By arrangement
Harley Street medical district
4 Devonshire Street, Marylebone, London W1W 5DT
About the clinic
A setting for complex needs
Sagal Hassan is an ACP-registered Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist with extensive NHS CAMHS and paediatric hospital experience. Appointments in the Harley Street setting may be considered for children, teenagers and families where physical symptoms, emotional distress, school pressure and family life have become difficult to untangle. Families begin with an online Parent Consultation; suitability for assessment or psychotherapy in this setting is considered separately.
The work offers a thoughtful space to understand what may be happening for the child as a whole person, including their body, emotions, development, family relationships, school context and medical history.
Appointments may be considered by arrangement, where clinically appropriate and available.
The appointment address is 4 Devonshire Street, in the Harley Street medical district of central London.
This specialist child and adolescent psychotherapy service is for families whose child or teenager is struggling with chronic illness, fatigue, pain, dizziness, functional neurological symptoms, persistent physical symptoms, medically unexplained symptoms, Long Covid, PoTS, EDS, health anxiety, autistic burnout, school avoidance or the emotional impact of repeated medical appointments and uncertainty.
The consulting room is well placed for families from Marylebone, Regent’s Park, Mayfair, Fitzrovia, St John’s Wood, Primrose Hill, Hampstead, Kensington, Chelsea, Belgravia, Notting Hill and wider London.
Who this may suit
The Harley Street setting is considered individually for presentations involving:
functional neurological or persistent physical symptoms;
chronic pain, fatigue, PoTS, EDS, ME/CFS or Long Covid;
repeated investigations or medical trauma;
interrupted education and loss of independence;
the emotional impact of diagnosis, uncertainty or changing physical capacity.
It is not a medical service and does not provide diagnosis, test interpretation or acute care.
A whole-child perspective
When symptoms are real, but the bigger picture is complicated
Specialist clinical support
Support at the Harley Street setting
Parent consultation for families living with symptoms and uncertainty
A parent consultation can be a helpful first step when parents are unsure what their child needs, or when the situation has become difficult to hold alone. The consultation offers a focused space to think about your child’s symptoms, school attendance, emotional wellbeing, medical history, family stress and the wider pattern around the difficulty. It can help parents clarify what may be happening, what support may be most appropriate, and whether an assessment, psychotherapy, school liaison or another form of support may be useful. This can be particularly helpful when families feel caught between medical, school and emotional concerns, and need a clearer way to think about next steps.
Assessment for complex mind-body presentations
A Psychotherapy Assessment can be helpful when a child or teenager’s difficulties are more complex, longstanding or involve several overlapping concerns.
When physical symptoms, chronic illness or medical uncertainty are part of the picture, the assessment takes a biopsychosocial approach. This means looking carefully at the whole child, including their physical health history, emotional life, development, school context, family relationships and current difficulties.
Where appropriate, Sagal can also help parents think about whether communication with schools, GPs, paediatricians or other professionals may be useful.
Following the assessment, parents receive a clinical formulation and clear recommendations about next steps.
Psychotherapy and physical health concerns
The ongoing psychotherapy programme may be helpful when a child or teenager needs regular support to make sense of their experience, manage anxiety or overwhelm, and gradually build confidence in their body, school life and relationships.
We agree the appointment location and regular time before booking Psychotherapy Assessment, according to your child’s clinical needs.
School anxiety, attendance difficulties and physical symptoms
Physical symptoms and school difficulties often become closely connected. A child may feel too exhausted, anxious or unwell to attend school, while missed school can then increase worry, isolation, pressure and loss of confidence. This work helps parents and young people think about the pattern around school attendance, including what may be maintaining the difficulty and what kind of support may be realistic. Where appropriate, Sagal can think with parents about how to communicate with schools and other professionals so that the child’s needs are understood more clearly. The aim is not to push a child back into school without thought, but to understand what is making attendance difficult and how confidence, routine and support might gradually be rebuilt.
Neurodivergence and autistic burnout
For autistic children, teenagers with ADHD, or young people with suspected neurodevelopmental differences, physical symptoms can sometimes become part of a wider pattern of masking, sensory overwhelm, exhaustion, perfectionism, school pressure or burnout.
