What happens in a clinic session?

We have outpatient psychology appointments across a range of sites within the ABUHB health board. We will do our best to accommodate where is most convenient for you. Occasionally, the team may also offer home, work, or ward visits where appropriate.

Your psychologist will explain what conversations with a psychologist involve, talk to you about how confidentially will be maintained, and how they will work alongside your healthcare team. Your first conversation with your psychologist will involve getting to know you, your life, your background, current health and what your concerns and worries are. These appointments will normally last between 45 minutes and up to an hour. It is your choice as to whether you wish to see the psychologist again, and this decision will not impact on the care you receive from the health board. If it is thought that it would be helpful to return for further appointments, this will usually be arranged within the first session. Appointments can be offered at a frequency that suits both you and your psychologist.

Follow up appointments will allow your psychologist to get to know you better, talk more in depth about the difficulties that brought you to them, and explore strategies to improve this. At the end of each session, your psychologist will summarise what was spoken about, and clarify the steps moving forward. Such steps could be arranging more appointments for the future, offering advice and recourses, or deciding to end the sessions at this moment in time. This is often expressed in writing, to you, your GP, and your team. You may be asked to complete a questionnaire during your session. There is no right or wrong answers but allows your psychologist to gain a better understanding of the whole situation and helps them to think about the best way to help you. Your psychologist will discuss this in detail with you during your session and will be happy to answer any questions you have about them.

Your psychologist may offer you information and resources or may refer you to other services that may be better suited to your needs. It is also useful to remember that psychology appointments are voluntary, and it is your choice whether you would like to attend or not.

At the end of your time with your psychologist, there will be an opportunity to provide open and honest feedback to ensure as a service we are providing the highest quality support that we can for everyone.