What to expect
Before your appointment
Before your appointment you (as parents or an adult) will be sent a pre-assessment form and some questionnaires to help Dr Houdijk prepare for your visit.
Initial Assessment:
You will then be invited to the initial assessment. If attending with a child or teenager, sometimes both parents are able to attend and sometimes just one parent can make the appointment. Both is fine.
Your initial assessment will be 1 hour and 20 minutes long and will be an opportunity to discuss your concerns, including any relevant history. If attending as a family, you may do this as a family group or you may separate the time between you. Dr Houdijk is guided by what families prefer and what seems most helpful at the time.
Your initial appointment will end with Dr Houdijk sharing her understanding of the difficulties and how they came about. She will also discuss factors contributing to the maintenance of difficulties and discuss recommendations with you. This may be some self help advice, some 1:1 sessions or sessions involving the family. She may also refer you to other services if this is deemed most appropriate for your care.
Psychological Therapy:
Dr Houdijk works with Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness based approaches to achieve change. She will discuss which approaches she is recommending for you and why, the number of sessions she envisions and what will be involved. Therapeutic sessions are typically 1 hour long and 1.5 hours in the case of trauma. You are under no obligation to take up any follow up sessions following the Initial Assessment.
Psychology and Yoga Therapy
There is evidence which outlines the benefits of working with the body in certain presentations, particularly with early trauma and PTSD. If Dr Houdijk feels a yoga component may be helpful to incorporate into your psychological therapy she will discuss this with you and what will be involved.
After the Assessment
If you have elected to receive a report you will receive a report within 1-2 weeks following your initial assessment. This report will summarise the discussion, formulation (understanding of the difficulties) and list the recommendations made. The report or aspects of the report can be helpful to share with schools and/or other professionals involved in supporting you or your child/young person.
Before your appointment you (as parents or an adult) will be sent a pre-assessment form and some questionnaires to help Dr Houdijk prepare for your visit.
Initial Assessment:
You will then be invited to the initial assessment. If attending with a child or teenager, sometimes both parents are able to attend and sometimes just one parent can make the appointment. Both is fine.
Your initial assessment will be 1 hour and 20 minutes long and will be an opportunity to discuss your concerns, including any relevant history. If attending as a family, you may do this as a family group or you may separate the time between you. Dr Houdijk is guided by what families prefer and what seems most helpful at the time.
Your initial appointment will end with Dr Houdijk sharing her understanding of the difficulties and how they came about. She will also discuss factors contributing to the maintenance of difficulties and discuss recommendations with you. This may be some self help advice, some 1:1 sessions or sessions involving the family. She may also refer you to other services if this is deemed most appropriate for your care.
Psychological Therapy:
Dr Houdijk works with Compassion Focused Therapy, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness based approaches to achieve change. She will discuss which approaches she is recommending for you and why, the number of sessions she envisions and what will be involved. Therapeutic sessions are typically 1 hour long and 1.5 hours in the case of trauma. You are under no obligation to take up any follow up sessions following the Initial Assessment.
Psychology and Yoga Therapy
There is evidence which outlines the benefits of working with the body in certain presentations, particularly with early trauma and PTSD. If Dr Houdijk feels a yoga component may be helpful to incorporate into your psychological therapy she will discuss this with you and what will be involved.
After the Assessment
If you have elected to receive a report you will receive a report within 1-2 weeks following your initial assessment. This report will summarise the discussion, formulation (understanding of the difficulties) and list the recommendations made. The report or aspects of the report can be helpful to share with schools and/or other professionals involved in supporting you or your child/young person.
