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:
Your first two appointments will form the basis of your 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.
The initial assessment appointments 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. It will also include 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 therapeutic recommendations with you based on the findings in the assessment. This may be some self help advice, including lifestyle changes, 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 a range of therapeutic modalities 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 work. You are under no obligation to take up any follow up sessions following the Initial Assessment. As a rough guide 6-8 sessions are recommended in mild cases, up to 16 in moderate cases and up to 32 in more severe cases. Progress is reviewed and discussed regularly with you.
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 is charged based on the time taken to write the report. This report will summarise the assessment, 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:
Your first two appointments will form the basis of your 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.
The initial assessment appointments 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. It will also include 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 therapeutic recommendations with you based on the findings in the assessment. This may be some self help advice, including lifestyle changes, 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 a range of therapeutic modalities 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 work. You are under no obligation to take up any follow up sessions following the Initial Assessment. As a rough guide 6-8 sessions are recommended in mild cases, up to 16 in moderate cases and up to 32 in more severe cases. Progress is reviewed and discussed regularly with you.
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 is charged based on the time taken to write the report. This report will summarise the assessment, 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.
