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Parent Consultation

A first port of call when you don't know where to start

Parents are often the first to notice a change in mood, behaviour, confidence, relationships, physical wellbeing or ability to cope. You may know that something is wrong without knowing whether the next step should be psychotherapy, school support, medical input, changes at home or simply a period of careful observation.

A Parent Consultation is a straightforward, low-barrier way to talk to a clinical expert about a particular concern or worry you have about your child. Rather than offering generic parenting advice, it gives you the opportunity to receive personalised advice about your child’s specific difficulties and tailored recommendations to help them access the right support.

Adopting a biopsychosocial approach, I consider the whole context with you: physical health, neurodevelopmental picture, mental health and relationships, drawing on my experience in various settings, medical and psychological.

You do not need a diagnosis or a settled account to seek support, wait weeks for an appointment, decide what type of professional to see, commit to appointments for your child before you or they are ready, or figure it out on your own. My role is to help you decide on the next best step (whether that is an autism assessment, school adjustments, considering psychiatric input or medication), and help you work out how best to support your child at home.

Speak with an expert

£900

40 minutes

Online

Parent only appointment

Parents bring concerns about:

school anxiety, emotionally based school avoidance or declining attendance;
panic, worries, phobias, separation or avoidance;
autism, ADHD, masking, shutdowns, meltdowns or burnout;
persistent physical symptoms, chronic illness, pain or fatigue;
exam pressure, perfectionism or fear of failure;
bullying, friendship difficulties, social withdrawal or low confidence;
family change, conflict, loss, routines or behaviour that has become hard to understand;
a previous therapy that did not help, or a child who currently refuses support.

Parents leave the appointment with:

a clearer initial understanding of what may be contributing to your child’s difficulties;
practical guidance about how to respond at home;
a view about what school, medical or other professional involvement may be needed;
clarity about whether monitoring (watching and waiting), assessment (ADHD, Autism, Cognitive, etc), parenting coaching or individual psychotherapy would be appropriate.
A brief letter outlining recommendations, so you can make a more informed decision about the next step for your child, which you can share with you GP or any other professionals involved in your child's care.

Sometimes a conversation is enough

Some parents need one careful conversation rather than rushing their child into treatment. A different understanding can change the way adults respond, reduce unhelpful cycles and make it easier to use the support already around the child. In those cases, the Parent Consultation stands alone, and there is no expectation that your child will meet me or begin psychotherapy. For other families, I may recommend psychotherapy treatment as an invitation to consider the next stage, not a commitment.

Fees

£200

Read more about Psychotherapy assessment terms and conditions

Frequently asked questions

Yes. The consultation is for parents and does not require your child’s future engagement in therapy, and is a standalone, clinical advisory appointment. It can help you respond without presenting psychotherapy as an immediate demand.

One appointment cannot provide a full assessment, diagnosis or complete treatment plan. It can, however, clarify the main problem, identify missing information, distinguish between several possible pathways and help you avoid spending months—or substantial amounts of money—pursuing a service that does not answer the question your family actually has. Sometimes the most valuable outcome is knowing what to do next. Sometimes it is knowing what not to do yet.

The consultation itself does not include professional liaison. If further work is agreed, the purpose, consent, scope and any fee for contact outside that service will be discussed first. Within the consultation, we can think about what the school may need to understand, what questions to ask and whether a more formal liaison process would be useful later. I do not investigate schools or replace their statutory responsibilities.

Ordinarily, no. Where psychotherapy may be helpful, the next stage is a three-session Psychotherapy Assessment so the child can experience the setting and both sides can consider fit before weekly treatment is offered.

You do not need to wait for a crisis. A niggling feeling is enough of a reason to seek expert advice. We know that the best outcomes in mental health are linked to intervening as early as possible, and that early intervention can mean needing less intervention later. It can be helpful when you sense that something is wrong but cannot yet tell whether the difficulty is developmental, emotional, behavioural, neurodevelopmental, physical health-related, connected with school, or part of a wider family situation. Parents often book because they are considering several possible routes—such as psychotherapy, an autism or ADHD assessment, psychiatry, paediatrics, school support or CAMHS—but do not know which is most appropriate for their child’s needs. It can also be useful when different adults or professionals have different explanations for what is happening. The appointment may simply confirm that existing support and monitoring are sufficient. Many parents seek help because they are unsure whether they are overreacting or have already waited too long. You do not need to prove that your child is “ill enough”. A parent consultation is also a useful entry point to psychological support because it allows you to seek advice without introducing your child to a professional unnecessarily or committing them to treatment.

