Frequently Asked Questions

We understand that beginning therapy can feel daunting and that you may have a lot of questions. We therefore offer a free 15-minute telephone consultation so that you can see if we are a good fit for you. Please contact us to arrange a phone call.

During the telephone consultation, we will ask you to talk a bit about your current difficulties, why you are now looking at the option of therapy, and what you’d hope to get out of our sessions. This will help you to work out if we are a good fit for you and us to check whether we are the best service to support you at this time. During this call there will also be the opportunity to ask questions about how Harris Psychology can help you. Please rest assured that even if you decide not to come to Harris Psychology the information that you share with us during the consultation will be managed confidentially.

If you would like to come to Harris Psychology, you can book in for your first therapy session at the end of our telephone consultation. Alternatively, you may want to spend some time thinking about whether we are the right therapists for you. In that case, you can also contact us to arrange an appointment at a later time.

You may choose not to book further sessions with us. This can be for a number of reasons: it doesn’t feel like the right time for you, you can’t commit to a course of therapy right now, or we might not be the right service for you. If you’d like to come back to us at a future time point, you will be very welcome. 

Yes, if you have a preference for the clinical psychologist you would like to meet, you can discuss this during your telephone consultation. For more information about our clinicians, please have a look at the Who we are page.

Once your first therapy session is booked, you will receive a confirmation email from Dr Michelle O’Shea or Dr Lisa Gadon with your appointment details.

In your first therapy session, we will focus on completing a comprehensive assessment to better understand your current difficulties. 

This will involve us listening to what you wish to share with us. We will also ask you some questions to enhance our understanding of your situation. People often find it hard to talk about their difficulties, so we will always ensure that we are working at a pace that is right for you. The assessment part of therapy is usually completed in one or two sessions. 

Following the assessment, your clinical psychologist will develop a bespoke formulation that will focus on your current difficulties, as well as on ideas about why you are experiencing them at this time and what is maintaining them. We will also spend time looking at your current coping styles. This formulation will be shared and discussed with you. 

The next stage will focus on collaboratively developing treatment goals and deciding on the most appropriate approach. The formulation helps us identify what to focus on and what therapeutic approaches would be best to help you to work towards your goals. 

The number of sessions depends on what has brought you to Harris Psychology. Sometimes we see people for a couple of sessions, sometimes people attend for long-term therapy. Once we have a formulation and a therapy plan, we will have a better idea of how many sessions would be ideal to help you and we will openly discuss this with you. 

Our sessions are confidential (we are GDPR compliant). The only time we would be required to breach confidentiality would be if we were concerned about your safety or the safety of someone you have told us about. 

Yes, we offer face-to-face appointments at our convenient and accessible city centre location.

Yes, we can offer you a remote appointment if this is your preference.

Please refer to our fees page.

We are registered with the following insurance companies: Axa, Bupa, Vitality, and Aviva.

The fee for a neuropsychological assessment is based on the individual’s needs and will be discussed at the time of your initial enquiry.