I am writing to let you (Jo Bartholomew) know that I passed the FRCS (General Surgery) Section 1 exam in June! The exam board gave an additional 25% extra time as you advised and also invalidated my previous 2 attempts. I was still a bit pushed for time but this time only missed out 2 questions in one of the papers. I also went to see a behavioural optometrist who thinks I have an Oculomotor nerve dysfunction (specifically a tracking issue) so has made some suggestions for ways of trying to remediate this.

Thanks again for your help with the assessment and report.

I wanted to take a minute to share what your assessment (Dr Jo Davies) has meant for us nearly a year on. Understanding the problems our son has with processing speed has allowed us to have an informed conversation with the school to make learning more enjoyable for him. The teachers read your report and we met to discuss. Simple changes like allowing him to choose the best place to sit in the class and allowing him to have a quick break from a longer piece of work have made a huge difference. It has changed my approach as a parent recognising that he has the ability if given the time. Given a few extra minutes his SATS results were all above average. The information empowered me to ask the school to think about how they assessed spellings for him; the risk of leaving him in the bottom group based on short timed tests meant that he was never challenged and lost interest. They listened and he has been put up 2 groups in 6 months. The teachers expect more of him given a little extra time. He has relished the challenge and his self esteem has grown. He now approaches homework with a smile, I try very hard not to get cross when he takes an age to get his ideas down and we use strategies to help him organise his thoughts. The assessment and recommendations you made will have a lasting affect on our son’s learning and we are very appreciative.

As concerned parents of a 9-year-old boy struggling with all aspects of learning, we were so lucky to have had the involvement and expertise of Essential Psychology.  I cannot recommend them enough.  Jo Bartholomew is extremely thorough, professional, knowledgeable and able to explain complex issues in a clear and understandable way.  She was able to put our son at ease from the start and fully engage him.  We now have a clear understanding of our son’s strengths and weaknesses and how to best help him going forward.  Jo Bartholomew gave us practical advice along with an extremely thorough report.  We would not hesitate to recommend Essential Psychology’s services and use them again in the future.

For years I had always thought I could possibly be dyslexic, I am now 20 and thought it’s something I must find out, and also being in university I just wanted answers to why I find certain things difficult.  Dr Jo Davies made me feel so comfortable throughout the whole process and explained everything along the way. Once I found out I do actually have dyslexia Dr Davies talked through all the possibilities with me and made it very clear about how I can carry on with my studies with confidence. I am so thankful for her patience and help, and I am more aware of all the various options I can consider to help my academic journey.

I have worked with Essential Psychology for the last three years and have always been impressed by their service. They are flexible to work within the busy school environment and complete thorough assessments. They are always willing to discuss the needs of the children in detail and will adapt their assessment to ensure that as a school, we get the correct information to provide or access the appropriate support for the child.

Jo Bartholomew and Jo Davies both have a friendly, relaxed and approachable manner with the children and their families. Parents who may have been initially apprehensive to have their child assessed and talk about their needs, feel instantly calm and happy after a conversation with either of them. The reports are written in a clear format which is easy to understand with many strategies listed for school and home to put in place.

We are always happy with their services and will continue to use Essential Psychology in the future.

We have employed the services of Essential Psychology for a number of years to complete assessments for access arrangements on a large number of our students. We have always found both Jo Davies and Jo Bartholomew to be accommodating, friendly and calming to some of our more nervous students when faced with testing.

Even when the best laid plans go wrong i.e. students not arriving on time etc. neither of the Jo’s were put off by this and always kept smiling and adapted the timetable to suit. The reports were with us in a prompt manor and suited our requirements.

We would have no hesitation in using their services again and recommending them to other educational services.

I thought I would update you on my daughter’s GCSE results. She found out yesterday that she achieved A*AAAAAABBBBC. She is thrilled.  Something definitely changed in her since your (Jo Bartholomew) report came through and she believed that with the right preparation she could do well, and she wasn’t simply ‘stupid’ (her words!).

So, thanks again for all your help.

 I contacted Essential Psychology with regards to my ten year old son. He has always found reading difficult and whenever I questioned school about his progress they always said he would catch up and I wasn’t to worry. However, time has progressed and the divide between him and his peers has grown. So much so that he himself is aware of  his shortfalls. During one particular homework session, I found his self esteem and confidence to be disturbingly low. He was so negative about himself and his abilities that I really began to panic for him, particularly with regards to his entrance into comp in September!

I did a bit of research and finally decided upon Essential Psychology. I contacted them and within a week the lovely Jo Davies was sitting at our kitchen table assessing my son. Despite my son being initially nervous, Jo immediately  put him at ease and I was more than happy to leave them to it. The results ultimately confirmed what we had been thinking. Jo knew that I had a scheduled parent evening due and she processed her report extra fast to ensure that I had it ready to share with the school. As a result of the report and advice given by Jo, changes have been put in place that will help him at school. Despite school’s previous denial of any difficulties, with an official report in their possession, they have had to acknowledge them! At home, I can target the specific areas most in need of assistance.

