For referrers
For GPs, schools and other clinicians
A page for people making referrals rather than seeking treatment. What I take on, what I do not, how a referral works and what you can expect to receive back.
What I treat
I am a clinical psychologist working exclusively with anxiety, OCD and closely related presentations, in adults, teenagers and children. The list is deliberately narrow.
| I treat | I do not treat |
|---|---|
| OCD across the age range, including intrusive thoughts with no overt compulsions | Anorexia, bulimia and binge eating disorder |
| Health anxiety, social anxiety, panic and agoraphobia, specific phobias | Tic disorders and Tourette syndrome, as a service in their own right |
| Generalised worry, separation anxiety and school refusal in children and teenagers | ADHD and autism assessment or diagnosis |
| Body dysmorphic disorder, skin picking and hair pulling | Psychosis, bipolar disorder and active substance dependence as primary presentations |
| ARFID, where restriction is driven by fear, sensory difficulty or low interest | Anything requiring prescribing — I am a psychologist and do not prescribe |
Co-occurring ADHD, autism, low mood and tics are common here and are not exclusions in themselves; they change how treatment is delivered. Where risk is significant and changing, or where someone needs a local team who can see them in person, I will say so at assessment rather than several months in. The full list is on the conditions page.
Registration and credentials
I am registered with the Health and Care Professions Council as a Clinical Psychologist (registration PYL043844) and chartered with the British Psychological Society. I am board certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology by the American Board of Professional Psychology, a credential requiring examination of submitted clinical work.
I completed my PhD in clinical psychology at the University of Washington, my pre-doctoral internship at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Harborview Medical Center, and a postdoctoral fellowship in child and adolescent anxiety at the Evidence-Based Treatment Centers of Seattle, where I went on to be Director of Training and Education and then Assistant Director of the Child Anxiety Center. I am a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington. I have worked in psychology since 2008 and have been a qualified clinical psychologist for over a decade. I hold professional indemnity insurance, as HCPC registration requires.
How to refer
With the person’s consent, email me at drdannycbt@proton.me with their name, age, contact details and a short summary of the difficulty and anything already tried. A formal letter is welcome but not necessary; a paragraph is enough. I will contact them to arrange a free 30-minute call.
Self-referral is equally fine. Adults and parents contact me directly all the time and no referral is needed. If it is easier to pass on my details than to write, please do that instead.
On waiting times
I keep a small caseload on purpose, because ERP works best delivered weekly and without gaps. That means my availability genuinely varies from month to month, and I would rather not publish a figure that will be wrong by the time you rely on it. Email or phone and I will tell you plainly what I have. If I cannot offer something within a sensible timeframe for the person in front of you, I will say so rather than add them to a list.
What you receive back
With written consent from the adult, or from parents in the case of a child, I send the referrer a short letter after the assessment: the formulation, the treatment plan, the anticipated number of sessions, and anything I think the referrer needs to know — including where I think medication merits a conversation, which is a matter for the prescriber. A brief end-of-treatment letter follows, with outcome and relapse prevention plan.
If consent to correspond is declined, I will not write, and I will tell you that consent was not given. Where risk is a concern I will make contact with the GP as a matter of course, and I say so to patients at the outset.
Working with schools
School is frequently where avoidance and compulsions are most visible and, entirely reasonably, most accommodated. With parental consent I am glad to speak to a SENCO, pastoral lead or head of year, and a twenty-minute conversation with the right person often makes more difference than a term of well-meant flexibility.
Practically, that usually involves two things. The first is a graded return plan where a pupil has stopped attending or is attending partially: a written sequence of steps that increases in small, agreed increments, with a named adult, a defined entry point and a clear rule about what happens on a bad morning. Full-time attendance is the destination rather than the starting requirement, and school, parents and pupil work from the same document.
The second is reviewing accommodations. Extra toilet passes, permission to redo work, unlimited access to a safe room, a teaching assistant answering the same reassurance question repeatedly, or being allowed to phone home are all kind responses that can quietly maintain the difficulty. I can set out in writing which supports to keep and which to taper, so staff are not left guessing whether being firm is being unkind.
Clinical supervision for clinicians and trainees
I offer clinical supervision to qualified clinicians and to trainees on CBT and ERP for OCD and anxiety across the age range, individually or in small groups, online. This is the work I have spent most of my career doing: I was Director of Training and Education at the Evidence-Based Treatment Centers of Seattle, and I am a Clinical Instructor at the University of Washington, where I train and supervise clinical psychology students.
Supervisees are usually psychologists, CBT therapists, mental health nurses and counsellors who want to deliver ERP with better fidelity — particularly with presentations that stall: mental compulsions, reassurance-seeking within families, co-occurring ADHD, or cases where exposure has been attempted and quietly diluted. Ongoing supervision, a one-off consultation on a stuck case, or a short block of teaching for a team are all possible. Email me and tell me what you need.
Contact
Email drdannycbt@proton.me or phone or WhatsApp 07455 827405. I work weekdays 9am to 9pm, online across the UK and in person near Ravenshead, Nottingham and Mansfield. Please do not send clinical detail by WhatsApp; a name and a request to call back is safer. For anything urgent, normal NHS urgent care routes apply — this is not a crisis service.
Common questions
How do I refer a patient or pupil?
Email drdannycbt@proton.me with the person’s name, age, contact details and a short summary of the difficulty, having first obtained their consent. A formal letter is welcome but not required. I will contact them directly to arrange a free 30-minute call. Families and adults can also self-refer without going through anyone.
What is the current waiting time?
I keep a deliberately small caseload so that people in treatment get weekly appointments when they need them, which means availability changes month to month. Rather than quote a figure that may be wrong by the time you read it, email me and I will tell you honestly what I have and when. If I cannot see someone within a reasonable timeframe I will say so rather than hold them on a list.
Will I receive any correspondence?
With the patient’s or family’s written consent I send the referrer a brief summary letter after the assessment, setting out the formulation, the treatment plan and the expected number of sessions, and a short letter at the end of treatment. If consent is declined I will not write, and I will tell you that consent was not given.
Do you see NHS patients or accept NHS contracts?
I work privately and through recognised private medical insurers. I am not commissioned by the NHS, so there is no NHS-funded route into my service, but I work alongside NHS colleagues where someone is under both.
Can you provide reports for EHCP or exam access arrangements?
I do not carry out educational or diagnostic assessments and do not write reports for that purpose. What I can provide, with consent, is a clinical summary of the anxiety or OCD presentation and specific recommendations about what will and will not help at school.
Related pages
Not sure whether this is the right fit?
Start with a free 30-minute call. We will talk through what is going on, I will tell you honestly whether I think I can help, and if I cannot I will try to point you to someone who can. There is no obligation and no charge.