S ea n Fr iedm an

Psychodynamic & behavioural Psychologist

Online |
| Sea Point Cape Town⋆༺𓆩☠︎︎𓆪༻⋆

I am a psychologist in private practice with special interest in the assessment and treatment of traumatic stress, anxiety (OCD, panic, social), and depressive disorders.

My training in critical, psychodynamic, and behavioural models has provided me with useful frameworks to think of difficulties in the context of their histories as well as possibilities of change when applicable.

Member of the South African Psychoanalytic IzikoIndependent Practice Counselling Psychologist
Health Professionals Council of South Africa
HPCSA PS0159018Chartered Psychologist
Health and Care Professions Council United Kingdom
HCPC PYL046126

Competency and scope of practice

I am trained to diagnose, assess, and treat a wide range of mental health disorders, as well as subclinical difficulties and challenges. My training was additionally oriented beyond the treatment of disorder, towards personal growth and self-understanding.I work with chronic and acute forms of anxiety, depression, and trauma sequela, while addressing existential and pragmatic issues.While I do work with transient psychotic states and other similar conditions, I work best with individuals who are generally able to function without frequent hospitalizations.Similarly, disabling forms of schizophrenia, life-threatening eating disorders, and severe, dangerous addictions are best addressed by professionals in collaboration with a team.

Clinical modalities

There are a number of therapy approaches, models, and intervention strategies. I am trained in both short and long term models. What is important — and what a psychologist is trained to do — is to carefully understand difficulties and goals in context, and to select treatment approaches that will be likely to work in consideration of a person's history, personality, and situation.Psychodynamic psychotherapy is concerned with an in-depth understanding of the internal 'dynamics' at work in a person: all the conflicting feelings, thoughts, desires, past experiences — and how these interact with one another. Whether using shorter or longer term approaches, this understanding is essential as the same tools or interventions will not work for different people, and in some cases can make things worse.Cognitive and Behavioural approaches work with thoughts and behaviours directly, providing challenges and shaping skills to teach emotional regulation, planning, solution finding, and other 'tools' as needed.I draw on best practices and the research literature in selecting methods as appropriate. I have completed training and integrate such methods as Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP for OCD), and Mindfulness-based approaches to anxiety and panic disorders.

Contact

If you would to arrange, please let me know a little about yourself and what you are looking for via the form below.Typically we would meet for up to three initial sessions for a history taking, assessment, and to determine our fit for working together.Do keep in mind that it may take a while to secure an ongoing time.

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Sea Point | Cape Town
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Terms of Service

LIMITS OF CONFIDENTIALITYPsychotherapy is a deeply personal process, and maintaining the confidentiality of our sessions is of utmost importance. Please be aware of the following.While all sessions and communications are confidential, certain circumstances may necessitate the disclosure of information. These include, but are not limited to:If your life or another person's life is at risk.
If there is evidence or suspicion of harm to a child or vulnerable adult.
In cases where prenatal use of dangerous controlled substances is disclosed.In such situations, I may be legally or ethically required to notify appropriate authorities, including legal or social service agencies, and may attempt to contact your family where appropriate.Parents or guardians of non-emancipated minor clients are entitled to access the client's records. However, for adult clients, regardless of who is responsible for the account (e.g. a parent or workplace), confidentiality will be fully maintained. No records or personal updates will be disclosed without your explicit written consent, except where disclosure is required by law or professional obligations.

SUPERVISION | CONSULTATION | THEORISATIONAs part of standard practice and ethical responsibility, psychologists routinely engage in supervision and peer consultation with other professionals. This process is essential for maintaining objectivity and supporting the therapeutic work.At times, consultation with a third-party professional may be necessary to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the issues at hand and to facilitate continued therapeutic progress.When discussing cases with other professionals, all identifying information will be removed or altered to preserve your anonymity. Relevant aspects of your case, such as psychological dynamics, symptoms, and history, may be discussed for the purposes of supervision or consultation.At times, it may be beneficial to incorporate aspects of a case into research or theoretical exploration. Any identifying information will be fully anonymised so that you would not be recognisable from the material. I will always seek your approval before submitting or publishing any material for such purposes.On occasion, it may be helpful to record a session for further analysis. Such recordings may provide critical insights into the dynamics of a session. I will always obtain your express consent before recording any session. Any recordings will be used solely for the agreed purpose and securely deleted thereafter.