It is a focused, parent-only appointment for thinking carefully about a concern involving your child or teenager. Rather than beginning with the assumption that your child needs therapy, we look at what has been happening, how long it has been happening, what may be contributing to it and how your child is functioning at home, at school and socially. The aim is to create a clearer clinical map of the situation and identify the most appropriate next step.

This is a paid clinical consultation rather than a sales call or a general parenting-coaching session. We consider the child in context: their development, emotional wellbeing, behaviour, relationships, school experience, neurodivergence, physical health and wider family circumstances. The purpose is not to prescribe one parenting method. It is to help you understand the problem more accurately, consider the available pathways and make a reasoned next-step decision. Questions about a child’s history, current functioning, previous support and therapeutic fit cannot be responsibly answered in a brief sales call. The Parent Consultation creates protected clinical space for that thinking. It also lets both of us decide whether further work would be useful before the child is involved. Some parents use the time to also see whether or not they think I would be a good fit for their child.

We begin by establishing what you have noticed, when it began and what may have changed around that time. We may think about: how your child is functioning at home, at school and with friends; whether the difficulty is recent or longstanding; differences between what school sees and what happens at home; anxiety, low mood, behaviour, withdrawal, shutdowns or emotional outbursts; school attendance, EBSA, learning or sensory demands; possible autism, ADHD, masking or burnout; physical symptoms, chronic illness or medical investigations; family changes, losses, conflict or other sources of stress; what support has already been tried and how your child responded. We then consider what the information may suggest and which next steps are most proportionate.

You should leave with a clearer understanding of your initial concerns and a more organised set of next steps. This may include guidance about what you can begin doing at home, what questions to take to school or your GP, whether further assessment appears worth considering, which type of professional may be most relevant and whether anything needs more timely attention. A single consultation cannot provide a diagnosis or resolve every difficulty, but it can reduce confusion and help prevent families from entering an unsuitable service simply because it was the first one they found.

No. A Parent Consultation is not a diagnostic assessment. You do not need an existing diagnosis to seek support. The appointment can help you consider whether autism, ADHD or another diagnostic assessment may be appropriate, what information would be useful and which professional or service may be best placed to help. It can also clarify whether emotional, educational, physical-health or family support should be the next step.

No. Psychotherapy may be one possible recommendation, but it is not the assumed outcome. The next step may instead involve school support, parent guidance, a GP or paediatric review, an autism or ADHD assessment, psychiatric input, CAMHS, another specialist service or monitoring the situation before making a larger intervention. There is no requirement to continue into assessment or psychotherapy with me after the consultation. I consider your child’s needs, existing care, risk, clinical fit and available capacity before offering further work.

Where appropriate, I can help you think about which types of services in London may be best placed to respond to your child’s needs. The relevant route may depend on your child’s age, presenting difficulties, location, existing professional involvement and whether you are considering NHS, school-based or private support. The purpose is to help you ask more precise questions and approach a suitable service rather than offering a generic directory of clinicians.

Your booking confirmation will arrive from Square. I will send your Zoom invitation and optional preparation form separately before our meeting. You do not need to prepare a formal report. It may be useful to have: a short timeline of when the concern began; two or three concrete examples of what you are seeing; information about school attendance and functioning; relevant diagnoses, medical conditions or current medication; details of previous assessments or professional involvement; the main decision or question you would like help with. Try to prioritise the concern that currently feels most important rather than attempting to recount every event in your child’s life. Please carefully read the terms and conditions of the appointment in advance; you will find these in the billing and cancellation policy. Please give at least 48 hours’ notice to cancel or request a change of time. Alternative appointments are subject to availability. Contact me directly about cancellation because Square does not allow clients to cancel prepaid appointments themselves. The terms shown when you book apply and your statutory rights are unaffected. The consultation does not reserve an assessment or weekly psychotherapy place.

Information is handled confidentially and in accordance with professional, safeguarding and data-protection responsibilities. As with other clinical services, confidentiality may need to be limited where there are serious concerns about a child’s or another person’s safety, safeguarding obligations or legal requirements. Further information is available in the practice Privacy Policy.