The Paediatric Psychological Medicine team provide psychological, counselling, family therapy, psychiatric, and nursing input for children, young people and their families alongside various medical specialties and teams.
We aim to help children, young people, and their families live well with physical health conditions and differences. We work with the rest of your team at the hospital, such as the doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and play specialists.
Information for patients
Why might psychological therapies be helpful if I have a physical health difficulty?
Living with a physical health difficulty can have a range of impacts on emotional health, and the thoughts and feelings of other people such as family and friends. Physical and mental health are closely connected to each other, so when one is affected then there may be difficulties with the other.
Is it normal to feel how I feel?
It is very normal to feel a range of emotions (e.g. upset, angry, scared, and anxious) about physical health conditions, and other things too!
How can psychological therapies help?
We know that children, young people and their families can have many different feelings about their health. Sometimes these feelings get in the way of looking after physical health, family relationships, friendships, school and everyday life. Our team are here to help you manage the emotional effects of living with a physical health condition when things feel overwhelming, or if understandable thoughts and feelings are getting in the way. We can help when a physical condition may be impacting on the way your brain works. We can also support during the difficult times so that all involved can find ways to manage the day to day and plan for the longer term.
What can I expect from a psychology or counselling appointment?
We are not medical doctors, so we don’t do physical examinations, medical procedures, or prescribe medication. Sometimes we see young people and their parents or guardians together, we might just meet with parents/guardians, and sometimes we meet just with young people.
At the first appointment we will begin to get to know each other and talk together about what you would like help with. We will talk about any concerns or worries you may have. Together we can decide what the next best step is. We may decide to meet for further appointments or it could be that we will not need to meet again. We may also decide that a different service would be more helpful.
Referral
Please speak to your existing care team about a referral to our service.