Providing specialist psychological
therapy, consultancy and training
We believe that with the right support, people can achieve great things. Our interpretation
of the word 'citadel' focusses
on the historic association
between safety and strength.
These key concepts inform all
of the services that we provide.
THERAPY
As a naval term, the citadel of a ship is literally the
"safe room".
We provide a safe and confidential space for people to explore their difficulties with a qualified and experienced doctor of clinical psychology.
Providing evidence-based, compassionate psychological therapy can help people to regain their strength and achieve their goals.
CONSULTANCY
The citadel is considered the strongest part of a community or system.
We provide expert consultancy to help organisations realise their potential and enable them to continue to deliver strong and effective leadership.
We also provide individual
consultancy and clinical supervision to help people
to remain strong and resilient whilst working in
challenging roles.
TRAINING
Remaining strong and effective often requires the acquisition of new skills.
We provide tailored training to universities, businesses and individuals designed to increase knowledge and deliver a competitive advantage.
Training packages cover a wide range of topics and with our extensive access to partners and collaborators, we can design a training product that works for you.
THERAPY
What is psychological therapy?
Psychological therapy, counselling, psychotherapy and psychoanalysis are all terms that are often used interchangeably in everyday language. Although these specific approaches may differ, they broadly fall under
the umbrella term of “talking treatments” and have a long tradition of successfully helping people to make sense
of and to overcome a whole range of difficulties.
For more information, visit the Mind website for online and downloadable booklets on the main
"talking treatment" approaches.
How can psychological therapy help?
Psychological therapy has been proven to help people and is a recommended treatment by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for a wide range of problems including specific mental health difficulties
such as depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and psychosis. People often access psychological therapy however for many of life's problems including sadness, coping with a traumatic event (e.g., bereavement, job loss), stress, relationship difficulties, coping with a long-term physical health condition or trying to change a particular behaviour (e.g., smoking, losing weight).
Talking to a clinical psychologist who is skilled and experienced in providing psychological therapy for a range of problems can give you the time and space to explore your thoughts and feelings with the aim of helping you to improve your quality of life. We can consider together how you would like your life to look and work towards specific goals that you may have.
For more information on the types of difficulties that psychological therapy can help with, visit the Mind website
for online and downloadable booklets.
Who are clinical psychologists?
Clinical psychologists aim to reduce psychological distress and enhance and promote psychological well-being.
They work largely in health and social care settings including hospitals, health centres, mental health teams and social services. They also work privately providing a range of expert services, including individual psychological therapy.
Every day clinical psychologists help a wide range of people of all ages with all sorts of problems. They use
approaches and techniques which research studies have shown to be effective.
What training do clinical psychologists have?
Clinical psychologists typically have a degree in psychology plus an additional three to five years of postgraduate experience and university training in applying the science of psychology to clinical problems. It therefore takes
six to eight years to qualify as a clinical psychologist, and the qualification obtained is a doctorate in clinical psychology.
What happens during a therapy session?
At your first appointment, you will be able to talk about your situation in detail and ask any questions that you may
have. At the end of the appointment, you and the psychologist will discuss your options and plan the next steps.
If you decide together that you would like to continue with the sessions, the psychologist will discuss appointment options with you and your subsequent sessions will take place regularly (e.g. weekly). Within your sessions, you will be able to talk about your experiences with the psychologist and discuss potential new ways of managing your situation.
After your first appointment, you may decide not to have any further sessions or the psychologist may suggest a more appropriate service for you. We have access to a range of additional services and professionals and so your psychologist will refer you on if possible.
Are my therapy sessions confidential?
We take the issue of confidentiality very seriously and the psychology sessions are private. If your psychologist is concerned about the risk of harm to you or to others then they are legally obliged to share this information with relevant professionals. However, they would attempt to discuss this with you first. The process of information sharing will be discussed with you in more detail at your first appointment.
How much does therapy cost?
