FAQs

What is a psychiatrist?

A psychiatrist is a doctor who specialises in mental health problems and is trained to deal with the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental and emotional disorders.

A consultant psychiatrist is a doctor who has reached a senior position in terms of qualifications, treating people, training other doctors and helping to organise and run services (see Royal College of Psychiatrists).

UK consultants have the initials MRCPsych or FRCPsych after their names.

What is a clinical psychologist?

A clinical psychologist is a psychologist who has undergone specialist training in the treatment of people with mental health problems.

Psychologists observe and measure human behaviour scientifically and produce models and therapies based on this knowledge (see the British Psychological Society).

A chartered counselling psychologist has trained to deliver different types of psychotherapy such as cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT).

Can you see people urgently?

We can generally offer appointments within one or two working days, subject to availability. We aim to avoid a waiting list.

Where we do not have the required expertise we will always seek to check and advise on where to find it outside our clinic through our extensive clinical connections.

Where there is a high level of active risk we recommend a visit to the on call NHS Liaison Psychiatry Units, found in A&E departments, rather than delay to attend our outpatient service.

Can you recommend any self-help books?

In the Resources section, we have described a number of reference texts that we regard to be very useful, across a range of mental health conditions.

Do I need a referral from my family doctor (GP)?

Yes. This is good practice and we follow it. Exceptions are people coming from abroad without a UK family doctor, and people who are not presently registered with a family doctor (we can help you to locate one).

Some people will be referred from another specialist or professional and this usually suffices, and we would tend to write back to that person and let your family doctor have a copy of that correspondence. Sometimes health insurance companies insist this is done.

What age groups do you manage?

Our services are provided for age 18+. We also have a specialist service for older age mental health conditions.

What are your opening times?

Sloane Court Clinic is open Monday to Friday with limited availability at weekends on request. We are able to offer early morning appointments from 8am and evening appointments until 9pm.

Who are your consultant psychiatrists?

Our psychiatric team are generally current or former consultants from the Maudsley Hospital / South London and Maudsley (SLaM) Trust and or Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN).

They include medical authors, professors, and current and former clinical academics, and many who are key opinion formers in their fields.

What insurance companies do you work with?

All of the UK medical insurance companies and many non-UK ones as well.

This includes Aetna, Alliance, Aviva, AXA, AXA International, BUPA, BUPA International, Cigna, Cigna International, CISI, GeoBlue, Healix, HTH, Vitality and WPA but do contact us to check if yours is not listed here.

How much do appointments cost?

Our current schedule of charges can be found on Our Fees page, or you are welcome to contact our Patient Services team who can answer any specific queries.

Are there other costs?

Not generally. We do not charge for short enquires to clinicians and other necessary out of appointment contacts.

We do charge for out of appointment prescriptions and more prolonged clinical contacts on the telephone.

Do you have a cancellation policy?

Cancellations made within 48 hours of the appointment time may still be liable to be charged, at up to 100% of the appointment fee. This will be at your clinician’s discretion.

Do you have a waiting list?

It is our policy not to have a waiting list, but it can be unavoidable in certain situations. If you need to be seen urgently we aim to be as flexible as possible.

Do you do ADOS assessments?

Yes we have specialist psychologists who have undertaken the ADOS training and who routinely use the ADOS 2 assessment in their work.
Call Patient Services to learn more.

How do prescriptions work and is there a fee?

Prescriptions can be issued for patients who are in active management by your doctor, otherwise if not in treatment your general practitioner would be the person to prescribe for you. We do not charge for prescriptions issued during outpatient appointments. At all other times there is a charge of £25 per prescription.

We are unable to renew prescriptions at short notice or at the weekend and suggest as guidance that requests for repeat prescriptions are made 5 working days before they run out.

If you are an existing patient, you can request a repeat prescription here.

What can you do for corporate clients?

We have extensive experience in working with senior executives, but also in working with Human Resource departments and Occupational Health doctors. We can also conduct occupational health assessments and write reports.

Are you CQC registered?

Yes we are. Search with our name on the CQC website - http://www.cqc.org.uk

How can I make a complaint?

Complaints, and indeed suggestions, may be made in writing or by email to our General Manager. You can find our full Complaints Policy and Process here.

Do you have facilities for disabled access?

We are able to provide remote consultations for all clinicians. Unfortunately, for face to face sessions we do not have disabled access as the clinic is accessed by a short external staircase. Where possible, we would be pleased to escort you down the stairs. We can in some circumstances arrange an appointment in an alternative local venue or arrange a local home visit.

What happens in a counselling session?

Counselling sessions, or psychotherapy, involve conversations in which the clinician (clinical psychologists in the SCC) and patient assesses the problems and their context. Together, they develop a formulation within the context of contemporary forms of psychotherapy, typically cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) or its derivatives.

A resolution of the symptoms / problems should be achievable, setting out an approximate estimate of the duration. The aim is that both will contribute actively, and the clinician will often set "homework" for example further reading, suggestions on alternative forms of thinking or acting, or provide insights to reflect on.

You can find more information on The Patient Journey with Sloane Court Clinic here.

How do I know which therapist is best for me?

Generally you would not know this, although we provide their CV's.

The majority of people will have an initial assessment with a psychiatrist to achieve an initial formulation, who will advise on which therapy is likely to be most suitable and who might provide.

The psychiatrists can rule out an underlying medical condition, and have detailed knowledge of the clinical psychologists' background and expertise. Where we do not have the right clinical psychologist / therapist, we would refer you to someone outside the clinic, or help you find someone suitable on the website of the BPS - British Psychological Society. This may be relevant where the requirement might be outside London.

Are my sessions confidential?

Yes - they are confidential and all staff at the Sloane Court Clinic are bound by both industry regulation, and our own Confidentiality Contracts.

