Assessments for adults
Are you an adult (18+) who stammers or clutters wanting to be seen for an assessment at the MPC?
How to get referred
I live in Camden or Islington
Your assessment will be funded under an agreement that we have with local NHS Commissioners.
You can refer yourself using our online form.
You can ask your GP to refer you if you do not wish to use the online form. Ask your GP to send the referral letter to:
The Administrator
The Michael Palin Centre
13-15 Pine Street
London EC1R 0JG
I live elsewhere in London or the UK
Your assessment is not covered by an NHS agreement.
- Ask your GP if they will refer you and make sure that you explain why you want help with your stammer.
- The charge for an assessment is £500 and your GP will need to say in their referral letter that they agree to pay this.
- There will also be a fee for therapy if that is recommended and you want to go ahead with it.
- Your GP may or may not be able to refer you because of the costs involved.
- If they are willing to refer you they should send the referral to: The Administrator, The Michael Palin Centre, 13-15 Pine Street, London EC1R 0JG.
- Alternatively, if you wish to pay privately submit the adult self-referral form.
Getting your appointment
We aim to contact new clients within three weeks. Your actual appointment will be within 3 months of us receiving your referral.
You will be sent some questionnaires to fill in. Please send these back to us before your appointment.
Let us know if you would like to attendonline. Email [email protected] or call 020 3316 8100.
Coming to your appointment
We know that London transport can be unpredictable. Please help us, as far as possible, by being on time.
A missed assessment costs our service £500. Please help to minimise missed appointments by reading the information below and contacting us as soon as possible if you have any queries.
At your appointment
Your assessment will last approximately 2½ hours.
Your MPC therapist will:
- ask you about your experience of stammering, how it impacts on various aspects of your life and what you are hoping to achieve if you decide to start therapy
- look at questionnaires that you have completed and possibly ask you to complete some additional questionnaires
- ask you to do some reading aloud and talking while being video-recorded, to get a snapshot of what your stammer can be like
- give you information about stammering
- talk about therapy options
- give you information about other organisations that support people who stammer or clutter
- answer any questions you have
We sometimes have student speech and language therapists, or qualified speech and language therapists training with us which means that they sit in on sessions where people agree to this. You will always be asked how you feel about someone observing your session before it happens and it is fine to say no if that is what you prefer.
After your appointment
Your therapist will write a report which outlines the decisions that you made. This will be sent to you first to read. We will send a copy to your GP and any other professionals who you have agreed to be included, when we get your consent to do so or when 2 weeks have elapsed.
If you have decided to start therapy at the MPC and either live locally or wish to pay privately you will be placed on a waiting list to start.
If you want to start therapy and we need to apply for funding for you to attend then we will keep in touch with you about how this process is going,
FAQs
Please email [email protected] or call 020 3316 8100 as soon as possible to let us know.
No, it is fine to take some time to think things over.
Yes, make sure you have said on your referral form that you would like an interpreter and we will arrange one through Whittington Health NHS Trust Interpreting Services.
Yes. You can choose to have someone else come with you to the Centre. You can tell your therapist if you would like that person to join you in your actual session. Your therapist will check this privately with you before your session starts. This is because of our responsibility to maintain confidentiality for you.
Yes. Many people who stammer also have features of cluttering in their speech.
Sometimes you just need someone to talk to
Sometimes you just need someone to talk to
Our Helpline, 020 3316 8100, is open during office hours (9am-5pm) and voicemail messages can be left when the office is closed.
“It was extremely helpful just talking about how I felt about my stammer and different stuff like that.”
