About us
What is the Clinical Health Psychology service?
You may have a physical health condition and be wondering how we can help. We are psychologists who work within medical and surgical teams to provide a holistic approach to health problems. Everyone’s experience of living with a health condition is different. Your health condition might affect you in one or some of these ways:
- Feeling distressed, as if you can’t cope with it all
- Giving up things you enjoy
- Feeling unhappy or angry about how your health condition has affected your life
- Having concerns about work or studies
- Interference with relationships with partners, family and friends
- Worrying or feeling hopeless about the future
- Losing your self-confidence
- Difficulties with managing your condition or the treatment
- Finding it hard to make changes your doctor or other member of your hospital team has recommended
How can I benefit from meeting with a psychologist?
We can talk with you about your own experience. We can explore how your physical health impacts upon your life and then look at how you would like your life to improve alongside your health condition. We can help you identify what changes are achievable and meaningful to you. We may then help you to develop new skills and/or expand your existing skills to help you work towards your desired changes.
Does this mean my doctor thinks my problems are ‘all in my mind’?
No, seeing a psychologist does not mean that we or your hospital team think your problems are in your mind. You are simply taking a very positive step in trying to reduce the impact of your physical health condition on your life.
Is the service right for me?
We strive to be an inclusive and respectful service in which everyone is welcome. Our psychology team have experience of working with individuals with a diverse range of life experiences, perspectives, and priorities. We commit to adapting our input to support our service users and to meet the needs of minoritized sections of our communities (e.g. ethnic minority groups, LGBTQ+ communities, people with mild/moderate learning disabilities).
What about confidentiality?
We prioritize creating a safe confidential space for you to talk about what is important to you. You may want this to include exploring how your health care team can be updated on your health concerns and any questions you have for them.
We include a summary of our meeting on a Trust electronic notes system that can be accessed by other professionals involved in your care. If there is anything you do not wish us to include here - and do not want us to share with your health team- then please let us know and we will respect this. The only exception is if you tell us something that makes us concerned about your safety or the safety of someone else. In this case we would need to share these concerns but would discuss with you first where possible.
Last updated09 May 2025