I have been working as a Clinical Psychologist since 2007, where I have worked in various settings with children and adults who have presented with mental health difficulties and emotional distress. My aim is to provide therapeutic change for people who need support with difficult life events, so that they are then able to function better in day to day life.

I work with both children and adults and have a keen interest in Attachment Trauma or Complex Trauma across the lifespan. I also work with couples experiencing difficulties in their relationship and work towards understanding the emotional conflicts, that result in the relationship being strained or likely to end without support.

The type of therapies I deliver are essentially about emotional experiencing within the therapeutic space to work through your difficulties. The main ones I deliver are include Psychodynamic Psychotherapy, Intensive Short Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) and Mentalisation Based Therapy (MBT), which are all effective for those experiencing social, emotional and interpersonal difficulties and/or complex trauma. I am also trained in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

I receive regular supervision for my work in order to learn, reflect and enhance my therapeutic work and I am registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) to ensure data protection and privacy.

Psychodynamic therapy is an in-depth form of talk therapy based on the theories and principles of psychoanalysis and I draw heavily upon attachment theory in my work. Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) is an accelerated model of dynamic psychotherapy. ISTDP comprises a set of powerful interventions to alleviate symptoms of emotional distress and to promote mental health in a rapid and cost-effective way. The focus is on the unconscious emotional processes that underlie many psychological as well as somatic difficulties. As an emotion-focused, experiential therapy ISTDP aims to get to the root of a individual’s difficulties in as short a time-frame as possible, to enable them to overcome symptoms and reach their full potential. It has been shown to be effective in the treatment of a wide range of problems, ranging from anxiety and depression, to more complex presentations such as attachment trauma and medically unexplained physical symptoms.

Mentalization-based therapy (MBT) is a type of long-term psychotherapy. Mentalization is the ability to think about thinking. It helps to make sense of our thoughts, beliefs, wishes and feelings and to link these to our actions and behaviours. Mentalization is a normal capacity that we all use in everyday life. It underpins all human relationships. However, some people find it more difficult to mentalise in certain situations than others. MBT aims to improve a person’s capacity to mentalise. We focus on what is going on in your mind and in the minds of other people and link this to understand and alleviate problematic behaviours.

There is no one size fits all therapeutic approach and so I place importance on developing a shared understanding of what the core issues are that impact you. Following this there is mutual agreement about the type of therapy and the methods we will use to achieve this goal. I place great importance on the therapeutic relationship so that individuals can benefit from the therapeutic space in order to get the best outcomes and continue with life.

I have particular expertise in relation to working with Children In Care, where over the last 20 years I have worked therapeutically with children in Residential, Fostering and Adoption Services. I now act as an external consultant and trainer to Fostering Agencies, Adoption Services and Residential Homes in all areas around children in care, with particular emphasis on children who present with complex trauma.

With the demands of life in general, I also offer a platform of online therapy that enables you to undertake therapeutic support flexibly and creatively at your own convenience. This is something that I have valued over the last several years. I am fully insured, a member of my professional body (HCPC) and receive regular supervision for my practice. In addition to direct work with individuals, I also provide Supervision, Consultation, Mentoring, Reflective Practice and Training to organisations on matters relating to mental health, wellbeing and staff support.