Taking the first step: What do you do?

I hear so often, from friends and clients, of the big gap between deciding to contact a psychologist and actually making the call to arrange the appointment. This can be such a stressful period for parents and teenagers alike.

What do I look for?

What are all these specialties?

How do I contact them?

What do I say?

What if they don’t answer?

Realising that you, your child need help is a great first step! A lot of people take on the pressure of thinking they can handle it all on their own, and do not seek for support. I am here to say that there are people, like myself, who have been trained in helping families with problems like yours! I can assure you, there are so many people out here waiting to guide or give you a helping hand to ease the load!

So what to look for?

School-educational psychologists have been trained in child psychopathology and development. What that means is that we can work with children and teenagers in problems including anxiety, anger, fears, dealing with challenging situations such as divorce, grief, or teaching new skills in situations where they need it, such as social skills or boosting their resilience and confidence. Clinical and counselling psychologists can also be trained in working with children, but have also been effectively trained in working with adults also.

How do I find someone?

There are so many of us out there, so I understand the confusion in this regard. I must highlight how important it is to work with a licensed psychologist! This means that we have done our training and are approved by the counsil of registration of psychologists in Cyprus, and by the organisation of psychologists in Cyprus. A useful place to look for licensed psychologists is here.

How do you contact us?

Of course I cannot speak for my colleagues as each of us has our own contact details and procedures.

As for myself, you can call me directly, and tell me what your concerns are. If I can help you, we can arrange a meeting together to discuss this in more detail and create a plan going forward! If the problem you are facing is one outside my area of expertise, I will give you the contact details of colleagues who are specialised in helping situations such as yourself! This may include other psychologist specialties (such as clinical or counselling psychologists), it may include speech therapists, occupational therapists, or special education teachers.

If I cannot answer the phone, you will receive a text from me saying I will call you back at a later time as I cannot talk at that time.

If a phone call is not something you feel comfortable doing, you can email me and give me a few details of your concerns. Once I have received your email and read it, I will reply on whether I can help and how, or if I will need more information so we could arrange a phone call or a session together, or if I will refer you to a colleague.

You can also contact me through my contact page or facebook page in a similar way as email! Either way, you will get an answer from me within the day!

I hope this information has been useful and eased your mind in making the first step!