DR. ANDREA DENNISON
SUPPORT FOR YOU
You may be a parent worried about your child’s behaviour or learning. You may be a teacher or a young adult with concerns about an issue. You may merely want some time and space to talk things over. Our work together will start with an initial consultation meeting to clarify and explore your concerns and best hopes.
HERE IS A LITTLE INFORMATION ABOUT THE INITIAL CONSULTATION MEETING
You will be asked questions to gain more clarity about the issues. Ideally, your child will be part of the initial consultation (and the teacher, if appropriate) so that concerns and issues can be jointly discussed and problem-solved.
Depending on what is discussed, the consultation may also include the completion of checklists/questionnaires and screening tests on areas of concern.
Consultation is about working together to help plan a positive way forward. By the end of the meeting, there should be clarity about your concerns, jointly agreed strategies/actions to address those concerns, and agreements on the purpose and nature of any further assessment/testing or intervention/therapeutic support that may be needed.
An initial consultation meeting, lasting up to 1¾ hours may be all that is needed to make a difference and help affect positive change.
Working in partnership with children, young people, young adults, parents, teachers and other professionals to help bring about positive changes.
ASSESSMENT AND TESTING
Following on from an initial consultation meeting, we may jointly agree that additional assessment or testing is needed to investigate issues further. The purpose and nature of these will be agreed upon during the initial consultation.
A wide range of psychological assessment tools, tests and techniques can be used to investigate learning needs (such as dyslexia and dyscalculia), and social, emotional and behavioural concerns (such as ADHD and ASD). This may include observation and questionnaires as well as testing. Occasionally, a more comprehensive assessment, called a Psycho-Educational assessment is needed; it all depends on the purpose and nature of any assessment/testing agreed during the initial consultation meeting.
INTERVENTION AND THERAPEUTIC SUPPORT
Following on from an initial consultation meeting or further assessment, we may jointly agree that intervention or therapeutic support is needed.
Specific direct intervention to individuals or groups of children, young people, young adults, and families, can help in overcoming barriers in behaviour and emotional wellbeing, or learning and access to learning. Examples of issues that may require intervention or therapeutic support include low self-esteem/self-concept, anxiety, depression, coping strategies, organisation skills and ADHD, understanding and managing behaviour, social skills and ASD. Different therapeutic approaches and techniques will be used, depending on the issues and situation.
Dr. Andrea Dennison is a British trained registered and chartered Educational Psychologist.
She has over nineteen years’ experience as a psychologist working with children and young people with a wide range of needs, alongside their families and teachers. Prior to this, Andrea was a qualified teacher for nine years, working in both mainstream and special education settings.
Andrea has worked with a wide range of needs, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), literacy difficulties and dyslexia, dyspraxia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, speech, language and communication needs, ADHD, emotional, social and behavioural needs, mental health and wellbeing issues, and more complex developmental disorders.
WHAT IS AN EDUCATIONAL PSYCHOLOGIST?
Educational Psychologists (EPs) may also sometimes be referred to as School Psychologists or Child Psychologists.
EPs are trained to work with children and young people of all ages, including young adults, mainly in educational settings. EPs work with children and young people who have challenges such as learning difficulties, social and emotional issues, disabilities, and developmental disorders such as autism. Work can either be direct with the person (such as identifying needs, assessment and testing, intervention and therapeutic work) or indirectly (such as consultation and intervention support with parents, teachers and other professionals). EPs focus not only on the child, but also the context they are in, and may therefore also be involved with training teachers and working with the school system; for instance, helping to develop a dyslexia-friendly environment or developing positive behaviour management practices.
TRAINING
You, your child’s teacher, or your child’s school may like to receive training on a variety of topics in relation to learning, development, wellbeing and behaviour. Any training can be tailor-made to suit the needs and issues.
Staff support/supervision and coaching on issues related to individual children, groups of children, teaching and learning, and organisational issues, can also be provided.
WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM ANDREA?
You can expect an approachable professional who very much believes in collaborative working as the best way to enable change. This is why any work with you will always start with an initial consultation meeting. Brief minutes from the initial consultation meeting will be handwritten and copied to you at the end of the meeting. A typed Record of Involvement can be provided on request, but this may incur an additional cost.
If further assessment/testing is needed, a typed report will be provided. For more comprehensive Psycho-Educational assessments, this report will be very detailed, and will be explained to you in a follow-up consultation meeting, typically within four weeks of the assessment.
Even if no formal assessment/testing is carried out, a follow-up consultation meeting can also be held to review jointly agreed actions from the initial consultation meeting, and to decide upon possible future actions. Typically, any follow-up consultation will be around four to twelve weeks after the initial consultation meeting. Brief minutes from this follow-up consultation meeting will be handwritten and copied at the end of the meeting.
For therapeutic intervention when working with children, particularly younger children, talking therapies are likely to be supplemented by the use of toys, drawings, activities and worksheets. No formal reports will be provided because of the confidential nature of therapy.
TIME AND COST
This will vary depending on the needs and issues. You will need to contact Andrea for information on the cost of an initial consultation meeting and the likely costs of any further assessment/testing or intervention/therapeutic support.
Check with your private health insurance provider to see if your policy covers consultation, assessment and therapeutic support.