We offer a range of treatments. Our favourites include:

• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
• Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT)
• Mindfulness
• Person Centred Counselling
• Systemic Approaches
• Integrated Psychological Therapy

Whilst Verdure Psychology plans to take on additional Clinical Psychologists in the future, currently all assessment and therapy is being provided by Dr Jenkinson, Director of Verdure Psychology Ltd.

Verdure Psychology offers an online service to clients nationwide (UK). We are also see clients in person in Heslington and in York city centre.

Heslington Clinic: Innovation Centre, Innovation Way, Heslington. YO10 5DG.

City Centre clinic: 66 Bootham, York. YO30 7BZ.

When you click the green button below to request an initial consultation, you’ll be asked to provide some basic information. We’ll aim to review this within 48 hours and, if we feel we can help, we’ll offer you a free, no-obligation telephone call (typically lasting around 15 minutes). The call is an opportunity for us to get to know each other a little, to find out more about what you’re looking for, and to discuss the option of us working together.

There are occasions when we do not feel well placed to offer support (for example, if a person describes struggling with an issue or condition we are not experienced in treating, such as Substance Use Disorders). In this eventuality, we will let you know this via email and, if we can, we’ll explain our rationale. However, we do not currently have the resources to provide detailed information about our decision-making process and, regretfully, we are also unable to offer specific advice or recommendations to people we haven’t assessed (as we can’t tell what’s going to help until we’ve gotten to know someone and made sense of things together).

The initial call is an expression of interest only and does not commit you to working with us.

All clients of Verdure Psychology work with a Clinical Psychologist. Unlike terms such as ‘Therapist’, ‘Psychologist’, ‘Coach’ and ‘Counsellor’, the term ‘Clinical Psychologist’ is a protected title (which means it would be  a criminal offence for someone to use it without being qualified to do so). As such, Clinical psychologists are required to register with the professional regulatory body (HCPC) upon completion of the Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy).

Competition for places on the doctorate is highly competitive and typically requires years of clinical experience and academic success before applying. Only a small proportion of applicants are successful each year. Therefore, when you work with Verdure Psychology, you can be reassured that you will be working with a professional with high-level skills that have been homed through years of clinical practice. Clinical Psychologists have vast experience of assessing and treating people of different backgrounds. They are experienced in working with people with a broad range of presenting issues across varied clinical settings (such as community clinics, hospitals, inpatients units and outreach services). As therapists, clinical psychologists are trained in multiple different approaches & evidence-based interventions. This means they can suggest the treatment most suited to the individual (as opposed to the one-size-fits-all approach offered by therapists who are only trained in one model). Clinical Psychologists can also combine approaches: integrating the most helpful aspects of different models to develop a bespoke treatment plan that works for the person.

Through the process of psychological assessment and formulation, your therapist will get to know you (and your strengths and resources as well as your areas of difficulty). With a compassionate and caring approach, your therapist will guide you through this process: asking questions and cultivating a shared understanding of the things you’re finding difficult. Although searching for a single cause is often not the best use of time (because it’s rarely that simple), your therapist will be curious about your past experiences and factors that may be influencing you in the present. However, most of the process will have a here-and-now focus and your therapist will want to try to step into your shoes, listen to you, and help you make sense of what is keeping you from achieving your goals. 

This is a process known as formulation and typically includes biological, psychological and social factors. Formulation often leads to a diagram being sketched so this shared process of meaning-making can be captured in visual form . This enables you to agree with your therapist which aspect(s) to target and how. Occasionally, the formulation may suggest a specific treatment or approach that is not currently offered by Verdure Psychology. In this scenario your therapist will work with you to think about how to access this treatment (if you agree it would be helpful to do so). 

We pride ourselves on our formulation skills and, investing in the assessment and formulation process usually provides a lot of value for clients, even in the rare cases where Verdure Psychology does not feel best placed to deliver the treatment. This is because you will get a comprehensive formulation that other professionals/services can use to guide treatment. It’s a bit like an X-Ray! 

