General FAQs

  • Counselling Psychology is a field of psychology. Clinicians who complete doctoral level studies and supervised professional training experiences in Counselling Psychology are referred to as “Counselling Psychologists”, not as “counsellors”. The Psychological Society of Ireland, which awards Chartered Membership based on doctoral training in Counselling Psychology, gives the following definition:

    “Counselling psychology focuses on personal and interpersonal functioning across the life span and on emotional, social, vocational, educational, health-related, developmental and organizational concerns. Therefore counselling psychologists can be found working in such diverse areas as schools and colleges, industrial workplaces and health services. Counselling psychology centres on typical or normal developmental issues as well as atypical or disordered development as it applies to human experience from individual, family, group, systems and organizational perspectives. Counselling psychologists help people with physical, emotional and mental disorders improve wellbeing, alleviate distress and maladjustment, and resolve crises. In addition, practitioners in this professional specialty provide assessment, diagnosis and treatment of psychopathology”

    As you can see, Counselling Psychologists are highly qualified to provide therapeutic support as well as psychological assessment for diverse clients of various needs!

  • No - we do not require referrals from other providers and happily accept self-referrals from adults located in the Republic of Ireland during the time of their appointment. This is true for both the mental health therapy services as well as the collaborative autism identification services.

    If you happen to have a referral letter or helpful information from another mental health/medical provider, you are of course welcome to share this information with your clinician if it would be helpful - in this instance we can provide you with a secure link to upload the document directly to our client portal. Please do not send any clinical or confidential mail to our registered business address or through email.

  • Currently all our services are offered by a Chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). This means you are elgible for 20% tax relief for these services. Please reference this helpful Citizen’s Information page for more details on the relief and instructions on how to apply: Citizen’s Information (external page)

    Additionally, Irish Life Health, Laya Healthcare, and VHI Healthcare all offer a wide range of health insurance policies, some of which will include benefits related to mental health treatment. Many policies which have a mental health benefit include cover for a fixed amount of mental health therapy sessions per year, again depending on the particular policy.

    If you are unsure if your health insurance policy covers access to mental health services, it is critical you contact your insurance provider directly to inquire prior to booking an appointment with us. A helpful prompt you can use when inquiring about your coverage with your insurance provider is: does my current health insurance plan cover any services provided by a Chartered Psychologist?

  • The security and privacy of your data is our top priority. That’s why we manage all client data through Power Diary. Power Diary is an ISO 27001-certified practice management software. This certification represents the highest level of data security standards worldwide. Power Diary is one of only a few health practice management software companies in the world to obtain this certification.

    Power Diary strictly adheres to privacy regulations, including The Privacy Act (AU), HIPAA (US), and GDPR (UK & EU). Power Diary is externally audited on an annual basis to maintain ISO 27001 status, which we believe is essential for the protection of health data. Choosing software that meets the highest standards for information security management is part of our commitment to you.

    In addition to using an ISO 27001 certified health record system, we also commit to upholding the highest standard of ethical practice set out by the Psychological Society of Ireland. This means you can rest assured your privacy and confidentiality is our top priority.

  • For all services payment must be made by card at the time of booking trough our secure client portal using your card (processed by Stripe), or you can choose to pay via our Revolut business account. If you would like to pay via revolut please do not book through the portal and instead book via email by contacting us at admin@truapsych.com

    If you are a current client and are booking another appointment with your psychologist either via email or at the end of a session, you will be provided an invoice/payment link by your clinician to confirm the new booking, or again you can choose to pay via Revolut at the time of booking.

    We reserve the right to cancel tentatively held appointments that have not been paid for within 48 hours of booking, as appointments are not confirmed until payment is received.

  • No - we cannot offer services or documentation to clients who are pending or involved with ongoing legal proceedings.

  • Trua Psychological Services Limited is not an emergency service and we do not offer out-of-hours support. All services are provided by pre-booked appointment only. We are not able to respond to urgent or emergency matters and our communication channels (Phone, SMS, Fax, Email, client portal forms, etc) are not monitored outside of our business hours.

    For urgent concerns relating to the mental health or other emergencies please contact the appropriate emergency services:

    Police, Fire, Ambulance (Emergency): 112 or 999
    Samaritans 24/7 help line: freephone 116-123
    24/7 crisis text line (free of charge): Text HELLO to 50808
    Pieta House: https://www.pieta.ie/contact/

    If at any time you believe you are unable to commit to keeping yourself or others safe, it is essential that you report directly to your nearest A&E in this instance to access urgent mental health support.

