Clinical Health Psychology

The Clinical Health Psychology team can offer face to face appointments if video or telephone appointments are not the best fit for your child. In order to keep everyone safe there are strict measures in place which need to be followed. This guide will help prepare you and your child ahead of your visit.

Where do we go?

Appointments take place in the Catkin Building. Access for vehicles and pedestrians is via Eaton Road. Please follow directions from the Eaton Road entrance to the car park for Catkin Building visitors. Parking costs £3.00 payable on exit.

Please enter the Catkin Building via the temporary entrance signposted from the car park. You will find a hygiene point inside this entrance; please make use of the hand sanitiser available and ensure that both you and your child use the facemasks provided. You and your child will be required to wear your masks for the duration of your visit. The mandatory use of facemasks does not include children under the age of three years old or anyone with respiratory or developmental conditions.

After you have used the hygiene point, please follow the signs along the corridor to the Catkin Building Reception, it is here that the clinician will meet you and your child for the appointment.

Catkin Building Reception

What will staff look like?

Please note that our Clinical Health Psychology team will wear PPE for the duration of the appointment (gloves, visor, mask, and apron).

A Clinical Health Psychology clinician in PPE

What will the room look like?

Our clinic rooms have been adapted to support social distancing. They are cleaned in-between each appointment. We have removed toys from our clinic rooms, however your child is welcome to bring some of their own toys with them to the appointment if they would like to do so.

An example of one of our clinic rooms

In order to manage patient flow and limit the number of people waiting in the Catkin Reception at any one time, we ask that you arrive promptly at your allotted appointment time (i.e. while it is important that you are not late for your appointment, we also ask that you do not arrive too early).

Who can attend the appointment?

We would like to make you aware that children and young people are limited to one visitor at a time. This applies across all areas of the hospital. This means that just one adult can accompany a child to their appointment. Siblings and other family members are not permitted to attend.

Alder Hey COVID-19 Information Hub

In preparation for your visit we would invite you to take a look at the COVID-19 information hub on the Alder Hey website as it contains up to date guidelines for all our visitors: https://covid19.alderhey.nhs.uk/

What can we help with?

• Supporting children, young people and their families manage the challenges that can arise from living with a medical condition.
• Working with young people and families who have experienced sudden physical injuries.
• Coping with treatments that a young person and family may feel worried about including; coping with needles, taking tablets, having surgery and other medical tests.
• Managing symptoms such as pain, tiredness and bodily changes.
• Dealing with feelings related to a young person's condition, like feeling different, sad or worried.
• Helping young people and their families to discuss, understand, consider and reach decisions about treatment. 
• Coping with how a young person's condition affects their life, including school, family and friendships.

How do we do this?

• One to one meetings with children, young people and families. Sometimes we also meet with children/young people on their own. 
• We run groups where we invite people who are having similar difficulties to share experiences and learn from each other. 
• We can speak with other professionals involved in your care, like school and medical teams.

How do I get to Alder Hey Health Psychology?

We are based at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. We offer appointments in the main hospital and/or in our outpatient department, not far from the main hospital building. When we send you an appointment, we will be sure to include a map of how to find us.

This section of our website is for YOU, the young people whose healthcare is looked after by medical or surgical teams at Alder Hey.

One of your teams based at the hospital may have suggested you come and meet with someone from our team. Perhaps you are wondering what that might be like. Let's answer some questions you might have:

What happens in Alder Hey Health Psychology?

• We understand that living with a health condition can involve lots of different feelings.
• We listen to how young people are feeling about their health condition or medical needs.
• You might see a member of our team on your own or with your parents/guardians.
• We will ask you some questions so we can learn about you and find the best ways to work together.
• We often invite young people to groups if they are interested. This a great opportunity to meet other young people who are having similar experiences to you.
• Sometimes, we also work with your parents and other members of your family.
• Sometimes, we speak to other people who are part of your life too, like your teachers or the people in your medical team.

What can the team help me with?

• We can give advice on how to improve things that may be upsetting or worrying you
  • Adjusting to the news you have a health condition or injury
  • Living with a health condition and the symptoms you experience
  • Making decisions about treatment
  • Coping with treatments you might find tricky, like having needles or taking tablets
• We can help you learn about your feelings and find ways to help you manage them.
• We might work with you to improve your confidence and how you feel about yourself.
• We often help young people identify goals and explore ways to achieve them.
• Sometimes, young people are referred to our team for a cognitive assessment which helps us understand strengths and challenges with skills such as memory and attention.

Who will I see?

Our team is made up of Clinical Psychologists, Art and Music Therapists and a Paediatric Psychiatrist. We are all trained to understand how people think, feel and behave. We work with medical and surgical teams within the hospital, including your doctors and nurses and sometimes with other staff teams you might see (e.g. Speech and Language Therapists and Physiotherapists).

How do I get to Alder Hey Health Psychology? 

We are based at Alder Hey Children's Hospital. We offer appointments in the main hospital and/or in our outpatient department, not far from the main hospital building. When we send you an appointment we will be sure to include a map of how to find us.

How do I get a referral? 

If you would like a referral to our service, this will need to be made by your medical or surgical consultant, or another member of your medical team. Please talk to them about this.