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What we do

The Paediatric Clinical psychology service at CYPOD, is a specialised mental health service for children and young people who are experiencing emotional, behavioural and psychological problems specifically linked to their physical health needs.

We provide short-term, intensive and highly specialised psychological support for children and young people experiencing significant psychological distress in relation to health difficulties or physical symptoms. Significant means that the distress is impacting on several areas of their lives; for example at home, at school/college, and in their wider social life.

We typically run individual sessions in the Children and Young People's Outpatient Department (CYPOD) based on Level 12, Derriford hospital. However, we can also provide video appointments if this better suits you/your child's needs.  This will be discussed with you during your initial contact with the team.

Some of the areas we may support include:

• adherence concerns (not taking medication, ability to comply with prescribed treatment)
• struggling with a new diagnosis (after a period of normal adjustment, no less than three months)
• concerns about medical procedures (when this has a significant impact on management of medical condition)
• chronic/complex pain
• difficulty to engage in everyday activities due to physical health

The team also offer a Mindfulness group for children and young people who also experience anxiety and low mood. This provides tools and strategies to helps them to notice and manage their difficulties independently in a variety of settings.

We also provide a Tree of Life Group for our transitioning Yr6/7's with Diabetes. Please see more information about this group here.

How to access support

Our referrals come from members of the Paediatric service; these could be Consultant Paediatricians, other specialist consultants or specialist nurses. We do not accept referrals directly from families or from GPs so if you have a concern that you think we can help with, please speak to the clinician holding your care in the first instance.

We also have some specific Psychologists who work as part of an multidisciplinary team including Diabetes, Oncology, Cleft and Cystic Fibrosis.

Resources

We have created several resources which you might find helpful here:

Signposting Padlet www.CDCgo.link/services    – regularly updated and has links to a variety of resources and support services including: crisis numbers, parenting, teenagers, self-harm, financial and housing, bullying, gender and sexuality, siblings, young carers, mental health services, sleep, screens, internet and media, continence, domestic abuse, school refusal, parental conflict/separation, bereavement, neurodiversity, Tourette’s/tics, leisure and wellbeing, sensory processing, service families, dieting and eating, self-esteem, counselling

Anxiety Padlet www.CDCgo.link/anxiety - regularly updated with helpful videos, book recommendations and resources about anxiety

Self-Harm resources www.CDCgo.link/Harm - regularly updated with book and app recommendations and links to free online group for young people, crisis numbers

Coming to Hospital   - for the parents of children who are coming to Derriford Hospital for an outpatient appointment or inpatient stay. It provides practical information about services and support available. Click here

Preparing for a proceedure - for the parents of children who need to have an operation or medical procedure. It provides tips and resources for how to prepare them and keep them relaxed during their procedure. Click here

Mindfulness - find out what mindfulness is and how you can practise it in your everyday life. Click here