The whole process was quick and simple. Having been able to demonstrate to my son that he has strengths, as well as a couple of weaknesses, has already boosted his confidence. In a very short time, he already comes out of school with a smile on his face. Something I hadn’t seen in a long time! His attitude at home has altered too. He is far less reluctant to settle into work and approaches it with a positive mind!

I am so very grateful for the speedy response of Jo Davies. If I had approached school to arrange such an assessment, it would have taken months and months. I have since been told by my health visitor that the waiting list can be as long as 18 months! It isn’t a cheap option, but getting Essential Psychology involved was most definitely the best move we made! 

I contacted Dr. Jo Davies after the school raised concerns about my 7 year old possibly being dyslexic. The assessment was arranged quickly after having a discussion with Dr Davies about how to best carry it out. Having details about the process before it takes place was important to us as we had never done this before. Dr Davies made us feel comfortable and my son actually loved doing the assessment with Jo who he “liked very much”.   About a week after, we received a detailed report which explained key elements that will help us focus our efforts.  I would happily recommend Essential Psychology and will return for a follow up session.

I was concerned about aspects of my daughter’s learning and performance at school. She has some areas of real strength which masked the difficulties she was experiencing and I knew she was slipping under the radar at school and would not be identified as having problems worth testing. I think parents are often very tuned in with their children and intuitively know that there are aspects of their learning which cause particular problems. It is for this reason that I contacted Essential Psychology. My daughter was seen promptly and professionally by Jo (Bartholomew) and she made a rather shy teenager comfortable and relaxed throughout the whole testing process.   Around a week after the evaluation we received a very thorough and detailed report confirming that my daughter did indeed have some problem areas and would benefit from specific support at school.  What is also great is that my daughter can see that she is excelling in some areas; this has been really important for her self-confidence.   The report concluded with some excellent learning resource links that I can use to support my daughter outside of the classroom. Sometimes we want answers to problems that we can’t define but are certain exist. Jo Bartholomew and Essential Psychology provided those answers.

I contacted Essential Psychology in a panic because I had just found out my son needed a new assessment to get support at university. His earlier assessment had been done just before he turned 16 and couldn’t be used by the university. We didn’t have much time because registration was only a few weeks away. When I was trying to choose where to get the assessment done, I had nothing to go on but I knew I wanted someone local to where we lived. I took a chance on Essential Psychology and I was not disappointed.  My son was given an appointment and assessed with a very short turn around and this meant we had the report in time for him to register with student support in order to get support for his disability. I was very happy with the level of professionalism and with the care taken by Dr Jo Davies who carried out the assessment and wrote the report. Essential Psychology was really helpful, friendly and accommodating. Most importantly perhaps, Jo was able to instil confidence in us, putting us both at ease.  My son is now thriving at university and getting the support he needs. Based on our experience, I can happily recommend Essential Psychology.

I have received the report today and both my parents and I are very happy with the result.  I cannot thank you (Jo Bartholomew) enough for your help and detailed report.  Hopefully, on returning to university with some of your suggested strategies put into place, I will be able to succeed without doubting my intellectual ability throughout my study.

I would like to thank Jo Bartholomew for assessing my child.  Jo Bartholomew carried out a thorough assessment with my child, myself and in school.  She was friendly and professional, and managed to gather information that I could not.  Jo Bartholomew understood my child perfectly.  This has been a huge help and a massive step forward for me in helping my child to progress.  Without this assessment, I would still be struggling to understand my child’s difficulties and how to best help him.

I would definitely recommend Dr. Jo Davies/ Essential Psychology. Dr Jo Davies was extremely professional, friendly and very kind answering all my questions regarding my son’s assessment and explaining everything beforehand in detail.

She was very careful in her observations and we had an in depth report and meeting about what she had observed  and results from the assessment, with recommendations for which areas we should look at further with the school. Dr Davies was happy to work with both myself and my son’s Class Teacher and we were able to work together to get the best outcome.

This was the first time I have used Essential Psychology and found them very understanding of my client’s needs. My client has behavioural problems, which was not a problem and they understood it may be very difficult to get her to attend the assessment and engage. Dr. Jo Davies was very flexible and took this into consideration when arranging the assessment visit and if she had to rearrange this would be fine. Dr. Davies’ approach with my client was excellent and she managed to get her to engage in a full assessment which surprised us all due to my client’s reluctance to interact with people she doesn’t know.

I would certainly use Essential Psychology again and not only for assessment but for 1-1 work, if required.

“Thank you so much Dr Davies for playing such a key part in our son’s journey.  Your input will finally help him secure the support and understanding he so deserves, and we are beyond grateful.”

“After 6½ years, 65 different hospital and clinic appointments, and much worry, our son has received the Autism diagnosis we felt he so much needed. It will get our son that bit closer to receiving the help and support he both deserves and needs.

Thank you, thank you (Jo Bartholomew) so much for all of your help and kindness, and for believing so much in our son. Your help will help to secure his future.”