Clinical psychology
The cleft clinical psychology service provides emotional and
psychological support to patients who were born with a cleft lip
and/or palate, and their families. There is support available from
the cleft psychologists at any stage of life, whether you are a
child, young person or adult, expecting a baby with a cleft, or
whether you are supporting someone along the cleft journey.
Working as part of your healthcare team
Clinical psychologists are part of the cleft lip and palate
team. We work closely with other healthcare professionals within
the team and the wider hospital, as well as mental health
professionals, social care and nurseries, schools and colleges
across the South West region.
The core team is based in the regional headquarters in the
Bristol Dental Hospital and includes a consultant clinical
csychologist, specialist clinical psychologist and an assistant
psychologist. However, we also have a number of 'link' cleft
psychologists who provide outreach services across the whole of the
South West region who will be able to provide support in your
locality.
How we support you
Clinical psychologists are involved with patients and families
from the first time they attend an appointment with the cleft lip
and palate service. This means we are involved throughout the cleft
pathway, from diagnosis onwards, and are on hand to provide advice
and support whenever it is required.
Our main role is to provide psychological and emotional support
to patients (child or adult) and their parents and families. We
attend multi-disciplinary Cleft Review and Audit clinics (at 5, 10,
15 and 20 years of age) with other members of the cleft team. We
provide a routine appointment for all children born with a
cleft palate around the age of three. We also offer
individual support for patients and/or their families for any
cleft-related concerns, including:
- Coming to terms with a diagnosis
- Education and information regarding the cleft and
associated conditions
- How to talk about the cleft and what to say to friends and
family
- Dealing with the attitudes of others, including potential
teasing or bullying
- Preparing for surgery, dental treatment, or any other
procedure
- Behaviour management, e.g. feeding, sleeping, toileting, anger
difficulties
- Support around decision-making with regards to elective
treatment
- Low mood or anxiety in relation to the cleft
- Building confidence, self-esteem and social skills
- Concerns about appearance and body image
- Concerns about development, learning and education
- Preparing for change, e.g. change of school/college, moving
house, surgery, relationships
We conduct thorough psychological assessments and work in
collaboration with patients and families to establish goals for
treatment. We use a range of evidence-based psychological
approaches, such as Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Acceptance
& Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and
Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR). When working with young people,
our appointments might include talking, drawing, playing, games and
puzzles. Appointments tend to take place at the hospital where you
attend cleft clinics, although we also visit homes, nurseries,
schools and colleges across the region.
We also attend Cleft Coffee Mornings along with the cleft nurses
and speech and language therapists so that new parents can meet
others and ask questions in a relaxed and informal environment. We
continue to provide support to parents and children as they move
from primary to secondary school through group work held in
activity centres throughout the region.
In addition, cleft psychologists carry out service evaluations
in order to improve our service, as well as research into the
psychological and emotional impact of being born with a cleft.
How to access our service
The clinical psychology team attend cleft clinic appointments to
help us identify the patients and families who may benefit from
additional psychological support. Referrals are also made from
other healthcare professionals within the team, with your consent.
Patients and families can also self-refer by speaking to one of the
cleft team or calling the main number and asking to speak to a
psychologist.
We are happy to chat with you on the telephone initially to
discuss how we can help. It doesn't have to be a big problem before
you contact us. We recognise it may be hard for many people to
request a referral to the psychology team, but we are aware of the
challenges being born with a cleft may present, and we are here to
provide advice, expertise and support to help you along the way.
Please do not hesitate to contact us should you have any questions
about how we may be able to help.
A Child's Guide to Alveolar Bone Graft (ABG)
