Contact Michael
5 College Fields (Rear Lower Ground), Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3HP.
I am the highest senior clinical therapist and the most experienced therapist practitioner within The College Fields practice.
email: info@michael-hughes.co.uk
website: www.michael-hughes.co.uk
mobile: 07967 122 938 (*9am-5pm Mon-Fri only)
Not WhatsApp – I do not use WhatsApp for work and any such messages are not monitored and will remain unanswered.
*Due to the busy nature of the practice I will aim to reply to voicemails, messages or emails within 72 working hours. As I’m working back to back, face to face on Monday’s, Wednesday’s and Thursdays then I may not always have time to respond on these days as I’m normally fully booked or have limited availability at very specific times that are left.
Please note I only see adult clients over the age of 18+ years.
I do not respond at weekends, evenings or bank holidays or scheduled holidays (think solo retreat – so it’s not actually possible) to ensure well maintained boundaries and appropriate/required time to process and rest. People simply would not contact an NHS therapist out of hours and I believe that the same applies to a therapist in private practice whereby healthy boundaries are not just necessary but essential. Note that I will not reply past 5 pm or on weekends as my work phone is switched off and I switch to using a different personal/private phone.
Answering Service Your call is very important, so when using the message service, please leave your name, phone number and a brief message and your call will be returned during office hours. I will aim to reply within 48 hours although sometimes the response times vary due to the busy nature of my practice.
If you’re serious about getting professional help then do leave a voicemail, send a text or an email. I do not chase people who phone and do not leave a message or I’ll just assume it to be a nuisance/unwanted sales or spam caller.
The importance of leaving a message
Please be aware that if I unable to answer then it is likely that I will be treating a patient. Please leave a voicemail message, send a text or email and I will reply as soon as I can. As a mental health professional, I always reply to every message so if you haven’t received a reply then it is likely to have gone to spam. I am a very busy practitioner and I will aim to reply within 48 hours.
It’s best to supply a contact number if you are messaging by email as sometimes emails bounce back, otherwise, there isn’t an alternative way to reach you. This is common sense of course as sometimes there can be technical issues with email or if ever a call is cut short before connecting it may be that I’m travelling into clinic at the time or there will be some genuine reason why I may be unable to answer – so have some patience and understanding of circumstances and context – you will always be polite and courteous in the way you communicate with me or I will terminate the call. One does not get a second opportunity to be rude or disrespectful.
Contact during clinic hours
Contact is strictly from 9am to 5pm Monday-Friday. I am not contactable evenings, weekends, bank holidays or scheduled annual holidays.
Please note that I do not book same day appointments as slots are booked in advance and any urgency requiring a same day appointment is simply not the way I operate my practice as I will invariably be treating patients back to back throughout face to face clinical days and I don’t necessarily have time to reply on face to face clinical days – especially after back to back face-to-face days so you’ll need to adjust your expectations.
Text messages and the therapy agreement
See therapy agreement terms and conditions with regards sending text messages to cancel or reschedule…There are only three main reasons that are acceptable – any disrespect for the therapy agreement is explained to each patient. A patient will lose their slot and be replaced by someone else who is considerate and committed to the therapy process. Any non-payment patients will be removed from the service and will not have access any further treatment.
Social Media
I do not book sessions in through social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter etc as I find these types of enquiries notoriously unreliable or sketchy at best and I’m not in the habit of wasting time. If you are serious about therapy then I expect that all enquiries are by phone or email. I do not use what’s app to book appointments as I use it for family and personal use only and will not respond to any work messages using what’s app. If your impression is that therapy is short-term (less than 6 sessions) then this simply isn’t the way the brain works to establish lasting patterns so do consider this when enquiring.
Media Interviews and Television
I’m not a practitioner that’s interested in media interviews of any kind as I do not have time to spare as my attention is solely focused on patient care. I decline invitations for corporate work as my caseload demands my fullest attention.
Unsolicited Third Party Business Enquiries
I only use business contacts that I have been recommended and have been suitably vetted. Therefore any unsolicited business emails or calls such as offers of redesigning my website from India etc or SEO companies or graphic design enquiries/other business “proposals” from an unknown source will be muted and assigned to junk. I do not waste valuable time with such instances as I have more pressing matters to attend to and I have not given permission to speak to me or to receive any marketing or blanket emails.
Do not request information for free
Note that I do not run a charity or a charitable organisation, therefore requesting information of any kind for free is not something I ascribe to or have time for. In business this is called consulting and you don’t consult a professional for free or request work, therapy, marketing, research, free promotion or such like for free. So do not request it. This applies to students, therapists, prospective clients and such like as it is disrespectful to request information for free, it’s a business.
Be aware that spam, nuisance callers, SEO, cryptocurrency, marketing or recruitment consultant messages of a similar sales nature or anything that isn’t related to booking a therapy appointment will be immediately blocked. With the greatest of respect, I simply do not waste time on such matters.
Checking your appointment time
Please make sure that you leave sufficient time to message if you are checking your appointment time as my phone will not be switched on when I am working with patients 1:1 as my full attention is required for each patient. I will reply when I am able to in any gaps in consulting. Thank you.
Messaging me to check for directions isn’t something I can always reply to as I work with clients back to back and my phone is switched off during therapy sessions to focus completely on the client I am with. The arrangement message sent to each client specifies location and access. Please follow that as messaging to the contrary due to the structure of how I work often means I cannot reply to these types of messages so please ensure you follow the instructions on the arrangement message.
Parking
There is no change or coins held in the practice for the parking meter for on street parking. I do not carry change nor do I use the parking app. It’s your responsibility to ensure you have change or use the app to pay for in street parking. Parking on the driveway is not possible and this is used for private residents parking.
