulties, how they affect your life, how you feel and what you think.

In future sessions we pull together the relevant information to help understand how the problems began, what keeps them going and what stops them from getting worse. This can then be used to identify possible treatments.

Typically, appointments are every week and take no more than an hour. It is not unusual to meet about 10 times. Between appointments you may be asked to try new approaches, make changes to your activity or test things out. Like all aspects of our work, this will be done in collaboration with you. Teamwork is at the heart of all psychological approaches.

Psychological therapies are not suitable for everyone. If that is the case, we will look at other options with you. Please refer to the Patient Information Leaflet for more details.