Liverpool Psychology Service for Cancer

• We are a specialist service for people who are experiencing distress related to their cancer and treatment. We work with people who live in Liverpool and/or are being treated at the Royal Liverpool Hospital and Broadgreen Hospital. We work with anyone over 25 years old, including partners, other relatives and carers.
• We offer support using a range of therapeutic services face-to-face or remotely, via telephone or video link.
• It is normal for people living with, and affected by, cancer to experience strong emotions such as sadness or anger. These often get better over time, but we can try to help people who are struggling and feeling stuck with this.
• We work with each person as an individual with a unique life story and try to understand their problems within their cultural context. 

• We are a group of professionals who have completed a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, Health Psychology or Counselling Psychology and have trained in the NHS and at University. We are accredited by the Health and Care Professionals Council, (HCPC).
• We work with people to help them understand and make sense of the way they might feel and experiences they have had. We talk about what may strengthen their ability to cope, coping mechanisms they already have and help people find a way forward.
• We are trained to work with people of all ages and backgrounds but have chosen to specialise in working with people affected by cancer
• We are different to psychiatrists. We do not diagnose mental health conditions and we cannot prescribe medication.
• We work closely with medical teams. We offer training and consultancy to our colleagues to help them meet their patients’ psychological needs
• We contribute to the teaching of psychologists in training and offer clinical and research placements to help them gain knowledge and experience in supporting people with cancer.

• Struggling to adjust to the cancer diagnosis over time
• Feelings of anxiety or low mood related to cancer
• Difficulties with sleep
• Difficulty coping with cancer diagnosis and treatment
• Need specialist psychological support when making complex decisions about treatment
• Feeling stuck, or struggling to find a sense of purpose in life
• Post-traumatic symptoms e.g. flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive thoughts
• Cancer-related relationship and sexual problems
• Body image problems
• Feeling ill before treatment due to psychological factors (e.g. anticipatory nausea)
• Difficulties receiving treatment e.g. severe fear of needles.

We accept referrals for people with a Liverpool postcode, or those who are under a clinical team from the Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals.

Referrals can come from:

• Your GP
• Colleagues at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospitals
• Colleagues at other hospitals e.g. Liverpool Women’s Hospital, if you have a Liverpool postcode and cancer diagnosis or a relative/carer of someone with a cancer diagnosis.

• People can be referred for help with various types of emotional difficulty at any point from cancer diagnosis onwards
• Unfortunately, we do not have capacity to see patients whose psychological distress is not related to their cancer and is not affecting their treatment. We have listed other local NHS psychological therapy services and resources under “Useful Sources of Information”
• We receive funding from Knowsley, South Sefton and Southport and Formby CCGs, so that we can see patients from those boroughs who are under the care of a service at our hospitals
• We also offer a psychology service for all patients with eye cancer, treated at the Liverpool Ocular Oncology Centre,(LOOC) one of 4 UK tertiary centres funded by NHS England.

For any queries or to discuss a referral, please contact us:

• Our telephone number is: 0151 706 3126
• Our email address is: cancerpsychreferrals@liverpoolft.nhs.uk.

• Monday - Friday, 9am-5pm

Where are we

Liverpool Psychology Service for Cancer
1st Floor Edwards Building,
Royal Liverpool University Hospital,
Prescot Street,
Liverpool, L7 8XP.