Cleft Lip and Palate Psychology Service

This leaflet gives an overview of the Cleft Lip and Palate Clinical Psychology Service and how we can help. The service is here to talk through any cleft related concerns or difficulties you or your child may have and help find solutions.

What is this service?

The Cleft Lip and Palate Psychology Service works with people with cleft lip and/or palate or palate-related speech difficulties from non-cleft causes. The service provides psychological assessment and therapy to help children, families and adults to deal with any cleft related concerns or distress. Though you or your child may not feel the need to access this service right now, throughout life there may be times when having a cleft can feel challenging and cause worry or upset. This service is available from the point of diagnosis, when parents find out about their child’s cleft, right through the school years, and into adult life.

Who works in the team?

Clinical Psychologists have trained for many years to understand the different ways people develop, feel, think, and behave. They use this knowledge to support children, young people, adults, and their families with some of the challenges they may face by reducing distress and promoting psychological well-being.

Trainee Clinical Psychologists have a degree in psychology and are currently undergoing their doctoral training. They provide support indirectly during clinics or during one-to-one appointments with you and your child, while under the supervision of a Clinical Psychologist. 

Assistant Psychologists have a degree in psychology but have not yet started this training. They support the service under the supervision of the Clinical Psychologist in many other ways. They may be present at clinics to help identify patients and families who may need help with their on-going care.

How do we offer support?

We will be there at your routine appointments with the Cleft Lip and Palate Team. At these appointments we will have a brief check-in with you and ask how you are doing. If you or your child has a concern or an issue, we will discuss this with you and decide with you what to do next. We offer one-to-one appointments via telephone, video call and face-to-face. At these, we can discuss any difficulties you may be facing and ways to manage them. 

The first appointment will usually last between 60-90 minutes so that we can get a good idea of what would be best for you. This may be a one-off session, or we may arrange to have more appointments together so that we can best help you with your concerns or worries. Therapy sessions can vary from one appointment to the next, depending on the need of the individual. They may involve chatting about worries in a safe and private space or working together to develop coping strategies. Particularly with younger children, our appointments may involve some creative approaches, such as drawing and playing. Though some of the things we will discuss at appointments may be shared with other team members to help with your treatment, we will respect your wishes for things to remain private and confidential – unless there is a risk to yourself and/or others. We are also able to talk to school (with your permission) and any other organisations you may be involved with. This can be helpful when there are a lot of different people involved with your care.

Sometimes it may be more appropriate to see other services. If we think that your needs are better met by another service, we can help you access the right service for this support. Please note we are not able to provide support for young people or adults experiencing a mental health crisis. This support is provided by specialist child or adult community mental health services.

Things we might help with: 

• Anxiety, worries, or low mood relating to your cleft lip and/or palate
• Difficult feelings about the way you look or sound 
• Confidence and self-esteem difficulties
• Dealing with reactions and questions from other people including bullying
• Dealing with issues in school or work
• Routine assessment prior to certain treatments
• Helping prepare and cope with treatments 
• Making decisions about treatment 
• Helping parents adjust and manage difficult emotions around their child having a cleft lip and/or palate 
• Assessment of thinking skills

This list is a few examples of the different ways a Clinical Psychologist can help. You may never need to use this service, but if you or your child are having difficulties, this service is available and happy to help you. 

How do I access the service?

The Psychology service will check in with you and/or your child at different times throughout care, but you are welcome to contact the service at any time you feel you need support or have a query about how best to support your child. The service has an email address you can contact at [email protected] but this is only checked periodically. If you have concerns that you would like to discuss more promptly please contact the Cleft Service on 0113 392 5115 and ask for psychology.

For non-urgent mental health needs not related to cleft, please contact your GP to discuss your concerns. If you need urgent mental health support for yourself or your child, contact your local Single Point of Access. If you or your child is at risk of immediate harm or there is a threat to life, call 999 or attend your local A&E department. 

These websites have lots of helpful cleft information and support:

www.changingfaces.org

www.leedsth.nhs.uk/a-z-of-services/cleft-lip-and-palate-service/