A child may seem to be coping at school, but only by using enormous effort to manage noise, transitions, friendships, academic expectations or the pressure to appear fine. Over time, this can affect the body as well as the mind, and may show up as fatigue, pain, dizziness, nausea, shutdowns, anxiety, school avoidance or other persistent physical symptoms.
Psychotherapy and parent consultation can help families think about whether symptoms may be connected to overload, masking, sensory demands, transitions, burnout or repeated experiences of not being understood.
The aim is to understand the child’s needs more accurately and to support them in a way that respects their nervous system, rather than expecting them to keep coping in ways that may no longer be sustainable.
Working with schools and medical professionals
Families navigating chronic illness, functional symptoms or school absence often find themselves coordinating between several different systems. Schools, GPs, paediatricians, CAMHS, private specialists and families may all hold different parts of the picture. Where clinically appropriate, Sagal can support parents in thinking about how to communicate with schools or other professionals. This can be especially helpful when symptoms affect attendance, concentration, confidence, family routines or social life. The aim is to help the adults around the child think more clearly and consistently, so that parents are not left holding the complexity alone.
Questions and answers
FAQs
Yes. I tend to use terms such as functional, persistent or chronic physical symptoms, depending on the child and family’s experience. I work with children and teenagers where fatigue, pain, dizziness, functional neurological symptoms or other persistent physical symptoms are affecting school, confidence, family life or emotional wellbeing. I have supported families in specialist paediatric hospital settings, including UCLH TRACCS, where I worked with adolescents experiencing long-standing chronic symptoms, chronic fatigue, pain, medical complexity and the strain that ongoing physical difficulties can place on the young person and family. I treat these symptoms as real. The work focuses on understanding the child’s wider physical, emotional, developmental, relational and school context, so that we can think carefully about what kind of support may be most helpful.
Yes. Many families begin with a Parent Consultation, especially when they are unsure whether their child needs psychotherapy, assessment, school liaison or another kind of support. Parent Consultations take place online. Assessment and the ongoing psychotherapy programme are normally in person. Highgate is the main practice; appointments at 4 Devonshire Street may be considered by arrangement where clinically appropriate and available. A Parent Consultation gives us space to think together about what has been happening, what may be maintaining the difficulty, and what the most helpful next step might be.
No. This setting may be considered for children and teenagers with emotional, developmental, school or family difficulties. It may be particularly relevant where physical health and emotional wellbeing need careful consideration together. Suitability, location and availability are agreed individually. Highgate remains my main practice.
Where clinically appropriate, I can think with parents about communication with schools, GPs, paediatricians, CAMHS or other professionals involved in their child’s care. For children and teenagers with complex physical and emotional needs, joined-up care is not an optional extra. It is often central to good clinical work. Families can otherwise be left trying to hold together separate views from school, medical services, mental health professionals and private practitioners. This can be particularly important when symptoms are affecting school attendance, routines, confidence or family life, and when parents feel they are carrying too many different parts of the picture alone. Where liaison is needed and appropriate, I will help parents consider what should be shared, with whom, and how communication can support a clearer and more coordinated understanding of the child’s needs.
This can happen, especially when a child or teenager is living with fatigue, pain, dizziness, chronic illness or functional symptoms. If your child feels too unwell to attend, we can think carefully about what is possible and clinically appropriate. Sometimes this may mean beginning with parent consultations, so that we can understand what is happening without placing immediate pressure on the child to attend. Where a child is already in therapy, we can also think together about whether an online session, a shorter session or a parent session would be more helpful on that occasion. The aim is not to force attendance, but to support the child and family in a way that is realistic, thoughtful and consistent. Because regularity is an important part of psychotherapy, we would also think together about whether the timing, format or type of support is right for your child at this stage.
It may suit young people whose emotional wellbeing is closely connected with chronic illness, pain, fatigue, functional symptoms or a complex medical journey.
No. It does not provide diagnosis, test interpretation or acute care.
Families can begin with an online Parent Consultation. If Psychotherapy Assessment is the appropriate next step, we agree the setting and regular time before it is booked. An ongoing weekly programme place is available when the assessment is booked.
A possible first step
How appointments are arranged
Harley Street follows the same pathway. Families can begin with an online Parent Consultation. If assessment is appropriate, we agree the setting and weekly time before booking. A programme place is available at that point, while assessment helps us decide whether psychotherapy is right for your child.
Parent Consultation
A 40-minute online appointment for parents, offering specialist guidance without an obligation to continue.