Appointments

How to get an appointment

We see people who are having or have had their main treatment at Guy's Cancer. 

We can see you:

• 1 year from end of treatment for our 1-to-1 therapies
• 5 years from end of treatment for our group therapy programmes and specialist psychosexual service

Please contact us to self-refer or ask your health professional to refer you.

Before your appointment

We will call you to talk about your needs before booking an assessment appointment. This phone call is with an assistant psychologist.

Sometimes another service might be more useful to you. We will help you get this instead. Or you may find that you do not want to use our service at this point.

We're a team specialising in psychological therapies for cancer. We offer different approaches depending on your needs.

We also have psychiatry support available.

It is also useful for us to know about any other services involved in your care.

Your first appointment for individual, couple and family therapy

Your first appointment can take place face-to-face, by telephone or video. It will help us together decide the best focus and approach for you. This is called an assessment.

The assessment usually takes place over 1 or 2 sessions lasting 50 minutes. Sometimes it can take longer than this, or might be all you need. We see individuals, couples and families depending on the type of therapy and what is useful.

Your therapy sessions

We may offer a course of up to 8 sessions of psychological therapy. This can be extended by us. Sessions may be with a different member of the team than the assessment appointment. We’ll match you with the best approach for your needs.

The time between appointments depends on:

• your choice and needs
• appointment availability
• practical factors, such as your treatment and health

If we are seeing you as an outpatient and you get admitted to hospital, we may be able to see you during your stay. This depends on your needs and our availability.

We are a teaching hospital and may ask you if a student or trainee can sit in on your therapy sessions. It will not affect your care if you say no.

We may speak with the medical team treating you to help make sure your needs are being met. We’ll only do this with your permission.

After your appointment

We'll make sure your next psychological therapy session is booked before you leave.

We add short notes about your treatment to your medical record.

We do not share anything confidential unless it is to keep you or someone else safe.