Your clinical information is likely to be shared on a need to know basis if a referral is being made from a psychiatrist to a psychologist, but this would not be initiated without your consent, indeed at your request.

All clinicians and administrative staff are bound by their duty under Safeguarding rules, and would be expected to consider breaking confidentiality if you are at risk or could put someone else at risk.

What happens if I do not get on with my therapist?

We would advise you to consider discussing the issue with them, but if that might be uncomfortable or unlikely to result in improvement we would of course encourage you to contact either our Patient Services team or General Manager, who will endeavour to help you find someone else suitable.

You can read more on this here.

Can I speak to someone before I come?

Our Patient Services team have been trained to answer many commonly occuring questions, and our General Manager can help if that is insufficient.

However if more detail is needed or it would be uncomfortable talking to a non-clinician, we can try to quickly connect you to a clinician.

How experienced are the practitioners?

The clinicians are selected to work at the clinic on the basis of their extensive experience and training background. All have clinical doctorates in their subjects or the equivalent level of training if trained abroad where doctorates are not awarded.

Our team's CVs are available to read through on their individual profile pages.

As indicated above, our team are generally current or former consultants from the Maudsley Hospital / South London and Maudsley (SLAM) Trust and or Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN). They include medical authors, professors, and current and former clinical academics, many who are key opinion formers in their fields. Our psychologists are highly experienced and carefuly selected on the basis of their training experience, postgraduate clinical experience and years of specialisation.

I only want one appointment. Is it possible?

One appointment is certainly possible. In that session, we would endeavour to make an assessment but not treat you. What we would aim for is to provide you with an opinion on treatment.

Where a "second opinion" is required on existing treatment we would usually advise that the current clinican is informed so that they can provide notes and documentation that would make the second opinion more valuable. It is appreciated that sometimes this is not possible.

Do I have to contact my insurance company before I come, or can you arrange this?

Yes, and they will provide you with authorisation that they will cover the entireity or part of the cost of your care. This is usually indicated with an authorisation reference number. We can advise you on how we work with insurance companies.

Will my sessions be online or in-person?

We offer both online and in person appointments at the clinic. We would ask that you let us know at the time of enquiring whether you have a strong preference for either, so that Patient Services can send your referral over to the appropriate clinicians, as not all of our clinicians offer in person appointments. If you are unsure whether your appointment will take place online or in person, do check with Patient Services and they will confirm this with you.

Can I access both psychiatry and psychology services within SCC?

The clinic offers both psychiatry and psychology services, and our clinicians regularly, though not exclusively, make internal referrals to their SCC colleagues. Generally new patients will first be seen by one of our psychiatrists, who can refer on to our psychology services where appropriate.

What if I feel I may have symptoms of more than one potential diagnosis?

If you feel you may be experiencing symptoms of more than one diagnosis, the best place to start would be seeing a General Psychiatrist, as they will be able to assess your symptoms and their extent and recommend further specialist intervention, if deemed necessary.

There are some mental health disorders that commonly occur together, and this is relevant in informing treatment options. General psychiatrists and psychologists are well placed to treat patients’ mental health holistically and know to refer to sub-specialists where needed.

What therapies do you offer?

The clinic offers a range of therapies including, CAT, CBT, Compassion Focussed Therapy, EMDR, Family and Couples Therapy, Integrative Therapy, Mindfulness-based CBT, Psychological Therapy for ADHD and ASD, Schema Therapy and CBT-I.

You can read more about different therapy approaches here.

Will I always be prescribed medication?

During your psychiatric assessment and follow up appointments, you and your psychiatrist will have the opportunity to discuss suitable treatment options, which may include medication. Your psychiatrist will be able to present the different options to you and explain what they think would be best. This does not always mean that medication will be prescribed as it is not always the best treatment option, and in these cases, your psychiatrist will discuss alternative treatments with you, such as psychological therapy.

Medication is often used where a person has overwhelming distress from their symptoms, and/or functional impairment of their daily living skills and work, but its use is always a collaborative decision.

Can General psychiatrists also be sub-specialists or expert psychiatrists?

Many of our general psychiatrists have a particular sub-specialism and so we often direct referrals accordingly to each clinician. These sub-specialisms may include ADHD, ASD, Bipolar Disorder, Sleep, Eating Disorders and many more.

Our psychiatrists are always aware of their colleagues’ sub-specialisms and so are able to refer patients to one of their colleagues if they feel this would be particularly beneficial.

Will I be able to check in with my psychiatrist once they have referred me to a psychologist?

In the vast majority of cases, our psychiatrists and psychologists will work together to provide integrated care for a shared patient. This means that whilst psychology sessions will generally take place weekly, patients will likely still have follow-up appointments with their treating psychiatrist. These follow up sessions would take place less regularly in most cases, however, your psychiatrist will be able to advise further. You are also welcome to book in with your psychiatrist at any time for additional support or to discuss your medication or the psychological treatment.

Can my psychiatrist ask my GP to issue future prescriptions for me?

In most cases, psychiatrists will be able to write to a patient’s GP to ask them to continue prescribing under the NHS. It would be a good idea to speak to your GP first, to check they would be happy to take over your prescriptions. Some GPs will not, especially if the medication has only just begun and may need adjusting.

Am I allowed to bring my partner/a family member along to the initial assessment?

It can be very useful to have a family member/partner present for some parts of the initial assessment, as it provides further information on a patient’s presentation and symptoms. However, it is not necessary to bring someone along with you, and if you do wish to bring someone, they do not need to come into the whole appointment.

The clinician will generally focus their conversation on you in this circumstance, as it very important to know exactly how you are, and if there is time they will collect the informant information from the family member/partner.