Your Appointment
Remember that every patient receives a text message initially to confirm all the details of their rolling slot appointment (unless an ad-hoc appointment pre-booked by another patient prevents this on occasion) upon receipt of the prepayment.
Due to the rolling slot being allocated per patient it is highly unlikely to confuse when the appointment time is because regular rolling sessions (same day and time each week) obviously prevent this being used as an excuse. It is each patient’s responsibility to make sure they attend their designated appointment. Mix up’s do not occur from my side. Such as turning up for a face to face session on the days when I work online: Tuesday’s and Friday’s. I work face to face on Monday, Wednesday and Thursday and I do not have access to the room on the other days as the room is used by different therapists.
I am unable to reserve appointments for new prospective patients months ahead in the diary as this negatively impacts the existing clients that are committed to rolling attendance and that have an ongoing scheduled and agreed time until their therapy ends by mutual agreement. Unfortunately due to rolling slot attendance I cannot accommodate people that work shift patterns as this isn’t the way the planning in the diary works. Do not request appointments are “pencilled in” as this isn’t showing the necessary commitment and it stops someone else who is fully committed to accessing the therapy service. Therefore, I do not pencil in appointments and I find these types of requests an unnecessary irritation. Unfortunately I cannot accommodate anything other than weekly attendance and do not have the space to accommodate fortnightly, bi-weekly or monthly but I can offer a referral to another therapist that can.
Please make sure you clear it with your workplace to attend weekly or ensure you can regularly attend the time slot you are designated as other slots are normally taken by other patients and it’s not professional to ask other patients to move to accommodate rigid or specific time requests. For example, please do not message saying you can only make 3pm as it might already be booked out by someone else so be mindful of other people.
The client must want to undertake the therapy (not a friend or relative pushing them to take it). Clients also need to fully commit to following the processes involved. If one or both of these are missing, then the chances of a successful outcome for the client are reduced accordingly.
Clifton
Please note that the following clinic times are set, the majority will already be taken by patients who have secured their weekly, hourly slot and cannot be altered because there isn’t space. Please do not message requesting a specific time that you are only available as this is not how I work.
Patients are allocated whatever slot becomes free and if they do not book it when offered then they are likely to not get a designated weekly slot. Additional requests for evening and weekend appointments will be respectfully declined as I have other commitments outside of these specified clinic hours and do not have access to the therapeutic space required outside of these set hours. Be aware that waiting times for NHS therapy can involve long waiting times.
NHS therapy waiting times for Cognitive Behavioural therapy is around 18 months.
Private waiting times are normally considerably less time to wait (weeks) for an available appointment but flexibility is required by prospective patients when enquiring or booking into any slot that is left.
Mondays - Face to Face in Clifton – 10 am until 4 pm the fixed face to face times I work are as follows (but most of these times will already be booked).
10 am
11 am
12
1 pm
3 pm
Tuesdays – Online Zoom appointment
10-11, 11:30-12:30, 13:00-14:00, 14:30-15:30pm
Wednesdays – Face to Face in Clifton – 10 am until 4 pm the fixed face to face times I work are as follows:
10 am
11 am
12
1 pm
3 pm
Thursdays - Face to Face in Clifton - 10 am until 4 pm the fixed face to face times I work are as follows:
10 am
11 am
12
1 pm
3 pm
Fridays – Online Zoom Appointments:
10-11, 11:30-12:30, 13:00-14:00, 14:30-15:30pm
Saturday - closed
Sunday - closed
I do not do home or off site visits.
I don’t respond to messages or emails after 5 pm but I will endeavour to respond from 9 am the next working day or if this isn’t possible then certainly within 48 hours. If you do not receive a reply then it’s likely to have gone to spam or I’ve not received your message.
Medical Conditions
As with all complementary therapies, you should seek advice from your GP if you feel you have a medical condition.
Exclusion Particulars and Contraindications
Please note that I only see adult clients over the age of 18 years. I no longer have the time to see children or under 18’s due to the amount of admin that was required. I suggest parents contact their GP, CAMHS, Off The Record for help in these instances for therapeutic assistance for children and teenagers as I can no longer help with these cases.
Unfortunately, under exclusion particulars I do not offer therapy services for Regression, Uncovering past memories (traumatic or otherwise) BPD, MPD, hypnobirthing, stopping smoking, sexual issues, past life regression, drug addiction, depression or severe depression, complex ptsd (cptsd).
Certain additional exclusions also apply. For instance, from 2025 onwards, I will no longer work in a 1:1 therapeutic capacity with therapists, counsellors, psychologists, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, retired practitioners, those currently in training, or anyone with a professional or personal interest in therapeutic training.
Hypnotherapists are not licensed to diagnose conditions and if a diagnosis is required then this must be done so via a GP. Therefore, you do not request a diagnosis as this isn’t part of the service.
Hypnosis is a completely natural state of mind – for most patients/clients, it is extremely beneficial and relaxing. However, there are some possible contraindications, and patients who fall into these categories should not be referred or recommended for hypnotherapy.
Do not use hypnotherapy if you have psychosis, epilepsy or certain types of personality disorder, as it could make your condition worse.
Check with a GP first if you’ve got a personality disorder.
Not an out of hours or emergency service
Please note I do not provide an emergency service or out of hours service.
If you need help outside usual working hours, contact your GP. Or try the following helplines for advice and support -
Samaritans, ChildLine, Family Lives (previously known as ParentLine).
24 hour confidental text service Shout: text 85258
For safeguarding/child protection concerns contact Children’s Services through First Response Bristol on 0117 903 6444
If you are/someone is at serious risk of harm to themselves or others, please contact the police or go to your local A & E where there will be an out-of-hours mental health team/psychiatrist contactable.