The Skin Psychologist
Welcome to The Skin Psychologist, the working home of Dr Mark Turner’s professional private service’s specialising in the links between the skin, the mind, and improving quality of life. The main service is confidential psychology appointments for clients with hair and skin conditions and other reasons for attending dermatology departments.
Dr Mark Turner is the lead clinical psychologist at St John’s Institute of Dermatology, Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust. He has dedicated his professional practice to the dermatology setting since 2014.
Why Psychological Therapy ?
Many clients with skin and hair conditions find it helpful to have the support of a psychological therapist due to feelings of stress, uncertainty, stigma, loneliness, and experiences of pain, itch, or trauma.
Research shows that psychological therapy can contribute to improved skin condition symptoms and result in reduced distress and a better day-to-day life. There are many examples of how psychological therapy plays a key role in bringing about these outcomes. However, some clients have therapy simply because they need the time and emotional support from a professional who is trained in how to listen and in providing helpful coping strategies.
Information and Specialist services
Please click on the thumbnails below to learn about Psychodermatology and the specialist services offered by The Skin Psychologist. If you would like more information about these services, you can reach Dr Turner by using the contact details at the bottom of this home page.
Psychodermatology is a subspecialty of dermatology including multidisciplinary professionals with a special interest in the links between the skin and mind.
Dr Turner’s approach to psychology appointments is safe, supportive, and effective. It is research evidence-based and integrates: Cognitive Behavioural ….
Dr Turner promotes safe and accountable clinical practice by providing supervision to other practitioner psychologists. This service may be of interest to psychol…
Dr Turner uses his extensive experience as a clinical psychologist in the dermatology setting to give educational presentations and interactive workshops to a …
Many clients claim on their health insurance for appointments with Dr Turner. If you do not have health insurance, you can still attend as a self-pay client. As a self-pay client your initial consultation would be £220 and therapy appointments are £180 each. If a client returns to see him after a break of approximately 12 months, he asks them to attend a new initial consultation.
Many clients want to try in-person appointments at some point during theirpsychological therapy or for their initial consultation for the purpose of human connection and relationship building. However, others prefer remote (video call) appointments to make their attendance possible due to living outside of London or simply because they have a busy schedule. From experience, having more regular appointments seems to be more related to how beneficial psychological therapy is, compared to whether it is attended in-person or online. However, much more research is needed on this topic!
Most clients have 6-12 therapy appointments. However, you may need more or less depending on how complex the concerns are that you bring to therapy. It is also worth considering that some clients have more goals than others that they’d like to reach by the time their appointments end. A client with atopic dermatitis using topical treatments might have just 5 appointments to work on scratch reduction and improved sleep. A client who has clinically significant symptoms of post-traumatic stress, low self-esteem, and a needle phobia might require as many as 20 sessions.
Dr Turner recommends that you attend every week or two for the best chance of a very positive outcome to your therapy. However, some clients choose to use psychology appointments more like a drop-in service which you can contact him about if you think that would suit your needs better. You can contact him by email (mark.turner @theskinpsychologist.com ) or by text to his business What’s app phone number which is 07818562087.
Please note that psychologists do not offer an emergency service. If you require emergency medical or emotional support, please attend your nearest 24 hour accident and emergency (A&E) department.
For 24 hour emotional support, please call Samaritans on 116 123. You can also use the following link to find a 24/7 crisis help line with your local mental health trust in England.
