FAQs

The service is for children and their parents or caregivers. The service offers parent support, behavioural intervention and individual therapy to help children who are experiencing a wide range of low level emotional and behavioural difficulties.

While the service focuses predominantly on Intervention, there are two main types of assessment provided.

1. Cognitive assessments are provided which help to identify a child’s overall level of intellectual functioning.
2. Assessments of emotional and behavioural well-being are also provided. These help to identify the types of difficulties that the child is presenting with and help to create an effective treatment plan.

The Psychology Practice does not provide assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder, or Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (please see the What do we Do section of the website for further information).

No, family therapy is not offered but the psychologist works closely with the child’s parents (and sometimes the siblings) in order to address the needs of the child.

Child clinical psychologists are extensively trained professionals, who have both an undergraduate degree in psychology and a post-graduate doctorate training in Clinical Practice. They study child development from infancy to adulthood, child mental health, the complexities of family relationships and social, emotional and intellectual development. They are also trained in the administration of cognitive assessments (e.g. IQ and memory tests) and in research.

Child psychologists use ‘evidence-based’ practice i.e. therapeutic approaches which have been verified by scientific research to work for specific types of problem and will refer to the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) Guidelines.

A clinical psychologist will have undertaken more training than a counsellor and have to be registered as part of the Psychological Society of Ireland to ensure that they keep up to date with current practice, research and continuing professional development.

Clinical psychologists are different from psychiatrists in that they are not medical doctors, and therefore cannot prescribe medication, although they usually have knowledge about medication and when it would be advised to consider its use.

The psychologist can liaise with a child’s school if required but would never do so without your permission. She can send letters/reports/programmes, speak to teachers or attend meetings if it is thought to be useful. Occasionally it can be helpful to observe your child in school, especially if there are concerns about their behaviour in school or their development, and the psychologist is happy to arrange this if it is agreed it could be beneficial.

This can vary greatly from child to child depending on several factors including: the severity of the issue; the goals of the parent/child; the parent’s or caregiver’s ability to consistently implement the strategies at home. You will never have to commit to a specific number of sessions, and it is recommended that you only book in for one session (the initial parent consultation) to begin with. Follow-up sessions can also be provided several months after the initial block of therapy in order to ‘check-in’ with the child or parent.

Depending on the type of session, they can vary from between 40 mins to 50mins. Initial parent consultations usually take 50mins. Individual therapy sessions with younger children may take just 30 minutes.

Yes, you will be recommended ‘homework’ to build on in-between appointments to help you and your child to build various skills, build on your progress and to help you and your child to achieve your goals.  

Parent/s always attend the first session without their child as this allows for an open discussion about the child’s difficulties without needing to censor any information. Typically, parents attend most of the subsequent sessions on their own and without the child. Sometimes it is appropriate for the child to attend with their parent, especially the older children as they may wish to contribute to the intervention plan and give feedback as regards how it is working at home.

Yes, the practice offers both online and clinic-based sessions for parents. Individual therapy sessions with children and cognitive assessments, however, are carried out in the clinic setting.

No, the psychologist does not record the on-line sessions.

Yes of course. In fact, it is preferred that a parent or caregiver speaks to the psychologist prior to making a booking so that you can discuss the types of challenges that your child is experiencing, and the psychologist can ensure that this is the right service for your child. You just need to enter your phone number on the ‘enquiry form’ on the website or email the practice with your phone number and the psychologist will arrange a free phone consultation with you.

1. You can either complete the very brief online enquiry form or send a brief email to the practice. For either option, you should briefly outline the nature of the difficulty that your child is having.
2. The Psychologist will reply to you and arrange a free phone consultation.
3. During this phone consult, the psychologist will try to determine if the Psychology Practice is the most appropriate service for your child. If it is, you will be asked to complete a pre-consultation questionnaire and the psychologist will then make an appointment for you.

No you do not. You can self-refer to the service by the calling the number provided on the website. If the psychologist feels that this service is suitable for you, you will be provided with an opportunity to complete an optional pre-consultation questionnaire.

The clinic reserves the right to charge the full fee in the event of a missed appointment or a cancelled appointment with less than 24 hours notice.

Yes you can change your appointment time subject to availability. However, the practice requires 48 hours notice to facilitate changes.

Yes. The clinic offers early morning and evening appointments on specific days of the week. Please call the clinic to check availability.

You can pay either before or after the session. There is an option to pay online or using the sum-up machine if you attend the clinic for the appointment. Bank transfer is also possible.