Sinclair-Strong Consultants Ltd - West Malling

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Part of me wishes I met Dr Strong 20 years ago but I know I met her at the right time and when I really needed her. From not processing childhood trauma, holding on to grief and dealing with having heart surgery at the age of 35, Dr Strong helped lift a cloud that has weighed over me for most of my life.

She helped me come to the realisation that I am strong and I matter and I can survive anything thrown at me. Life won’t be all smiles and rainbows and that’s ok, but picking myself up and letting myself feel whatever I need to feel instead of boxing it up and packing away will stay with me. Thank you Dr Stong.

Marie Morgan

Coming from a psychology background, I am very concerned with the practices used here. I have incredibly similar experiences to other reviewers. I received an ASD assessment which was heavily biased by a previous diagnosis that my doctors and this team tell me they have no notes on other than the name of it. I have all the traits to reach the threshold for an ASD diagnosis, however they attribute it to the previous diagnosis. Due to my knowledge of psychology when I repeatedly questioned how the clearly autistic traits could not be explained by the other diagnosis using all the relevant diagnostic criteria, my questions were deflected and left unanswered. I also was met with unprofessional correspondences that tried to dissuade me from gaining further appointments and assessments with them that I was entitled to. The methods of assessment used are outdated and not appropriate for all levels of autistic people. I will be raising formal complaints to the appropriate health boards and urge anyone thinking of using this or seeking a referall through the NHS to use your "right to chose" and do a lot of research on who you ask to be referred too. If anyone reading this has a similar experience please feel free to add me on Google to discuss this.

Edit: I have seen in other reviews people are having problems regarding complaints, and getting answers. To help I suggest doing what I did, which was contact Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust’s Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) and submit a formal complaint. They are very helpful and take these complaints seriously.

Louisa Peat

I have been a patient of Sinclair- Strong Consultants since 2020, when I lost my dad very suddenly. My counselling sessions were personalised and adapted to suit me as a person and Linda was extremely beneficial in helping me through my greif and other troubles I had going on alongside.

I saw her for about 7 months and eventually felt comfortable ending my counselling, however I returned earlier this year for further sessions.

There was no hesitation in picking up the phone to Linda's office and requesting an appointment to see her personally.

I had a bond with her already and she knew exactly how my mind worked so I felt completely comfortable returning.

The methods and techniques she has taught me in our sessions have helped me so much and I am applying them on a daily basis. This has made me stronger as a person and I can now deal with certain challenges that life throws at me.

Thank you so much, my life would have turned out very different hadn't I reached out for help......and received the right help ?

Caroline Stark

Our encounter with Dr. Sinclair's practice left us with a perception of unprofessionalism in their psychological services which was suggested for assisting individuals with Autism and Asperger's. Despite the expertise advertised, the care provided during telephone therapy with Matthew was inconsistent and abruptly stopped without communication. This led to distress and worsening conditions for Matthew. Reaching out to Dr. Sinclair and the community team helped restart therapy, but the ad-hoc nature continued, impacting Matthew's well-being negatively.
Dr. Sinclear would make pessimistic remarks to Matthew such as, "We are not making progress in these sessions, Matthew." I am unsure why this statement was made, as it has caused confusion for Matthew and his mental health was no better with these types of comments. I reached out to Dr. Sinclair regarding Matthew's mental health Dr. Sinclair stressed the need for Matthew's consent. Even after explaining my intention to provide historical context, our discussion became strained, Dr. Sinclair suggested an unconventional approach by proposing, "Mrs. Stark, we haven't started off on the right foot. Let's pretend to hang up on each other and begin afresh," reenacting the scenario . Such conduct was quite unexpected in a professional environment. As a result, the conversation became strained and ended abruptly.
Dr. Sinclair shared details of our conversation with Matthew, causing additional stress and issues at home. Despite Dr. Sinclair's professional position, the disclosure was considered unprofessional. Dr. Sinclair sought permission from Matthew to speak with me, but Matthew declined, affecting the relationship, especially considering Matthew's mental health condition. Dr. Sinclair reached out to my son once more, reiterating my involvement and commenting that "your mum is always getting involved." This led to further issues at home for the second time. In my view, this behaviour is entirely unprofessional. If you are seeking psychology services, kindly search elsewhere.

Soup

Horrible experience here. This is the first time i have ever written a Google review before, but since I can't seem to find somewhere to officially complain on their website, and they don't appear to care about complains written to them in email I felt the need to.

As all the other comments have stated, this is not the place to have a ASD assessment without feeling degraded, unheard and dismissed. I won't go into too much detail on this, but i eagerly highlight all the other comments on this service.

In all honesty, I get the feeling that the people who work here couldn't care less about you and only want to do a half arsed job.
Following receiving my outcome, which misrouted my words, missed out important shared information and deemed me not to meet the threshold for ASD because I "maintain eye contact" and "have a job, uni and friends" while dismissing all comment around how difficult this all is for me, i was appalled.

I wrote a long winded email expressing my unhappiness, which did not receive a response for three weeks. The response was only to discuss things over the phone, which never happened. This was in January fyi.

Please do not waste your time waiting for this place.
Use you rights to go elsewhere.

Oldskool Gamer

Dr Anne and Dr Claire are both extremely professional and good at their jobs. I felt completely supported throughout the process and was aBLe to express myself freely, receiving total positive regard. Thanks for everything.

Cat Skies

As commented by another review, if you're a highly masking autistic woman with a prior mental health diagnosis, AVOID this place. They'll tell you that your AQ-50 and EQ scores meet the autism threshold, but somehow still won't diagnose you for "not meeting the criteria" due to masking behaviours. If you ask them to review it, they'll use the same false/incorrect notes from the initial assessment and uphold the original decision. Absolutely no understanding of how autism looks in women who are highly masking and I believe I was discriminated against due to the stigma of my initial mental health diagnosis (which I emphasised is a misdiagnosis which is commonly seen in autistic women). Appalling treatment after waiting over a year for an appointment.

A Tigi

I have already discussed privately with the therapist the issue I encountered but thought I would give an honest review. I saw a therapist here for a few months a couple of years ago and at first the experience was very positive. However, personal views of the therapist definitely interfered with my treatment. I was the victim of a traumatic crime and it has taken me a long time to let go of the feeling of guilt that often comes with trauma. The therapist repeatedly suggested I do my own ‘investigative’ work to seek out any more victims, or perhaps Google the criminals name once a month to see if they’re in the newspaper etc. I understand wanting your patient to seek justice, but I also think its important to accept their decision. Cases that have happened many years ago and with very little evidence can cause a great deal of harm instead of an outcome of justice. Part of moving on is letting go of responsibility for me. It became such a problem I had to leave the therapist in the end after repeatedly telling them I had sought advice from police and had decided not to press charges due to my own mental well-being and probability of the outcome. I didn’t want to constantly be focused on it for the rest of my life, I want to move forward and leave it behind. I was the victim and have no responsibility over what happened. I still don’t. So maybe some food for thought going forward.