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Why Do We Ask You to Complete Questionnaires During Therapy?


At Person Centre, we provide low-cost, evidence-based online psychological support for adults, parents, children, and young people. Some clients ask why we ask them to complete questionnaires at the start, during, and at the end of therapy or psychological support.

This page explains why these questionnaires matter, how they protect your wellbeing, and how they help ensure that our work together is effective, safe, and meaningful.


Our Services at a Glance


We support:


Adult Psychological Support

Using low-intensity Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) and positive psychology, we help adults manage common difficulties such as:

  • Low mood and low motivation

  • Generalised anxiety

  • Phobias

  • Panic disorder

  • Obsessive-compulsive difficulties (OCD)

  • Health anxiety

  • Insomnia

  • Coping with long-term health conditions (e.g. fatigue, chronic pain)

Our work focuses on practical skills, helping you apply psychological tools in daily life to improve wellbeing, resilience, and functioning.


Parent, Child, and Family Support

We also help parents:

  • Manage children’s sleep difficulties

  • Address challenging behaviours

  • Improve parent–child relationships

  • Build emotionally supportive home environments


A Medical Analogy: Why Assessment Matters

Imagine visiting a doctor who does not ask about your symptoms, history, or current difficulties. Without assessment, it would be impossible to decide whether treatment is appropriate or safe.

Psychological support works in a similar way.


Questionnaires are not diagnosis. They are clinical tools that help us understand:

  • What you are experiencing now

  • How severe or distressing the symptoms are

  • Whether low-intensity support is suitable for your needs


Why We Use Questionnaires at Different Stages


1. At the Start: Making Sure Support Is Right for You


Our adult service is designed for people with:

  • Mild to moderate mental health difficulties, or

  • Individuals who want to build skills for wellbeing, productivity, and resilience

Low-intensity CBT is structured, focused, and time-limited, usually lasting 6–10 sessions to work on one main difficulty at a time.


Initial questionnaires help us:

  • Confirm that low-intensity support is appropriate

  • Identify your main areas of difficulty

  • Decide together on clear, realistic therapy goals


This ensures that you receive the right level of care, rather than something that may be insufficient or unsuitable.


2. During Therapy: Tracking Progress and Adjusting Support


Mental health changes gradually, and sometimes subtly. When you are living with anxiety, low mood, or sleep problems every day, it can be hard to notice improvements or setbacks.


Regular questionnaires help us:

  • Objectively track changes over time

  • Check whether therapy is helping

  • Adjust techniques if something is not working

  • Ensure that sessions remain focused and useful

This protects you from spending time and money on support that is not delivering real benefit.


3. At the End: Seeing Your Progress Clearly


At the end of therapy or support, we review your questionnaire scores together.


Many clients are surprised to see:

  • How much their symptoms have reduced

  • How their confidence or coping has improved

  • How far they have come since the first session


This is an important part of therapy closure. It allows us to:

  • Celebrate your progress together

  • Reinforce the skills you have learned

  • Help you feel confident using these tools independently in the future

Our long-term aim is not just symptom relief, but to equip you with lifelong psychological skills.


Why This Matters Especially for Hong Kong and Chinese Communities


Hong Kong currently faces a severe shortage of accessible, evidence-based mental health services.

Public psychiatric outpatient services use a triage system, and stable cases (around 78% of new referrals) often face median waiting times of 22 to 77 weeks, with some areas reaching nearly two years for a first appointment.

At the same time:

  • Hong Kong has far fewer psychiatrists per population than international benchmarks

  • Private therapy can cost HKD 1,000–4,000 per session, making it inaccessible for many

Delays in early support mean that low-level distress can worsen over time, leading to greater impairment and suffering.


Our Evidence-Based Approach


At the heart of Person Centre’s work is low-intensity CBT (LICBT), the same model that underpins England’s NHS Talking Therapies, originally developed through the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) programme.


LICBT:

  • Is structured and goal-focused

  • Emphasises self-help and skill-building

  • Has strong evidence for mild to moderate anxiety and depression

  • Has been adapted internationally for adults, children, and young people

Research consistently shows that brief, guided, online LICBT leads to meaningful symptom improvement for the majority of participants.


We are Hong Kong–born, UK-trained mental health practitioners, and our practice is grounded in internationally recognised clinical standards.


Affordable, Transparent Pricing

At the time of writing:

  • 1-to-1 online sessions: HKD 180 / 45 minutes

  • Discounted packages available for 3-session and 6-session plans

  • Discounted initial consultation: HKD 50

Our aim is to show that private, evidence-based psychological support does not need to cost a fortune, especially during challenging economic times.


A Final Word


Questionnaires are not paperwork for the sake of paperwork. They are a way to:

  • Keep you safe

  • Ensure therapy is appropriate

  • Track real progress

  • Help you leave therapy feeling empowered, not dependent


If something has been troubling you for some time, and you feel our approach may be right for you, you are very welcome to book an initial consultation and explore your options with us.


You do not have to face these difficulties alone.


 
 
 

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