PRIVATE INFORMATION | POPII take reasonable precautions to ensure the security of your personal information, as well as the clinical notes and records I maintain. I utilise password-protected digital folders for session notes and secure filing cabinets for physical notes. Online forms are protected by two-factor authentication, as is my business email account. Additionally, my practice's WhatsApp account is password protected.Personal and identifying information, including medical records, is stored within medical billing software and may be communicated to medical scheme providers for reimbursement purposes. These systems and providers are required to comply with the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA).However, I encourage you to exercise discretion when communicating sensitive information via digital channels. While I take reasonable steps to secure the information I manage, I cannot guarantee the security of systems beyond my control. I recommend limiting the exchange of highly sensitive information to the sessions themselves.

COMMUNICATIONTo maintain the integrity of the therapeutic process, it is important to establish appropriate boundaries around communication. I am available to respond to practical enquiries via my work email and phone line. Please limit out-of-session communications to matters such as:Confirmation of session times
Clarification of fees or payments
Other administrative mattersPersonal concerns or therapeutic questions should be addressed during our sessions.I aim to remain accessible and responsive during my working hours, but please note that I may not see messages sent outside of these times until the next business day.In case of an emergency, please contact an appropriate emergency service or helpline, as I may not be available.

RATES, PAYMENT, & MEDICAL INSURANCEPayments are made directly to me by the person responsible for the account. I ask that the account be settled within the first week of the new month – if for some reason this is not possible, please address with me directly.I provide invoices in accordance with medical scheme requirements for the purposes of reimbursement and will facilitate the submission of PMB claims where applicable. I do not, however, manage or correspond with medical scheme providers on behalf of patients.It remains the member's responsibility to address any issues with their medical scheme provider directly. Any shortfalls, rejected claims, or other amounts not covered by the medical scheme remain the responsibility of the patient.If an account remains unsettled for more than one month, I am ethically obligated to cease providing services where continued treatment would result in the accumulation of further debt. If necessary, I will provide a referral to public or low-cost services.Please note: Session rates are subject to annual increases.

BILLING POLICYSessions are arranged for a particular period, and each agreed session time is reserved exclusively for the patient for the duration of that period. This reserved time forms part of the therapeutic arrangement and is therefore payable regardless of attendance, including when the patient is unable to attend due to personal commitments, travel, or other circumstances. The exceptions to this are school holidays and public holidays.There is no provision for cancelling, moving, or adjusting individual sessions during an ongoing treatment arrangement. Patients are, of course, asked to provide notice if they are going to be late or unable to attend. Where a patient is running late, I may make contact to check in. Regardless of the patient's arrival time, however, I will remain available for the full duration of the scheduled session.Similarly, session times cannot be moved or made up at another time. When arranging a regular session time, patients are therefore encouraged to consider their other commitments, including work schedules, regular interruptions, travel, and anticipated holiday periods. If a particular day or time is likely to be subject to frequent interruptions, it may be preferable to arrange a different regular session time.This structure is intentional. Psychotherapy is a treatment that requires an appropriate degree of regularity, continuity, and dedicated time. The security of a consistent and exclusively reserved session time is an important part of the therapeutic setting. The reserved time also allows me to remain available to the patient even when they are unable to attend and to continue reflecting on the therapeutic work between sessions.
Please note that medical schemes do not reimburse for unattended sessions.

TERMINATION OF TREATMENTA patient may terminate treatment at any time.A 72-hour notice period applies to termination of the treatment arrangement.. If treatment is terminated without the required notice, the final scheduled session will remain fully chargeable.While I can usually fill a session time at short notice, it would not be appropriate to replace an ongoing patient's reserved session with another patient on an ad hoc basis.
The exclusive reservation of the session time is also important to maintaining continuity and security within the therapeutic setting.