About

 

 

I am an independent and highly experienced Consultant Clinical Psychologist and Systemic Psychotherapist with over twenty years experience working in the mental health field.  I have extensive knowledge of evaluating, diagnosing and treating emotional and behavioural disorders with a diverse range of client ages and groups within a variety of clinical settings.   In my last NHS post, I was Consultant Clinical Psychologist for the CAMHS service in Hastings where I provided clinical services to support a range of mental health conditions including complex trauma, eating disorders, severe anxiety and depression. I have expertise working with adoptive\looked after children and work closely with East Sussex County Council and other Local Authorities to provide services for these children and families.  I currently divide my time between my private practice and leading the Sabden Academy School Service, East Sussex which provides specialist clinical provision in schools for children with severe social, emotional and mental health difficulties. My clinical services are based in Hastings and Brighton.

Approach

I  am able to offer a friendly, flexible and holistic approach. I consider my treatment  “eclectic”; I do not subscribe to just one theoretical perspective. I provide a range of therapeutic interventions tailored to you or your family’s unique needs. My psychological practice is embedded in a developmental and interpersonal approach. I tend to see people’s difficulties through  an ‘attachment lens’– meaning that how we are in our relationships and within our self-identity is influenced by our early experiences of being nurtured and cared for. I capitalize on my training in clinical psychology and family therapy by fashioning modern treatments that address the underlying factors that keep children, young people and adults from maximizing their potential. My approach to treatment takes into consideration current thinking about such topics as attachment theory, mentalization, and the “relational approach” to treatment. I see value in helping people understand why they do the things they do: why they repeat self-defeating behaviors, how they keep themselves from achieving what they’d like to achieve, and what keeps them from becoming the person they’d like to become.

Education

I completed my Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at University College London (1987). My Doctorate thesis  was a ‘Study of the Inner World of Children with Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties’ and my elective placement was in adolescent psychotherapy, at the Brandon Centre and Anna Freud Centre, London. I am a Chartered member of the British Psychology Society (www.bps.org.uk) and registered with the Health & Care Professions Council (www.hcpc-uk.co.uk).  I have also trained as a Systemic  Psychotherapist at the Tavistock Clinic, London (1996) and I am a member of the UK Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice (www.aft.org.uk). I am also registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which means I subscribe to certain measures to protect patient confidentiality and I hold a professional liability insurance. I also have an Enhanced Disclosure Certificate from the Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS). As part of my continued professional development I have regular clinical supervision with a Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist.