Request a private assessmentBristol Psychology Services provides comprehensive assessment and sensitive therapeutic support for children and young people experiencing a broad spectrum of emotional and behavioural concerns.
Each Bristol Psychology Services therapist who works with children and young people has different areas of clinical expertise. This ensures the child or adolescent is able to access an appropriately skilled therapist who is suitably knowledgeable and experienced in that area.
Common reasons for referral include:
Anxiety Difficulties
- Worry and generalised anxiety
- Phobias (such as dog phobia, fear of being sick, fear of choking, social phobia)
- Panic attacks
- Obsessive thoughts and compulsive behaviours
Low Mood
- Depression and low mood
- Low self-esteem
Trauma Reactions
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
- Specific phobias stemming from the trauma (eg travel anxiety after car accidents)
Adjustment Difficulties
- Pain and physical health conditions
- Parental divorce
- Bereavement and loss
Difficulties of Early Childhood
- Sleeping
- Feeding
- Potty training
- Enuresis (wetting) and encopresis (soiling)
Learning & Social Development Difficulties
- Cognitive and educational assessment including ADHD assessment
- Assessment of autistic spectrum disorders and social communication difficulties
- Emotional and behavioural difficulties associated with learning disability or physical disability
Please note: due to extremely high demand for assessments of learning and social developmental difficulties, unfortunately we often have to close our waiting list for these services.
Parenting Guidance
In addition to therapy with children and young people, therapists are also able to provide parenting guidance. Parenting consultations (in which the child is not present) are often helpful when concerns relate to children under the age of 4 years. Parenting guidance can also be helpful when an older child is reluctant to attend sessions themselves. Working with parents can also help to supplement parallel therapeutic input with the young person, ensuring optimal outcomes by helping parents to better understand their child’s difficulties and equipping them with skills to support their child at home.
Family Therapy
Regretably we do not currently have any affiliated therapists accepting referrals for family therapy. This may change so please do check back.
Bristol Psychology Services has experienced therapists available who can provide Family Therapy. Family Therapy involves working with various members of the family to bring about positive change; the focus is on interaction between family members rather than within an individual. Often several members of the family meet with the Family Therapist together, although not everyone has to be involved if they do not wish to be. Family Therapy facilitates conversations between family members or important others in a way that draws on strengths. The focus is on finding solutions, rather than identifying causes of problems. Family Therapy may be particularly suitable when members of a family feel poorly understood by each other, unable to communicate effectively, or where people feel stuck in repeated patterns of interacting which are causing each other distress.
Please note that Bristol Psychology Services provides all services originally provided via ‘The Parent Support Service’. Due to expansion of the affiliate network to meet increasing demand from clients, child and adult therapy services were merged in 2015 and are now all provided under Bristol Psychology Services.