Urology Psychology : University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

This page is for patients under the ongoing care of a consultant at UCLH Westmoreland Street. It provides information about how the Urology Psychology Service can support patients with benign (non-cancerous) conditions.

Urological conditions and treatment can affect many areas of your daily life and may cause or contribute to difficulties such as anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms. These difficulties may themselves intensify some urological symptoms (e.g. McKernan et al., 2018). However, evidence shows that when psychologists are part of the team for a health condition, patients are more likely to have improved mental and physical health (PPN, 2020).

UCLH is therefore pleased to offer a multidisciplinary approach to urology. Our psychology service is dedicated to supporting you in managing these challenges, through brief interventions to help you cope and improve your quality of life.

We work with patients on areas including:

Low mood/depression or anxiety related to their condition
Adjustment to the individual impact of diagnosis/treatment
Coping with chronic symptoms such as pain, incontinence or other urinary symptoms
Sexual difficulties
Impact on relationships of all kinds
Body image concerns
Decision-making around care
Preparing for surgery
Treatment challenges
Managing urological care in the context of an existing mental health condition
Working effectively with your health care team.

There are a range of different brief therapeutic approaches we draw on in this work, and we think together what might fit well to support you with your priorities.

We can accept referrals for adults (18+) who consent to be contacted by us, and who are under the care of a urology consultant or going to be followed up by the urology team at UCLH.

We can also accept self-referrals from patients, as long as they meet these criteria.

We are a benign service and do not see cancer/oncology patients. If you are a cancer patient seeking psychology input, please contact the oncology psychology service.

You have the right to decline our services, and this will not affect other care you receive from UCLH. However, we very much hope that you will take up the offer.

You can access psychological support through your local talking therapies service. These services often have specific support for people living with long-term conditions. More specialist services may also be available - e.g. psychosexual therapy - although this is dependent on local provision.

Once we receive your referral, we will contact you by telephone to explore your needs and how best we can support you. We will also be happy to answer any questions you may have about the service.

If together we agree the service could be useful for you, you will be invited to a first face-to-face consultation (60-90 minutes) with a clinical psychologist from our team. This will be followed by up to three further sessions (c.50 minutes) focused on the priorities we have agreed.

If you decide you would like additional support after working with us, we can make an onward referral or signpost you to local services.

While it can be very helpful to meet in person at least once, we can also offer video calls where needed.
If you are unable to attend your appointment, please contact us at least 48 hours beforehand. This means we can offer the time to someone who is waiting.
If you miss two or more sessions without letting us know in advance or providing a valid reason, we may discharge you back to your UCLH referrer, in line with hospital discharge policy.

If you would like to know more about the service, please refer to our Urology Psychology Service page.

Or contact us:

By calling: 020 3456 1136

Or emailing: uclh.enquiries.urologypsychology@nhs.net