The cost of individual psychological therapy is £140 per 50 minute session.
Who will be my clinical psychologist?
Our clinical director and principal clinical psychologist is Dr Daniel O’Toole. Danny has over 15 years experience working in the NHS and has also worked in the private and voluntary sectors.
As a clinical psychologist, he has worked with patients experiencing a wide variety of emotional and psychological difficulties including complex trauma, depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), substance use, psychosis, addiction, stopping smoking, suicidality, loss and bereavement, relationship problems and weight issues.
Danny has a passion for working with people who are experiencing psychological distress as a result of physical health problems (including illnesses such as lung disease, cancer, diabetes and heart disease) and specialises in this area in his NHS role.
Danny takes a compassionate and person-centred approach to his therapeutic work and is able to draw on a range
of evidence-based approaches such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focussed Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Mindfulness, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and psychodynamic psychotherapy.
What qualifications does my psychologist have?
Dr O'Toole is registered with the British Psychological Society (BPS) as a chartered psychologist. He is also registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) which is the main regulatory body in the UK which legally allows psychologists to practice.
Dr O'Toole holds the following qualifications:
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsychol)
Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Health Psychology
Graduate Diploma in Psychology
BA (Hons) Human Resource Management
Certificate in Community Mental Health
Visit the Contact page to enquire about therapy appointment availability
CONSULTANCY
Organisational consultation
Business organisations are constantly faced with complex problems that require thoughtful and effective solutions.
As a discipline, psychology is tasked with providing greater understanding of some of the most complex problems that face society. Having a more sophisticated understanding of tough problems enable solutions and interventions to be more targeted and effective.
Psychology has a long tradition of building trusting relationships with business organisations in order to better understand and help to solve the important problems that they face. Combining psychological understanding and expertise alongside systematic and bespoke strategic solutions; psychology-driven consultation can help organisations to succeed and deliver genuine competitive advantage.
Our clinical director is both a qualified Doctor of Clinical Psychology and a HR professional with an honours degree in Human Resource Management. He gained membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) through the provision of specialist consultation and training to public, private and voluntary sector organisations.
He has experience of providing consultation to both individuals and groups at senior positions within organisations. Psychology-driven consultation approaches have been used to help in a wide variety of situations including: organisational behaviour change; developing and retaining a high performing workforce; reputation enhancement; effective and impactful communication; understanding consumer behaviour; improving consumer/patient experience; effective team management; conflict resolution; and effective decision making.
Visit the Contact page to enquire about consultation availability.
Clinical supervision
Our clinical director is a qualified clinical supervisor and has comprehensive experience of providing supervision
to a range of healthcare professionals including psychologists (assistant, trainee and qualified), cognitive behavioural therapists, nurses, physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
He takes a compassionate and curious approach within supervision and his practice is informed by the work of Bridgid Proctor whereby supervision pays close attention to normative, formative and restorative functions.
Visit the Contact page to enquire about clinical supervision availability.
TRAINING
Academic institutions
Our clinical director has extensive experience of teaching and lecturing, having contributed to a wide range of academic programmes of study in the UK. Many of the universities where he has lectured have World-class reputations, consistently scoring highly in the Times Higher Education World University Rankings and include Imperial College London and University College London.
His main areas of interest are undergraduate and postgraduate medical training programmes and doctoral training programmes in both clinical and counselling psychology.
Visit the Contact page to enquire about training availability.
Business organisations
Our clinical director is a qualified HR professional with an honours degree in Human Resource Management.
He gained membership of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) through the provision
of specialist training and consultancy to public, private and voluntary sector organisations and remains committed
to the belief that psychologically informed training can provide both a competitive advantage and enhance
the well-being of employees.
Training packages have included a focus on resilience and wellbeing, stress reduction and management, diversity,
effective communication, inclusion, leadership and managing successful teams.
Visit the Contact page to enquire about training availability.
