Professional liaison around a child’s psychotherapy
A child may be moving between home, school, healthcare and therapy while each setting holds only part of the picture. Focused communication can help the adults understand the same formulation, reduce contradictory demands and keep psychological treatment connected to daily life.
What we can agree
Where clinically useful and agreed, professional liaison and clinical administration may include:
a brief exchange with a school, SENCO or pastoral lead;
contact with a GP, paediatrician or treating clinician;
reading and responding to an important professional update;
sharing a concise psychotherapeutic formulation or recommendation;
a brief clinically relevant letter;
preparation directly connected to the child’s treatment.
We agree the purpose, scope and likely cost with you before work begins. Professional liaison, reports, letters and other agreed clinical work are billed at £360 per hour, pro rata.
Agreeing a purpose
Agreed professional liaison may form part of assessment or ongoing psychotherapy when clinically relevant to the treatment plan.
Before contact is made, we ordinarily agree:
who needs to be involved;
the specific question or purpose;
what information may be shared;
how the young person’s views and confidentiality will be considered;
what outcome would make the contact worthwhile.
This helps prevent therapy becoming attendance monitoring, behavioural surveillance or an open channel through which every professional concern is passed to the psychotherapist.
Boarding schools and families living abroad
Being at boarding school can put distance between a young person’s day-to-day difficulties and the people who know them best. I work with boarding schools and families whose parents live abroad, helping to connect what is understood at home, at school and in therapy.
For families who prefer an independent therapist to the school’s own counsellor, appointments can be arranged on site or online. We agree how to involve parents and school staff while respecting the young person’s privacy and the purpose of the work.
Reports and more substantial work
More substantial work needs a separate discussion about its purpose, scope and likely cost. This may include:
This may include detailed clinical reports, extensive EHCP documentation within my clinical role, longer professional meetings or case conferences, and review of substantial clinical records.
We can discuss more detailed clinical reports where appropriate, agreeing the scope and likely cost before work begins. Agreed work is billed at £360 per hour, pro rata. Case management, educational advocacy, court, tribunal, forensic and medico-legal work, and stand-alone diagnostic assessments, are outside this practice.
Responsibilities remain with the relevant service
Liaison does not transfer medical responsibility from a GP or paediatrician, educational responsibility from a school, safeguarding responsibility from statutory agencies or risk management from CAMHS and urgent services. I contribute a child-psychotherapy perspective within my professional role.
i-THRIVE alignment
Thoughtful interagency communication supports i-THRIVE’s principles of partnership working, shared decision-making and clarity about who is leading. The amount of coordination may help distinguish focused Getting Help from more extensive Getting More Help. Where the task is primarily managing significant ongoing risk, this private practice does not provide Getting Risk Support and the appropriate statutory service must lead.
Written and clinically reviewed by Sagal Hassan, ACP-registered Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist. Last reviewed 31 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Professional liaison is billed at £360 per hour, pro rata. We agree its purpose, scope and likely cost with you in advance. It is arranged when useful to your child’s treatment; it is not an automatic part of every plan.
No. It is offered only where there is a clear clinical purpose, appropriate consent and an agreed scope.
Where clinically appropriate, we can agree a report or professional meeting in advance, including its scope and likely cost. This work is billed at £360 per hour, pro rata. Case management, educational advocacy, stand-alone diagnostic assessment, court and medico-legal work are outside this practice.
Parent Consultation
A 40-minute online appointment for parents, offering specialist guidance without an obligation to continue.