  • At this time we require our clients to be located in the Republic of Ireland during all of their appointments. This is out of respect to international licensing, regulatory, insurance, and accrediting laws for the field of psychology, as well as mandates to comply with data protection and GDPR.

Therapy FAQs

  • Therapy sessions are booked for an hour (50 minutes of therapy + up to 10 minutes as needed for bookings/payments/logistical questions etc).

  • Mental health therapy appointments are €130 per clinical hour.

    In addition to scheduled appointments, our practice reserves the right to charge this amount on a prorated basis (we will break down the hourly cost) for other significant professional services that you may require such as report writing, telephone conversations that last longer than 15 minutes, attendance at meetings or consultations which you have requested, or the time required to perform any other service which you may request of your practitioner.

  • Yes - currently all of our services are provided through our secure, end-to-end encrypted, HIPPA and GDPR compliant telehealth platform. This means you can access any of our services from the privacy and comfort of your own home.

    We are not currently offering any in-person appointments at this time.

  • Currently all our services are offered by a Chartered Psychologist with the Psychological Society of Ireland (PSI). This means your clinician will have a very high level of training in multiple therapeutic modalities, for example Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Humanistic/Existential therapy.

    We know from research that some treatment approaches work best for specific concerns. We also know that the factor which most predicts positive client outcomes is that there is a good perception of a “fit” between the client and the clinician. Our expertise in several therapuetic modalities and a deep committment to a person-centered approach means we hope to meet you where you are in your mental heath journey, and means we can be flexible to tailor our approach to meet your specific needs, style, and goals.

  • Yes - while we are happy to meet with any adults (aged 18+ at the time of service) for any reason, we do have some specialist areas.

    These include: working with the LGBTQ+ community, working with young adults, managing depression, anxiety, and OCD, processing major life transitions/events, working with trauma, substance use, process addictions (such as internet/gaming addictions), and working with intersectional identities.

    If you have any questions about your specific needs you are always welcome to reach out to our team at info@truapsych.com to schedule a brief consultation or to ask a question on treatment areas via email.

  • Yes - at this time we are only accepting adult clients (aged 18+ at time of first appointment).

  • If you need to reschedule or cancel your appointment you can do so by logging into the client portal or by emailing admin@truapsych.com

    Please note that according to our reschedule and cancellation policy, appointments changed prior to 48 hours before their originally scheduled time are eligible for a full refund (in the case of a cancellation) or to reschedule at no additional cost (in the case of a reschedule).

    We reserve the right to charge the full fee for appointments that are rescheduled, cancelled, or missed without 48 hours notice, as we are unlikely to be able to fill that appointment again with such short notice.

  • We understand that some clients would feel more comfortable meeting with a therapist of a specified gender identity, however at this time we are a very small team, so we currently only offer services from a male psychologist.

    This may change as we continue to grow our services in the future, so if you are interested in working with us at a later date please check back to see if we can meet your needs in that way.

Assessment FAQs

Collaborative Autism Identification

Gender Dysphoria Assessment

  • The outcomes of this process will likely be similar to what is traditionally called a “clinical assessment” for autism (meaning you will be provided with documentation confirming if you are Autistic and what supports you might benefit from.)

    HOWEVER, in contrast to a “clinical assessment” (which is often focused on deficits and views Autistic people as “the problem”), the way we go about this process is radically collaborative, strengths-focused, neuro-affirming, and informed by the Autistic Community. We believe all neurotypes are valid and important ways of being human and that no person’s individual neurotype is “wrong” or “problematic”, instead we believe that the real problems lies within the ways our society has been set up, which can often add unnecessary barriers for neuro-diverse people.

    We believe this approach makes for a far more therapeutic, accessible, and positive experience for our clients. We also believe it is based in fairness, justice, and in line with the wishes of the community we are trying to best serve.

  • This is a 45 minute conversation we offer folks who are on the fence about booking in for the full identification process as they might have questions or concerns they would like to speak though in more depth before committing to the full identification process.

    This consultation service is optional and is €100.

  • This process is usually booked over 3 sessions scheduled for 90 minutes each. All of our appointments are conducted via a secure telehealth platform that we provide. You will only need access to a private space, and a device with a microphone/camera/speakers which can access the internet.

  • We do require all of our clients to complete some forms in advance of their services. There are two consent forms which just require your review and e-signature (one for general psychological services and one for understanding telehealth services). There is also an intake form which will ask some questions about your history and health.

