FAQs

If you are self-funding or funded by your health insurance, you are able to pick up the phone and refer yourself to Beacon House. We do not need a GP referral. If our service is going to be funded by a third party (e.g. Your local CCG, Social Care, Education or Health) then a professional is asked to complete our referral form in the first instance.

Beacon House is highly committed to safeguarding and protecting everyone who comes into contact with our team. Please visit our policies page for our Safeguarding Policy, and we also have a robust safer recruitment policy in place. Our therapists are all highly trained, and closely supervised to ensure safe, high quality clinical practice.

Beacon House has a robust data protection policy, and you can read our Privacy Policy here. We are highly committed to protecting your data and we will not share your personal information with anyone, unless there is a concern about risk or safeguarding that means we need to over-ride your right to confidentiality.

You can find our Concerns, Compliments and Complaints policy here.

We very much welcome your feedback. You can either complete our online feedback form here, or if you are coming to our clinics, you can fill out a feedback card and post it in our comments box in the waiting room. If you have had therapy with us, you will be asked to complete a feedback form at the end where you can share compliments and any ideas for how we can improve. Alternatively, you are welcome to email us with feedback and your message will be passed to someone in our leadership team.

Our fees for therapy are £120 per fifty minute appointment for individuals who are self-funding. Unfortunately, we are not able to offer reduced fees. Therapy is usually weekly at the same time and day each week. The length of therapy will depend on what is needed, and this will be discussed with your therapist. Costs for Local Authority, Adoption Support Fund, School or CCG funded therapy are estimated differently, please contact us for more information.

We have different types of assessments available, depending on the complexity of your needs. Please get in touch with us for more information about what assessment would be suitable for you.

For individuals who are self-funding, you will be asked to pay 48 hours prior to each appointment via our website pre-pay page, over the telephone or via BACS. The fee for your initial assessment will be taken when you book in the time and date. If your therapy here is funded by your medical insurance, we will invoice them directly.

Yes, we are committed to ensuring that all people who would like to come to Beacon House can do so, regardless of physical disability. Our Chichester clinic is on the ground floor with wheelchair access, and our Cuckfield clinic has a lift. If you would like to discuss your physical needs before visiting us for the first time, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us.

It is very natural for individuals coming for the first time to feel anxious and apprehensive. Our clients tell us that they worry about what it will be like, and what they will be asked. At Beacon House, we work very hard to make your first visit as comfortable and smooth as possible. You will be welcomed by a friendly face, and will be offered tea and coffee (and snacks for young people) before your appointment starts. The first appointment is a chance to get to know you and the difficulties that you are bringing, and we very much take things at your pace. Our clients tell us that they find our therapists and the atmosphere here at Beacon House friendly, relaxed, non-judgemental and safe. We have tried to make our clinics ‘home-from-home’, and if you need anything to help reduce your anxiety for the first visit, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

Yes, absolutely! You are very welcome to bring someone with you to your first appointment to support you.

We have clinics in Cuckfield and Chichester, West Sussex. We do not have clinics in other locations.

We have a two week cancellation policy, which means that any appointments cancelled within two weeks’ of the date, regardless of the reason, will be charged at the full rate. This is to ensure a mutual commitment between you as the client and the therapist.

For individuals who are funded via insurance or are self-funding, we do not have a catchment area, but we do strongly advise that you live within an hour’s travel from us to engage in weekly therapy. For children and families accessing the Adoption Support Fund, we ask that the child lives within Sussex to access Beacon House.

All bookings for our online training can be made on our training page here. Any enquiries can be emailed to [email protected]

Please email [email protected] or [email protected] and they will send you the link to sign up to our mailing list where you will be the first to hear about brand new resources and training.

No, we are not able to diagnose Autism or ADHD.

No, you are very welcome to take some time to think about the therapy recommendations and if you choose not to start therapy with us after your assessment, that is okay.

Beacon House is open Monday to Friday, 9am – 5pm. We are not able to offer a crisis service in between your appointments. If you are in crisis, please contact your GP or visit A&E.

No, we do not have a psychiatrist in our team.

No, we cannot prescribe or advise on medication.

Our experience has taught us that therapy is often ineffective for children who are in private care proceedings, and where the relationship between the parents is highly acrimonious. We tend to recommend other support before therapy can be effectively offered.

No, we are not able to offer inpatient services.

When we receive a referral, our clinical team carefully match your needs with the most suitable therapist in the team. It is not possible for you to choose your therapist, but we are always keen to know if you have certain preferences such as their gender or a particular therapeutic approach.

Yes, we can offer therapy online via Zoom in some circumstances, if we feel you are safe enough and able to benefit from online working. We have a strong preference for the initial assessment to be face to face, after which we can decide with you whether online therapy would be suitable. Our costs are the same for online therapy.

In special circumstances, if your local NHS service has concluded that they are not able to meet your complex needs, then Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s) agree to fund services with Beacon House. Individuals would need to approach us when CCG funding has been agreed in principle.

Yes, we have plenty of free parking at both our clinics.

We understand that animals can be therapeutic and that people are comforted by having their pet nearby. Unfortunately, we do not allow clients to bring their own pets to therapy. We do however allow fully accredited, insured assistance dogs. Please get in touch with us before your first visit so that we can talk with you about next steps.