01246 277 271
This service is provided by Clinical Psychologists who specialise in supporting people who have cancer as well as those who have completed treatment. It is not unusual to find it difficult to cope with a diagnosis of cancer, treatment and life afterwards. Our service aims to work with patients, carers and staff to identify and address challenges with coping on this journey.
Clinical psychologists are non-medical doctors who use psychological approaches to help you understand and manage troubling thoughts, feelings and behaviour.
There are two main Clinical Psychologists you may meet, although sometimes other members of the Health Psychology team may also see you for a session:
- Sarah Davison, Clinical Psychologist
- Dr Rachel Holt, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
You can be referred to the Cancer Psychology Service by any health professional. You can ask your specialist nurse if you have one, or one of the doctors. You can also ask your GP to refer you to the service. If they need a referral form, you can ask them to call us on 01246 515 520 or email us at health.
We are a specialist service and we see individuals who have moderate to severe levels of emotional distress. It’s ok if you do not know whether this means you or not.
You can speak to any healthcare professional and ask them about whether they think you would benefit from a referral to the Cancer Psychology Service, or whether they would recommend a different option for you.
The emotional health leaflet provides more information on other local and national services that may also be able to help you meet your emotional needs. The leaflet includes ways you can request a self-referral for support, including free talking therapy. It is recommended that you read this leaflet before discussing a potential referral to the Cancer Psychology Service with your healthcare professional, as some of the services included in this leaflet may be of interest to you.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
To become a Clinical Psychologist you have to have a degree in Psychology, significant experience of working with people with mental health problems, further academic and research experience, and to have undertaken a three-year doctorate programme in Clinical Psychology. A Clinical Psychologist will talk to you about your difficulties and may offer you talking therapies. Psychiatrists are trained medical doctors, and can give you medication for your emotional problems, and may diagnose mental health conditions.
Once you have been referred to the Cancer Psychology Service we will make an appointment for you, you do not need to do anything.
Sometimes we may send you a letter to confirm you definitely want an appointment with the Cancer Psychology Service. If you are sent this letter you just need to let us know your answer. If you tell us you want an appointment, we will arrange this for you.
Generally, you will see a Clinical Psychologist at the NGS Macmillan Information and Support Centre, Chesterfield Royal Hospital. In exceptional circumstances, we offer people an appointment at Walton Hospital, Chesterfield.
Your assessment appointment will last a bit less than an hour, though occasionally it will be shorter than this – depending on your situation. A follow-up appointment will last 50 minutes approximately, although sometimes it will be shorter than this if you and your psychologist feel you have covered all key areas in the session.
Please bring your appointment letter to remind you of where to go. Please also bring the questionnaires we send out to you, completed if possible. If you cannot complete them on your own, we will help you with them. If you wear glasses it may be a good idea to bring these, and to wear any hearing devices. If you need any special cushions or equipment it will also be important to bring these along with you too.
This depends on your level of need, and you and the Clinical Psychologist you meet at your assessment will decide this together. You will be made fully aware of a plan for your sessions. If you, or the Clinical Psychologist, decide a longer course of sessions is required we will discuss the options for this.
It may be that we offer you a short block of sessions and support you to access further talking therapy sessions from another service. It may be that we support you to find another service at the start that can offer you more sessions when we feel this would be better for your needs.
If you miss your appointment and we don’t hear from you, we will discharge you from the Cancer Psychology Service.
You will receive a letter letting you know if this has happened. You will be able to ring us up to discuss this letter if you think there has been a mistake or there is a reason for missing the appointment we did not know about. In these cases, an exception will usually be made on one occasion, and a further appointment offered. If this happens more than once the Clinical Psychologist may write you a letter to ask if this is the right time for you to be having psychology sessions.
If you cancel your appointment over 7 days before your appointment then you will be offered another one without hesitation, as this means we can offer your appointment to someone else.
If you contact us with 1-7 days' notice, you will be offered one more appointment without hesitation. If this happens again your psychologist may ask you whether this is the right time for you to be having psychology sessions.
No, it is a confidential session. The only reason the Clinical Psychologist will share anything you say with anyone else is if they are worried about your safety, or the safety of someone else. This is very rare. They will almost always talk to you and let you know if this is the case.
The Clinical Psychologist you see will keep an electronic record of the outline of what has been said in your session. No one else can read this except for your Clinical Psychologist.
If you do want your Clinical Psychologist to speak to someone else about some of the things you have said, like your specialist nurse, then this can be arranged. Some people find that this sharing of information can improve the support other healthcare professionals can give them.
It is up to you. Most people come on their own as it can sometimes be easier to talk when you are not thinking about whether what you say may upset someone else. Some people do prefer to come with a loved one or friend though. That is also ok. If you bring someone else with you, sometimes the Clinical Psychologist will suggest you have some time on your own as well with the psychologist, but it is your choice.
No, generally this is not recommended. If you are currently having therapy the psychologist will discuss with you the best way forward. This might be for you to finish your sessions with your other therapist and then to request a referral after this if you still feel this is needed. It may be that you decide to end, or put on hold, your previous therapy. You and the psychologist may decide that the Cancer Psychology Service will most appropriately meet your needs at the present time.
No. We see many individuals who have finished treatment, sometimes a number of years ago. If the difficulties you are having relate to your experience of having cancer then we may still be the right service for you.
If you had cancer a number of years ago, and you think your current issues are unrelated, it may be that we are not the right service for you. See here for a link to other talking therapy support you could access.
You and your Clinical Psychologist will plan for the end of your sessions together. You will work out a longer-term plan for your emotional wellbeing. You may also work out with your psychologist how you are going to remember the things you have learned in your therapy sessions.
Once you have finished your sessions you will be discharged from the Cancer Psychology Service. The Clinical Psychologist will write a short letter back to your referrer and copy you into this, and your GP if you consent to this. The letter will update the referrer on your situation and let them know your sessions have finished. It will be up to you what is included in this letter.
You will be able to request a re-referral in the future from any healthcare professional.
In most cases, you will be offered a further assessment session and we will talk about what ongoing support might be best for you. This might include further psychology sessions.