    Finally, there are two optional (though highly recommended) forms specific for the Collaborative Autism Identification Process. There is a screening form (the CAT-Q), used to help us understand a bit more about your lived experience. There is also a form which outlines tips for preparing for the appointment as well as offers you a chance to give us more information about your communication style preferences or other important information before our meeting.

  • You are not required to involve anyone else in this process if you do not wish to. If you would find it helpful then you are welcome to have a family member, partner, or close friend attend the session with you. In this instance your clinician will ask you at the beginning of the appointment if you would like them to be actively involved in the session and to what extent.

    At your request and with your permission we can also send an additional data form to your family/partner/friends if they cannot attend the appointment with you but you believe they would have helpful information to add to this process.

  • At this time we only offer telehealth services, but please note that as part of our neuro-affirming approach we understand that our clients may with to stand, move, stim/fidget, turn off their camera, communicate through chat, or even pet their animal during an appointment, all of which are welcomed! We hope that being able to attend the appointment virtually increases your options for comfort, engagement, and accessiblity rather than negatively impacts your chance to engage.

    Please note that we do require the first half of the first appointment to be conducted with video on - this is to ensure that you are able to join the appointment from a private, secure space and that you have understood the informed consent and confidentiality information we will review. It also helps us make robust recommendations on your behalf when speaking about your levels of comfort with body language/eye contact/or other forms of communication. Following this you are free to turn your camera off if you prefer!

    If you have any concerns about your ability to access or engage with a virtual appointment please email us at info@truapsych.com and we can try to find creative solutions in advance of your booking.

  • As this process is carried out with a Chartered Counselling Psychologist of the Psychological Society of Ireland, any supporting documents provided to the HSE service/college/workplace you request should be accepted. If you have any questions or concerns about this, please feel free to ask them in advance of booking, as we would be happy to review your needs to be sure we are a good fit for you. If we might not be the best fit, we will point you in the right direction.

    In the unlikely event that we facilitate the assessment and your support documents are not accepted or meeting your needs, please let us know right away and we will happily advocate for you further at no additional cost.

    Most of these support documents are included in the base cost of the identification process. Please note that support with applying for disability allowance must be mutually agreed on by both the client and the clinician and will incur additional cost, due to the substantial amount of additional administrative work required to support that application.

  • At this time we are only offering collaborative autism identification services for adults (age 18+ at the time of fist appointment).

  • This is a 45 minute conversation we offer folks who are on the fence about booking in for the full assessment process as they might have questions or concerns they would like to speak though in more depth before committing to the full assessment process.

    This consultation service is optional and is €100.

  • This process is usually booked over 3 sessions scheduled for 90 minutes each. All of our appointments are conducted via a secure telehealth platform that we provide. You will only need access to a private space, and a device with a microphone/camera/speakers which can access the internet.

  • We do require all of our clients to complete some forms in advance of their services. There are two consent forms which just require your review and e-signature (one for general psychological services and one for understanding telehealth services). There is also an intake form which will ask some questions about your history and health.

    Finally, there are a couple more specific forms related to the assessment which can help us get a bigger picture of your experience going into the first appointment. There is also a form which outlines tips for preparing for the appointment as well as offers you a chance to give us more information about your communication style preferences or other important information before our meeting.

  • You are not required to involve anyone else in this process if you do not wish to. If you would find it helpful then you are welcome to have a family member, partner, or close friend attend the session with you. In this instance your clinician will ask you at the beginning of the appointment if you would like them to be actively involved in the session and to what extent.

    At your request and with your permission we can also send an additional data form to your family/partner/friends if they cannot attend the appointment with you but you believe they would have helpful information about your history or lived experience to add to this process.

  • At this time we only offer telehealth services.

    If you have any concerns about your ability to access or engage with a virtual appointment please email us at info@truapsych.com and we can brainstorm possible solutions in advance of your booking.

  • As this process is carried out with a Chartered Counselling Psychologist of the Psychological Society of Ireland, any supporting documents provided to you following the assessment should be accepted.

    However, we know that there are very significant barriers to accessing gender affirming care in Ireland, and some external providers may have very specific requirements for who they would like to conduct your assessment before providing further care. We are happy to review your needs during an introductory phone call before scheduling an assessment appointment, so please get in touch with us if you to address any concerns you may have in advance of booking. If we cannot meet your needs in this instance we can also help refer you to more appropriate options.

  • At this time we are only offering gender dysphoria assessments for adults (age 18+ at the time of fist appointment).