Do you know what mental health provision is like ?
it could be better, there are always wait times.
In the city I live in, for a child with severe mental health issues the only public option (CYHHS) is fairly picky about who they take, only wanting to see actual DSM-5 diagnoses and not behaviour. Once on board they are awesome though. The public hospital has a developmental assessment service for pre schoolers where psychologists work, although it’s primarily for assessment/therapy.
For children with a “diagnosis” - ie a diagnosis the national disability service scheme accepts as permanent, private psychology can be accessed through the NDIS funding, usually fortnightly or so, depending on need. Pragmatically, for children over 6 it’s hard to get without an ASD diagnosis. Under 6 it’s a lot more accessible as a funding package is given to children with “areas of concern”. This also gives access to speech/OT/physio. NDIS funded patients probably make up the bulk of the work for all private child therapists, including OT, speech pathologists and physios.
If money is tight and CYMHS haven’t accepted and they are NDIS ineligible and the family has a lower income there’s a program for under 12s where children have up to 10 sessions with a child psychologist. You can choose the psychology group but not the individual psychologist. The local universities who have psychology students also do assessments and run group therapy sessions that aren’t expensive at all.
There are probably about 60 qualified child psychologists in my area, and maybe 10 child psychiatrists. Some psychologists only do assessments, most do clinical work. Private assessments are considered valid for schools and funding purposes.
Most people access psychology through these private providers if they aren’t eligible for a “free” service or NDIS funding They get a care plan through their GP or private paed which brings the cost down to 100 dollars out of pocket per session. Most children only need 6 sessions or so.
So
For a 4 year old with challenging behaviour and developmental differences NDIS finding will pay for assessment/therapy.
For a 7 year your old with anxiety as a comorbidity from say, their ASD NDIS will fund psychology with any registered psychologist the parents choose (as well as other parents)
for a 13 year old who is otherwise developmentally normal and neurotypical, with significant mental health issues such as (for example) severe, intractable anxiety and disordered eating CYMHS will see, although there are also a few excellent private psychologists who manage disordered eating.
For an anxious 10 year old whose family is of lower income there is free access but you can’t choose who you get and your GP or paed need to know about the program to apply.
For my 14 year old who does not have an underlying disorder but who is struggling a bit with emotions, low grade anxiety and teen issues I have chosen and booked a local private psychologist. I will (eventually) get a care plan so my out of pocket costs are 100 dollars per session. The person I wanted has moved premises and so has some gaps and I was able to see immediately and book fortnightly appts for a few months. This should be enough.
I have no idea how this compares to the UK.