Nottinghamshire
In person in Nottingham, Mansfield and across Nottinghamshire: usually in your own home
I can see adults, teenagers and children in person at my office in Ravenshead, but more often, where the logistics work out, I can meet in your own home anywhere in Nottinghamshire, because home is usually where the OCD or anxiety shows up. Sessions by video are available anywhere in the UK.
Sessions in your own home
OCD and anxiety are tied to places. The washing happens at your own sink, the checking at your own front door and hob, the reassurance questions at bedtime in your child’s room, and the panic on the drive to a particular junction. Treatment works by practising in those situations without the compulsion or the avoidance, and practice done where the problem actually happens counts for more than practice in a consulting room, because the learning does not then have to be carried home. So, where the logistics work out, I come to you. A session at home might mean touching the things in your own kitchen that you have been avoiding, locking your own front door once and driving off, or being in the room with a parent while the bedtime questions start, so that the new way of responding is practised where it will be used. Not every session needs to be at home, and most courses mix home sessions with video, which can do some of the same job, because you take the laptop to the bathroom or the front door and the practice happens there. We agree on the free call whether home sessions would help, and how often.
Home sessions within a 20-minute drive of Ravenshead carry no travel charge. Beyond that there is a £30 travel fee per session, on top of the session fee. For a child or teenager’s session at home, a parent or carer needs to be in the house for the whole session.
What I treat
I treat obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and anxiety problems only, in adults, teenagers and children. In adults that includes:
- OCD, including OCD that is almost entirely mental
- Generalised anxiety and worry
- Health anxiety
- Panic and agoraphobia
- Social anxiety and specific phobias
- Body dysmorphic disorder, skin picking and hair pulling
With children and teenagers the work covers anxiety, OCD and school refusal, and parents are part of it. Where a child will not attend, SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions) works through the parents alone, and a home session is often where a parent practises the new response for the first time with me in the room. For OCD I use exposure and response prevention (ERP), in which you face what triggers the anxiety in planned steps without doing the compulsion, and for anxiety I use cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
NHS treatment in Nottinghamshire, and when paying privately can be worth it
Adults in Nottinghamshire can refer themselves to NHS Talking Therapies without seeing a GP. It is free and uses the same evidence-based CBT I use, so for many people it is a reasonable first step. Waiting times for specialist OCD treatment vary between services. The main differences in private practice are a shorter wait, being able to choose a clinician who specialises in the problem, and sessions at home. NHS psychologists are trained to the same standard.
Which to choose
For most people the best mix is sessions by video for the talking and planning, and sessions at home for the practice that needs to happen there. Video sessions have no travel fee and can be fitted around work and school more easily, so if you are not sure, start with video and we add home sessions when the work calls for them. Where neither suits, I have a small number of appointments at my office in Ravenshead, between Nottingham and Mansfield; the address is given when you book.
Who I am
I am Dr Daniel O’Rourke, an HCPC-registered Clinical Psychologist (registration PYL043844), board certified in the United States (ABPP) in Behavioural and Cognitive Psychology, with a PhD from the University of Washington. The first step is a free call of 20 minutes, and if the NHS is the better route for you I will say so. You can request a free call whenever you are ready.
Sources for the course-length figures
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Generalised anxiety disorder and panic disorder in adults: management. Clinical guideline CG113 (2011; checked 2020). nice.org.uk/guidance/cg113 (opens in a new tab)
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Social anxiety disorder: recognition, assessment and treatment. Clinical guideline CG159 (2013). nice.org.uk/guidance/cg159 (opens in a new tab)
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Obsessive-compulsive disorder and body dysmorphic disorder: treatment. Clinical guideline CG31 (2005; an update is in development). nice.org.uk/guidance/cg31 (opens in a new tab)
- Pediatric OCD Treatment Study (POTS) Team. (2004). Cognitive-behavior therapy, sertraline, and their combination for children and adolescents with obsessive-compulsive disorder. JAMA, 292(16), 1969-1976. doi.org (opens in a new tab)
- Lebowitz, E. R., Marin, C., Martino, A., Shimshoni, Y., & Silverman, W. K. (2020). Parent-based treatment as efficacious as cognitive-behavioral therapy for childhood anxiety: a randomized noninferiority study of Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(3), 362-372. doi.org (opens in a new tab)
Common questions
Do you really come to people’s homes?
Yes, where the logistics work out. With OCD and anxiety the problem usually shows itself in particular places, such as your own bathroom, the front door, the kitchen or a child’s bedroom, and practice done there counts for more than practice in a consulting room. We agree on the free call whether sessions at home would help. Home sessions within a 20-minute drive of Ravenshead carry no travel charge. Beyond that there is a £30 travel fee per session, on top of the session fee. For a child or teenager’s session at home, a parent or carer needs to be in the house.
Which areas do you cover?
Anywhere in Nottinghamshire. I am based in Ravenshead, so Nottingham, Mansfield, Arnold, Hucknall, Kirkby-in-Ashfield, Sutton-in-Ashfield and Southwell are all close. Home sessions within a 20-minute drive of Ravenshead carry no travel charge. Beyond that there is a £30 travel fee per session, on top of the session fee.
Can I come to your office instead?
Yes, for a small number of appointments. My office is in Ravenshead, between Nottingham and Mansfield, and the address is given when you book. For most people, though, video sessions plus sessions at home do the job better, because the practice happens where the problem is.
Do I need a GP referral to see you?
No. Some insurers ask for a GP referral before they authorise treatment, so check with yours if you intend to claim.
What does it cost and can I claim on insurance?
Every session is £120, and there is nothing to pay in advance. I am recognised by BUPA, AXA Health, Aviva, Vitality and WPA.
How many sessions will I need?
There is no fixed number. Published guidance gives an idea: NICE describes 12 to 15 weekly sessions for generalised anxiety and 7 to 14 hours in total for panic disorder (CG113), up to 14 sessions for social anxiety (CG159), and more than 10 hours of therapist time for OCD with a moderate impact on daily life (CG31); the largest US trials used 14 sessions for childhood OCD (Pediatric OCD Treatment Study, 2004) and 12 parent sessions for SPACE (Lebowitz and colleagues, 2020). I give you an estimate by the end of the first session, and sometimes further assessment is needed before I can.
Do you see children as well as adults?
Yes. My postdoctoral training was in child and adolescent anxiety, and I see children, teenagers and their parents. Where a child or teenager will not attend, parents can come instead.
Free 20-minute call
Not sure whether this is the right fit?
Start with a free 20-minute call. We talk through what is going on, I answer any questions you have, and I tell you whether I think I can help. If I cannot, I will try to point you to someone who can. The call is free and there is no obligation to book.
Weekdays, 9am to 5pm. No GP referral needed.