Health Psychology Appointment Information

We are only able to offer a service to people registered with GP surgeries in these areas:

• North East Derbyshire.
• North Derbyshire.
• High Peak.
• North Dales (apart from Glossop).  

We are working hard to make our service available in other areas.

If you live outside of these areas you could talk to your GP about local services or you may be able to access support from your local IAPT service.

Referral Process

You can be referred by your health professional or by your GP. We suggest that you have a conversation with them before you are referred. This way you can understand as much as possible about the referral. We will then decide whether you need an assessment, or if other services might be more helpful for you.  

If we think our service might be helpful for you, we will send you a letter that tells you more about what we do. This will help you decide if our service is right for you. If you are happy to meet with us, you will get in touch to let us know. We will book in an assessment appointment with you.

After Referral

We will meet with you for an assessment. We can see you face to face. We are also offering sessions online or on the telephone. When we speak with you, we will find out where is best for you to meet. You can bring anyone you want with you.

At your assessment we will talk with you about the health problems you are living with. We will talk with you about treatments you have tried for these problems. We will also talk with you about the impact of your health problems and how you are coping.  We will ask you some background questions to help us understand you as a whole person.

By the end of your assessment, we will try to decide with you what might be best for you.  

• We may offer up to 6 to 8 sessions of therapy. We can space these out to meet your needs. If you are placed on our waiting list, you will be offered some information to help you while you wait. You can also use the resources on this website.

• We may invite you to join a group if that is something you want to do. We will agree this together if this is right for you.

• We may agree that there is no need for you to see us again.

• We may agree that you will be best helped by another service. We will then contact the person who referred you, to talk about what to do next.  

Online Appointments

Lots of our appointments are now online. Here are some tips to help you.

Joining your online (video) appointment 

• An email or text message with a video link will be sent to you.

• Click on the link (highlighted in blue).

• A new window will open and you will be asked for a passcode.  

• The passcode will be sent to you in a different email or text message.

• Put in the passcode into the box on the new screen and click ‘Log in’. 

• When you log on to the call, you may be asked to allow access to your camera and microphone. If this happens, please select ‘Allow Access’.  

• The video appointment will start, please wait for the person you are seeing to join the call.

How to get ready for your appointment 

Find a place that will be quiet, comfortable and private for the whole of your appointment.  

Get anything you may need during the appointment. This could be tissues, a glass of water, or your phone or laptop charger. 

Make sure that your face is well lit (without a window behind you). 

You might want to think about what you want from the appointment before it begins (like you might usually do in a waiting room). 

Let us know what you need 

Let us know if you need any help with the video technology and how to use it.  

You can ask for a shorter appointment. Online therapy can be more tiring for some people than face to face meetings. 

If it feels useful let us know if you are interrupted during the appointment. For example by another person, a delivery, pets, or children. Tell us if you would like to carry on the appointment or not.  

What to do if there are problems with the technology 

Video appointments can be interrupted by technical problems such as disconnection, sound problems or delays. Being able to speak clearly, listen and understand each other are very important during therapy. The psychologist may interrupt the appointment to try to improve the technology. This is because they want to make sure the appointment is as helpful as possible. The appointment can continue by telephone if needed. Please also let the psychologist know if: 

• You feel they did not hear or did not understand something you say.

• You want the psychologist to repeat something.

• You don’t feel the connection is good enough to continue.

• At any point you feel uncomfortable about the video appointment.

Having problems getting to your Health Psychology appointments?

The information below can help you to decide what to do if you find it hard to get to appointments. It may also help if you cannot come to as many sessions as you would like to.

I want support but I sometimes forget when my appointments are:

• Make sure that we have your up-to-date mobile phone number. This is so that we can send you a text message about your appointment.
• Make a note of your appointment day and time. This could be on a calendar or in a diary.
• Put your next appointment in your phone at the end of your therapy session. You could do this while you are with your therapist.

I want some support but can’t travel for regular appointments:

• If you receive Universal Credit you might be able to use the NHS transport service. Or you could get the money back that you spent getting to your appointment.
• Speak with your GP or your health professional. They can help you to think about the support you need to get to your appointments.
• We can offer phone or video appointments if this would help.

I want some support, but this isn’t the right time for me:

• If you are not finding the sessions helpful, speak to your psychologist and explain this to them. You could ring them up and speak on the phone, or have a face-to-face appointment for this.
• Sometimes there is too much going on in life to give full attention to psychology appointments as well. If that’s the case, it’s OK.
• In the future you might decide that you would like further appointments. If you are able to come to these, we would be happy to look at a re-referral. Talk to your GP, or another member of your healthcare team about this.

I don’t want to come to the Health Psychology Service but I would like some support with how I’m feeling:

• You can talk to your GP about how you are feeling. They can help you find more support. They can also look at your medication and make some changes.
• You can get emotional support and information over the phone from:
  • Mind’s Infoline (0300 123 3393 9am-6pm weekdays).
  • Samaritans (116 123). You do not need to be thinking about suicide to call.
• You can also refer yourself for free individual therapy. This is from Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. You can talk about the best choice for you with your GP. You can also self-refer by phone or on-line. Current IAPT services in Derbyshire include:
  • Insight Healthcare (0300 555 5582).
  • Talking Mental Health (0300 123 0542).
  • Trent PTS (01332 265 659).
  • Vita Minds (0333 0153 496).

What we do with what you tell us

When we meet with you, we will write some brief notes about the session in your medical record. This record will be shared across the health and care system because it is part of Derbyshire Shared Care Record.

The Shared Care Record will join up different health and social care information about you, so it is all in one place. This will help improve the care you receive. The record will only ever be read by those who need information to help provide you with care. 

We will share some information with the doctors and other health or care workers that you see. We may tell them about how you are doing. We may also let them know of ways they may be able to help you. We will talk to you about these letters before we send them, and you can have a copy.  

You have a right to confidentiality and privacy. This means that you can choose for things you tell us to be kept private. The only time we may need to share things you have said to us (outside of confidential shared care record) is when we think there is a risk of harm to you or someone else. We will try to talk to you first about this, when this is possible.

We keep all information about you securely. We follow the Data Protection Act which gives people certain rights over the information held about them. If you would like to see any information about your sessions you can write to the Health Psychology Service.  

Find out more about the Derbyshire Shared Care Record here. 

For an easy-read version click here.