Ethical and Professional Practice
The Child Psychologist follows strict ethical principles and professional guidelines from the Health Care and Professions Council (HCPC) and The British Psychological Society (BPS). Dr Sopena receives regular supervision by a qualified senior Clinical Psychologist to ensure high standards of professional and reflective practice.
The Child Psychologist uses a collaborative, transparent and non-judgmental style of treatment, regarding the family as the expert of their own difficulties and their culture and thrives to offer an honest, good quality, professional and confidential service.
Consent and Confidentiality
All sessions offered at The Child Psychologist are private and confidential (this also includes sessions with teenagers whose therapy is being paid for by their parents), unless there is a significant concern about your safety or someone else’s safety.
It is sometimes useful, however, to seek or share information from other professionals involved in the child’s life such as teachers or GPs. In such cases, consent from you will be sought prior to contacting them.
Data Protection
The Child Psychologist complies with the GDPR requirements (May 2018), which requires every organization that processes personal information to register with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). This information is securely kept and solely for The Child Psychologist use. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to discuss them with The Child Psychologist
Cancellation Policy
We understand that on occasions, you may need to cancel an appointment at short notice. If pre-booked appointments are cancelled more than 24 hours in advance no charge will be made. However, late cancellations or non attendance without any prior notice will be charged at the full rate, unless in very exceptional circumstances. Please, note that if you are claiming from private medical insurance, they may not cover this.
Emergencies and crisis
The type of psychological therapy offered by the The Child Psychologist is not suited to dealing with emergencies. If you find yourself unable to cope between appointments, please contact your GP. Alternatively, you could contact NHS 111 for advice or attend your local Accident and Emergency Department to see an on-call psychiatrist. There are also organisations such as the Samaritans (Tel: 08457 90 90 90; www.samaritans.org) who provide telephone support 24 hours and Family Lives (Tel: 0808 800 2222; www.familylives.org.uk) who provide help and information on parenting issues.