About Us

Situated within the University of Edinburgh, the Centre for Psychological Therapies (CPT) is dedicated to delivering evidence-based psychological therapies to children and young adults in the community, catering to individuals up to the age of 26. Our Centre is conveniently located at the Central Campus and also serves as a training ground for aspiring therapists enrolled in the MSc Psychological Therapies program. It's important to note that access to our facility includes ten steep steps and, unfortunately, it does not have wheelchair access.

The Centre is committed to implementing and evaluating innovative mental health assessments, interventions, and concepts. Our primary mission is to develop, test, and widen access to effective interventions and evidence-based training. Please be aware that we do not provide comprehensive, long-term services; our focus is on delivering time-limited psychological interventions.

We offer both in person and online sessions and follow the University academic calendar, therefore our waitlist time will change throughout the year. 

We recognise that when young people are in distress it is incredibly worrying, however we are unable to respond on an emergency or crisis basis.

Who to contact in a crisis

Who we help  

We provide support for children and young people, their parents, carers, families and young adults. We also accept students at the University of Edinburgh (aged 26 and below). 

These include:  

• People who are experiencing low mood with low risk. 
• People experiencing anxiety including phobias, separation and social anxiety, health anxiety, and panic
• People experiencing OCD
• People experiencing some trauma symptoms 

Parents/carers can be included in therapy, as agreed on an individual basis. 

We are currently unable to provide support to:  

• Anyone over the age of 26. 
• Any young person whose behaviour or self harm poses a risk to self, staff or others which cannot be managed within a non NHS setting.
• Actively experiencing psychosis. 
• Experiencing an eating disorder.

Who provides the sessions? 

The majority of our therapy is offered by trainees who are closely supervised by an experienced clinical team.  

We record all therapy sessions for training and assessment purposes. 

How much does it cost?  

The Centre is a charity and donations will be invited for sessions at the discretion of the individual (usually between £10 - £30 per session).  

If you would like to attend but are concerned about the cost please ask and we will be happy to discuss.

Payments can be weekly or in a block at the end of the therapy.

Making a Donation