Paediatric Asthma Psychology

1. About us

Living with asthma can be a challenging experience for children and young people and can impact on mood, well-being and quality of life. The paediatric asthma psychology service provides psychological support to children and young people in Calderdale under the care of the paediatric asthma team.

We provide psychological support for

Children and young people (up to 18 years old) in Calderdale under the care of the paediatric asthma team.
Parents and carers who are finding their child’s asthma is impacting them emotionally.

Some of the things we can support with:

When asthma is impacting your emotional well-being, for example when it’s making you feel anxious or sad.
When emotional difficulties are thought to be making asthma symptoms worse.
When there are difficulties with asthma treatment, for example taking your inhaler.
When you’ve had a difficult medical experience, such as a hospital admission.
Managing the transition to the adult asthma service.

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2. Paediatric Asthma Psychology team

Sadhbh Ni Bhriain – Paediatric Asthma Psychologist
Isabel Blacker - Secretary

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3. What to expect at your appointment

Your first appointment, which we call an ‘assessment’ appointment, will take around an hour

Usually both the child/young person and their parent or carer will attend this first appointment, although the young person can attend on their own if they prefer.
In the first appointment the psychologist will ask questions about your life and how you are, for example how things are with school and with friends.
We will also ask you about how you are coping with asthma. We will talk about how asthma might be affecting different areas in your life.
You can also ask any questions you might have for the psychologist.

At the end of the first appointment, we’ll agree together what the next steps should be. This might include

Planning more psychology sessions
A referral or signposting to other services that might better suit your needs

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4. Where we offer appointments

Outpatient appointments: Most appointments take place at the Rainbow Community Hub in Elland.
School visits: In exceptional circumstances where attending appointments in Elland might be difficult, we can arrange appointments at school.
Virtual sessions: Video appointments can also be offered if attending appointments in person is difficult.

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5. How to be referred

Referrals to the service are made by the paediatric asthma team. If you wish to be referred, you can

Speak to the nurse specialist or paediatric consultant during your clinic appointment
Contact the paediatric nurse specialist between appointments to request a referral

Sometimes the paediatric asthma team may recommend a referral if they feel that psychological support could be helpful. In this case, they will contact you directly to discuss this.

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