Psychology service
Neurofibromatosis
We support people aged 16 or over whose neurofibromatosis (NF) or schwannomatosis is affecting their mood or quality of life.
Having a condition like NF or schwannomatosis can affect you and your family in lots of different ways, including:
- feeling worried, angry, stressed or sad about your condition
- worrying about the future
- struggling to cope with changes in your appearance
- pain or tiredness affecting what you can do each day
We offer one-to-one talking therapy with a psychologist to help with difficult feelings, and help you manage living with these conditions.
We also run group sessions. The groups are designed to:
- give you information about the condition
- help you learn ways of managing different symptoms
- give you a chance to meet others
If you would like to be referred to an NF psychologist, please talk to your NF doctor or nurse.
During your appointment
At your first appointment you'll meet a psychologist. They can help you to think differently about problems and to try new coping strategies.
Psychologists are trained to use talking therapies. They're registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC).
Psychologists are not medical doctors. They do not prescribe medicines.
They'll ask questions about:
- how you are
- how you are coping
- what you are hoping to have help with
Your appointment will last up to 1 hour.
At the end of your appointment they'll agree a plan with you. This might include having regular one-to-one or group sessions.
People get the most help from talking to a psychologist regularly, every few weeks. Your appointments can be:
This service is to help you if your NF is having an effect on your mood. If there are other things you would like support with, we can help find other services for you.
Sharing what we talk about
It is often useful to share some information with the NF team. This is so we can support your physical and mental health as best as possible.
You can always ask us to keep certain things confidential.
If we are ever worried that you or someone that you know is at risk or unsafe then we have a duty to tell other professionals.
We'll explain how we record and share information about you in more detail at your first appointment.
