What qualifications do you have?

I am a highly specialist Clinical Psychologist. 

I have a BA in Developmental Psychology, an MSc in Applied Psychology for Children and Young People, and a DClinPsych - a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology. I am HCPC Registered under the protected professional title of Practitioner Psychologist and my registration number is PYL29276.

My professional registration is with the UK Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) under the category of “practitioner psychologist”. My HCPC registration number is PYL29276. My listing can be found here.

Throughout my training, I have specialised in parents and their infants and young children and gained additional parenting intervention trainings and accreditation to practice:

• Incredible Years

• Triple-P

• Mellow Babie

• Mellow Bumps

• Attachment & Biobehavioural Catch-up

I have worked in a number of settings including  the NHS, Children’s Social Care and for a local charity. I have worked with parents and babies in inpatient settings, as well as in the community. 

What kinds of problems do parents ask you to help them with?

Parents come to me with a range of different problems. Most parents recognise that they are struggling to cope or manage, and that they are not functioning as well as they would like to be at this extremely challenging time. Some parents recognise there is a struggle in their relationship with their baby, and all parents want this to be the best it possibly could be. 

Parents may be struggling with: Sleep deprivation or overwhelm, change in their identity and their role, imposter syndrome, feelings of huge responsibility, anxiety about the baby’s health, general anxiety including experiencing distressing intrusive thoughts. Depression, including low mood, feeling isolated, loneliness and boredom, lacking support, struggling with confidence, and not having a network of friends. Feelings of guilt that things are different to expectations, or not as good as they would like to be, and the impact of this on the baby. Birth trauma and/or difficult experiences of health care and services. Experience of being in intensive care or their baby being in intensive care following birth. Difficulties with infant sleep or feeding and loss around this. Having multiple babies, sibling adjustment, and family dynamics changing. Difficulties in the parental relationship or other relationships shifting and changing as a result of being a parent. Bereavement past or present, including previous baby loss. Parental neurodivergence, and/or sensitivities or sensory issues affecting parenting. Childhood trauma including own experience of being a baby, of being parented, and of past relationships. Issues affected by gender and class. 

What is a Clinical Psychologist and why would I choose to use one?

Clinical Psychologists in the UK are trained to a doctoral level in both clinical practice and research.

• We work across the lifespan, assessing and treating diverse mental health concerns using a range of evidence-based psychological therapies.

• We are trained in using clinical assessment and standardised assessment tools for a variety of mental health, neurodevelopmental, and cognitive conditions.

• We focus on understanding why difficulties have arisen (this is called “psychological formulation”), rather than simply focusing on labels or diagnoses, because this helps us to best tailor our therapy or support. We consider a wide range of factors impacting on individuals, including psychological, sociological, and neuro-biological processes.

• We use talking psychotherapies to help clients resolve difficulties, and we are trained in multiple therapeutic approaches to ensure we can best meet each client’s unique needs.

• We are trained to critically appraise research and clinical evidence, in order to make sure that our work is always guided by the latest research findings. We regularly read research papers, and keep up to date with latest health policy and clinical guidelines, including the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and World Health Organisation (WHO). We complete ongoing professional development and training.

• We are trained to undertake and publish research and audit, to contribute to the psychological evidence-base, as well as to use it in our clinical work. 

• We offer supervision, facilitate reflective practices with organisations, and offer consultation to facilitate service and policy development. We offer training in areas of specialism. We are involved in providing training to the next generation of Clinical Psychologists. 

• We are regulated in the UK by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) under the category of “Practitioner Psychologist”. My HCPC registration number is PYL29276.  

• “Clinical Psychologist” is a protected title in the UK. This means that you are only allowed to call yourself a Clinical Psychologist if you have completed an approved 3-year Doctoral degree training.

• Other titles, like “psychologist” “psychotherapist” "neuropsychologist" or “therapist” are not protected, which means that, legally, anyone can call themselves these titles. It is important to carefully check the qualifications of anyone offering psychological interventions. 

• Psychotherapists and other therapists (e.g. Cognitive Behavioural Therapists) are typically trained in one specific therapeutic approach (e.g. CBT). They may not have training in psychological assessment and diagnosis. The depth, length, and breadth of training varies. Counsellors are trained to use active listening skills to support people with emotional difficulties, rather than using active therapeutic interventions.

• This doctorate involves extensive clinical training within the NHS in assessing and treating a wide range of mental health conditions, as well as requiring a clinical research project and thesis. Most Clinical Psychologists also need a number of years of therapeutic and research experience before gaining a place on this doctoral training.

What will happen in my therapy appointment?

In Parent-Infant Psychological therapy (PIP) we can explore and work on difficulties that you and your baby bring at your pace. Our initial sessions will form an assessment phase to help us develop a joint understanding of the issues that you are experiencing. Depending on your needs and preferences, we can work in a more goal-focused or a more exploratory way, tailoring the therapeutic approach specifically to you and your baby. We will regularly review how things are going, and what the impact of the work is. 

In ABC, we will work through the 10 week programme focussing on different parenting behaviours each week, including how to nurture your baby, follow their lead in play, and delight in them. We will also think about moments that are really difficult and see if we can understand and problem solve around these. I will show you clips of you and your baby from the previous week. It’s amazing how helpful it is to see yourself nurturing and playing with your child. Parents have commented that the video has been key to helping them recognise the things they are doing well, improve confidence and understand their child. 

If we agree to meet for a free 15 minute consultation to see if we are a good fit for your difficulties, we’ll discuss the issue that brings you to me, what you are hoping for from our work together, and any questions you might have. After the call, you can take your time to decide if you’d like to go ahead with further sessions.

How will I know if therapy is helping?

I work in a collaborative way with you, which means you will always be an active partner in deciding how we approach the issues you bring. We will review our work regularly to check how things are going, how you are feeling, and progress towards any concrete goals. 

We will always discuss what is happening for you and whether you feel comfortable with where we are taking the work. If we come towards the end of our work, we will discuss how to finish in a way that feels right to you. I will write a summary letter at the end of the work for you to keep, so you don’t have to remember it all as we go along!