Verdure Psychology works with young people (aged 16+) and adults in the UK who are experiencing any of the following:

• Low self-esteem / self-worth
• Confidence issues
• Anxiety difficulties / fear
• Low mood / depression
• Eating difficulties/ Binge Eating Disorder/Bulimia Nervosa
• Feeling lost / lacking a sense of identity or purpose
• Difficult thoughts, feelings or behaviour
• Stress / frustration
• Self-criticism
• Shame
• Emotional numbness
• Feeling disconnected
• Body image issues
• Interpersonal difficulties
• Lack of resilience
• Loneliness
• Difficulties adjusting to a stressful event or change in a person’s life 

We are unable to offer online-only work to people who are experiencing significant risk issues (such as those at risk of suicide). This is because treating people with these types of difficulties requires the therapy to be balanced with robust risk assessment and management. Although different practitioners have varying opinions about this, based on our clinical experience, we feel certain sources of information vital in assessing significant risk (such as non-verbal communication) are more comprehensively gathered in person rather than virtually. We recommend people with severe mental health issues and/or risk issues seek advice from their GP about the options available to them in their local area. Information about how to access support for people in crisis can be found here.

All our treatments rely heavily on consent and we would never provide intervention to someone who did not want it. We would not work with someone who was being pressured or coerced to seek therapy (or those who, for whatever reason, are unable to provide informed consent for the therapy).

Sometimes ethical dilemmas present themselves which means the therapist has to think with the person about sharing information with others. For example, someone may not consent to information being shared but describe significant risk issues (such as drug/alcohol misuse, abuse, suicidal ideation or potential life-threatening conditions such as eating disorders).

At Verdure Psychology, we believe there’s a difference between privacy and secrecy. We always respect individuals’ right to privacy and we want the confidential therapeutic space to feel safe so the person can speak openly knowing they won’t be judged or criticised. However, it would not be ethical for to keep secrets if we assess that withholding this information would present a significant risk to the person or someone they know. These dilemmas would be discussed with the person if they arise and a collaborative decision would always be our first choice (such as the person passing the information on themselves or taking independent action to reduce the risk). We pride ourselves on transparency and so, before signing up with Verdure Psychology, we want you to know that there are rare occasions when therapists need to share information without consent (such as submitting a safeguarding referral to the local authority if we considered a young person to be at risk of harm). Confidentiality is of vital importance to us but the safety of the people we work with is always our first priority.

Young People (16+)

Verdure Psychology recognises the importance of involving parents/carers in the process of assessment and therapy. Even when there’s tension in relationships, significant others can often provide helpful insights and support (and, where helpful, we can consider providing coaching for parents in order to facilitate this).

Including parents at certain points during the therapy process often enables them to understand their child’s difficulties in more depth, enhances communication, and facilitates parents to find new ways to support them (enhancing the effectiveness of the therapy). However, like adults, young people (aged 16 or 17) are presumed to have sufficient capacity to make their own decisions about therapy, unless there’s significant evidence to suggest otherwise. Under UK law, this means the extent to which significant others are invited to participate in the therapeutic process is typically entirely up to the young person to decide.

Adults

We have experience working with adults across the life span. Therapy is usually conducted on a 1:1 basis but, at the person’s request, we can consider involving significant others where it is felt to be helpful.

Please see our privacy policy for full details.

We work with self-funded clients and those who are registered with selected insurance companies (including BUPA, WPA, Aviva, AXA and Vitality Health).

Fees for self-paying clients:

Initial assessment: £150 (90 minutes)

All types of therapy: £120 (60 minutes)

Insurance Companies

Before requesting an initial consultation with us, it is advisable to check that your policy covers mental health treatment, as well as confirming if you will be liable for any excess amounts (or co-payments) under your policy. 

Cancellation Policy

If you need to cancel an appointment, please notify us as soon as possible. If we receive notification more than 24 hours before the appointment time, we will usually be able to reschedule this at no extra charge. However, if you cancel an appointment with less than 24 hours notice, or do not attend the appointment, 50% of the fee will be payable.

Booking Appointments

For self-funded clients, payment is due at the time of booking. Verdure Psychology uses Stripe (https://stripe.com/docs/security) for processing direct online payments, ensuring the highest level of security for your transactions. Stripe is a certified PCI Service Provider Level 1. This is the most stringent level of certification available in the payments industry. To accomplish this, Stripe use the best-in-class security tools and practices to maintain a high level of security.

See our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions for further details.