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Assessment & Therapy Procedures

Initial assessments

Assessments are conducted in relaxed, friendly settings, with comfortable waiting rooms and facilities such as play areas (at the Leicester clinic) and complimentary refreshments.  

The initial assessment sessions are approximately 1 hour long, and a further shorter session is usually needed to complete the assessment. Dr Thorley discusses with families who would like to be present, but it is generally helpful for parents and young people to discuss issues together, following which time can be given for individual sessions.

Assessments are undertaken only by Dr Thorley, not by junior staff. After the assessment, a formulation/diagnosis is provided, and a discussion can take place about the therapy or further assessment options, as well as the expected number of sessions.

If you are self-referring and have not been advised to attend by a health professional, please contact Dr Thorley's secretary by phone or e-mail to discuss whether Dr Thorley is likely to be able to help.

Special Note for ADHD and ASD Assessments

Dr Thorley recommends that for ADHD and ASD assessments, the services of colleagues in the NHS Paediatric Services or the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) should be sought first. The assessments are conducted privately and cost £ 1200. More importantly, when these conditions are identified, long-term follow-up care is frequently needed, which NHS services are better resourced to provide. Therefore, assessments for ASD and ADHD will no longer be accepted as of 1st October 2017.

Special Note for matters related to Separation and Divorce

Where mental health and behavioural problems arise primarily from contact issues, referrals are not accepted. This does not exclude young people whose parents have separated but who have mental health problems not causally related to contact issues. If you have any queries about such referrals, please contact Dr Thorley to discuss.

Fees

Charges are calculated on an hourly or pro rata basis and are the same across all clinics. These rates are available by telephoning the clinics.  Usually, Dr Thorley will provide a fee estimate after the initial assessment session. For a typical course of therapy for the most common mental health disorders, the total costs are in the range of £1325 to £1643.

Therapeutic strategies

Dr Thorley uses evidence-based therapies and, where available, follows NICE guidelines. An important feature is the use of treatments that yield good results in the shortest possible time, with an additional focus on relapse prevention. This may mean weekly sessions with more significant intervals between sessions as the intervention progresses. Generally, for many mental health problems and disorders, resolution is achieved in between 8 and 10 sessions.

Neuropsychological Assessments

Young people up to and including the age of 21 years requiring assessment for brain injury generally require 3-4 hours of assessment, including a semi-structured interview and standardised cognitive and neuropsychological functioning tests. Two separate appointments are usually preferable unless clients prefer a single assessment session. Usually, clients are assessed independently to avoid distraction and influence, however unintentional from others.