Long-Term Conditions (LTC) Psychology Service

Who are we for?

Our team is for young people and their families who are under the care of a Consultant Paediatrician at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital for a long-term medical condition.

Outside of LTC, there are separate teams at the hospital for young people affected by cystic fibrosis, diabetes, cancer, functional symptoms and complications of excess weight.

Who is in our team?

Our team includes psychologists and trainee psychologists. A psychologist’s job is to help people (and sometimes groups, such as families or medical teams) with how they think and feel, and to work together through challenges. 

We also have an administrator who books appointments, keeps in touch with families and helps make everything run smoothly.

How might we help?

We understand that having a health issue can make life more complicated. We try to tailor support to suit the individual needs of the young person, family and other people who are important for supporting them. We will think with you about goals that we could help you work towards and anything else that could help you get the most out of our time together.

What sorts of things do we help with?

All young people and families that we see are unique, with areas that are going well and areas that feel hard.

Here are some topics that come up quite a lot for young people we support:

• Distress linked to a diagnosis or treatment, e.g. low mood, anxiety, worries, anger, body image concerns, self-esteem or painful memories.
• Struggling to cope with things they have been told to do to manage their condition.
• Fear or anxiety about needles, having medication or other parts of medical care.
• Issues accessing or getting the most out of education, hobbies, family relationships and social life.
• Difficulties with life transitions whilst managing health concerns.

Graphic of someone choosing which path to follow

Types of support we can offer

• Short-medium term one-to-one therapy (approximately 6-8 sessions) for the young person (sometimes with their parent/carer).
• Psychoeducation: thinking together about how the mind and body link together and using this to identify coping skills.
• Psychological assessments to try and make sense of what keeps a difficulty going.
• Group therapies or workshops for young people and/or their families.
• Working with other professionals (e.g. medical team, social care) to help them help you.

What to expect from your first appointment

We will send families a form to fill out before meeting us- please bring it along. You may wish to note down any questions that you have for us, or information you think is helpful for us to know.

We’ll ask young people about their interests, hopes for the future, as well as about aspects of living with a health condition that are going well, and the tricky areas.

Get in touch if there’s anything you would like us to know beforehand, or if you have any access needs (e.g. interpreter, wheelchair accessible room). 

After the appointment, we will talk with our team about whether we think we can help. We will write you a letter which summarises our conversation and agreed plan.

Where are we?

Our team is based in the main outpatient department at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital (The Alex) in Brighton. Information about parking and a map can be found on the website: The Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital

Team members

Dr Meg Macmillan – Senior Clinical Psychologist (East & West Sussex)

Dr Mike Wilding – Senior Clinical Psychologist (Brighton & Hove)

Dr Emogen Campbell – Clinical Psychologist (Brighton & Hove)

Dr Emma Adams – Clinical Psychologist (Brighton & Hove)

Lenka Haluskova – Administrator