Private consultations

Appointments for a private assessment can be made by telephoning my secretary, Natalie: 020 3137 9911 or email here. There is a wait list unless you need admission to the Nightingale Hospital. If you wish to book an appointment with Professor Veale please phone or email Natalie above.

Consultations can be made by remote video if you can complete various questionnaires online before the consultation. Face to face consultations can take place at a consulting room in Muswell Hill on Wednesdays or at the Nightingale Hospital on a Friday morning.

For private consultations with a long history, it can be helpful to have a referral with any background information from your general practitioner, therapist or consultant. This is not necessary if, for example, you do not have a GP or do not wish your GP to be involved. However, if you wish to claim the fees from your health insurer, they may require you to be referred by your GP.

If you need to take medication, I am reluctant to prescribe without your GP knowing what you are taking. I usually have a waiting list of several months to see private patients but will endeavour to see you within a week if you are likely to need admission to hospital. I do not see patients at weekends.

I charge £400 for an initial assessment (about 60-75 minutes). This includes a written summary and any recommendations. Follow up appointments are £180 (for half an hour), £270 (for 3/4 hour) and £360 (for an hour).

These fees are normally recoverable under medical insurance (e.g., BUPA, AXA PPP, Norwich Union, Standard Life, Simply Health) if it has been pre-authorised by your insurer. My terms will be sent or emailed to you when an appointment is confirmed.

For an initial consultation, my secretary will ask you to complete some questionnaires online beforehand. This provides me with a comprehensive picture of your background and information on your problem. I will gain further information during our consultation and usually come to a diagnosis and some understanding with you about the development and what is keeping your problem going. At this stage I am providing an overview.

Occasionally I might recommend some investigations. This will then lead to a discussion of treatment options and the advantages and disadvantages of each. Usually there is a choice of cognitive behaviour therapy or medication or a combination of the two. For therapy, I will usually recommend a trusted colleague as I have a limited capacity in my private practice as I also work in the NHS or in research.

I will see a patient for an assessment with a person’s partner or relative if requested by a patient. Our consultation will normally last about an hour to an hour and a quarter depending on the complexity of the problem. I will then provide a written summary of our assessment and recommendations to you which can be sent to you,  your GP, Consultant or therapist. You may also withhold consent for a report to be sent to anyone.

For  my consulting rooms in Muswell Hill, my secretary will send you directions. I do not see private patients at the Maudsley or Bethlem Royal Hospitals.

I am not a specialist in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry but I do assess adolescents who suffer from my specialties in OCD, BDD or emetophobia. Please see the Adolescents page for more information.

I am not covered by my medical insurer for patients who are not living in the UK. Their rule is that patients have to reside in the UK at least as a temporary visitor before I can assess you.

The Nightingale offers intensive treatment programmes for Obsessive Compulsive and related disorders, other anxiety disorders and depression as an in-patient.

Out-patients are normally seen by a recommended colleague, who may be closer to your home or work or you can see you remotely

The Nightingale hospital is located in Marylebone, central London.

Individuals with an obsessive compulsive or related disorder are normally admitted to a dedicated ward when they have failed to make progress as an out-patient, or their handicap is too severe for out-patient care or for geographical reasons. Alternatively, additional diagnoses such as depression, ASD or disordered eating may make out-patient treatment more complex. Others may be housebound, have a reversal of their sleep pattern or suffer from obsessional slowness so that attendance as an out-patient has become almost impossible.

We also specialise on the general wards in the treatment of depression, and other anxiety disorders such as PTSD.

The emphasis is on individuals having a good psychological understanding of how your solutions have become their problem and the implications for overcoming their problems. Once patients are engaged, they are expected to conduct exposure or behavioural experiments daily and complete their homework diaries and weekly ratings of outcome. In addition, all staff may model exposure or participate in behavioural experiments to help test out a patient’s beliefs.

In-patients with OCD or BDD receive:

• Individual sessions of CBT with their key therapist twice weekly
• A nurse or student who supports you in exposure tasks
• Group CBT sessions which are specific to OCD or BDD.
• A wide range of other groups for related problems such as depression or low self-esteem
• Regular monitoring of your progress

Medication is also reviewed. A SSRI or clomipramine or augmentation of a SRI may be offered. CBT may have a better outcome when combined with an SRI than CBT alone in those with moderate to severe impairment but patient’s make the decision whether to combine treatments.

An initial assessment gives us an opportunity for a treatment plan to be jointly agreed with a patient prior to admission. If this not possible, then an initial assessment may be conducted as a home visit or over the telephone/ Zoom. A formal assessment of response to treatment is completed on the ward within the first 2 weeks. This assessment is focused on the patient’s ability to engage in treatment. Partners and relatives are encouraged to meet with the therapy team. The team will want to assess their involvement and they will be advised on how best to support a patient’s treatment.

We aim for patients to be able to travel (if necessary, with a relative or friend) so they may return home on therapeutic leave as soon as possible at weekends to practice exposure in their own environment. Follow up arrangements including remote consultations and day-patient or out-patient care can also be arranged.

You can find out more about the OCD unit at the Nightingale here.

We are offering with Triple Chronotherapy at the Nightingale Hospital for the rapid treatment of depression. Not everyone is suitable. There are three main components namely Wake Therapy, Phase Advance of sleep and Bright Light Therapy. Wake Therapy includes sleep deprivation for one night and then going to bed at 5pm for 8 hours. You then advance the time you go to bed over 4 days.

In the longer term, the focus in treatment is on daily light therapy, Behavioural Activation, sleep hygiene and changes in your lifestyle (for example diet and use of alcohol) and reducing rumination.

If the chronotherapy works, and there is improvement in your mood over the first week then you can tackle longer standing problems such as conflicts or losses in your life that may be contributing to your depressed mood.

There are attachments for psychology undergraduate students from King’s College or Bath University, who will assist you on your exposure tasks and are always supervised. There may also be attachments for a psychology doctorate trainee from King’s College or UCL.

My private work is conducted through my company, de Coverly Limited, Solar House, 915 High Road, North Finchley, London, N12 8QJ. Registered in England & Wales, Registered Number: 7960388.