ABOUT ME
I am a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist, trained in Australia and working in London. And I love what I do.
I am committed to always learning and improving my practice, through ongoing training, clinical supervision, seeking feedback, and self-reflection. I approach my work with respect, curiosity, an open mind, and an understanding that every person’s experience is both unique and valid. All are welcome.
It is a great privilege to be allowed into the lives of individuals and families and I step into this role viewing all involved as experts. I bring expertise in psychological theory and in utilising these concepts and practical strategies to help people to achieve their goals, but this is secondary to the valuable knowledge and expertise on your own experiences that you bring to our work.
MY JOURNEY AS A CLINICIAN
I have been incredibly fortunate to have worked with so many skilled colleagues in different settings across the world and I strive to incorporate my learning from each of these experiences into my work.
Early Beginnings in Australia
I grew up in Australia and completed my undergraduate and postgraduate Clinical Psychology training in Adelaide, South Australia in 2009. My love of child and family work arose from working in a great team in a local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), where I was able to use creativity and humour to make complex psychological concepts fun and inviting for young clients.
After graduating I worked in a psychology service within social care for three years, completing assessment, therapeutic, and consultation work to support children and families overcome difficult beginnings. This work was challenging but extremely rewarding.
London Calling
I made the decision to relocate to London in 2012, gained recognition as a Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC; the regulatory body for psychologists in the UK), and began working in the NHS. I supported caregivers to use positive behaviour strategies and strengthen their relationships with their children during my clinical research role at the National Academy of Parenting Research at King’s College London, deepening my understanding of social learning theory and attachment based therapeutic work.
I then moved onto Croydon Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), supporting children to improve their mental health, with a particular focus on supporting the needs of Looked After Children (LAC) and Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children (UASC). I also furthered my formal training in trauma-focussed interventions, incorporating trauma-focussed Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) and Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) into my work.
These clinical psychology roles solidified my knowledge of using evidence-based psychological interventions creatively, collaboratively, and thoughtfully with individuals and families from many different backgrounds. I also learnt a great deal about strength and resilience in young people, and the importance of always leading with curiosity and empathy.
National and Specialist CAMHS
In 2014 I joined the Conduct, Adoption, and Fostering Team, an NHS National and Specialist CAMHS at the Michael Rutter Centre, Maudsley Hospital, where I remained as a Senior Clinical Psychologist until 2018. This multidisciplinary service offers specialist assessment and intervention for Looked After and Adopted children and supports caregivers struggling to manage their young person’s behaviour.
Here I developed my passion for completing comprehensive assessments to create formulations that truly capture a child’s experiences, challenges, and strengths to use as a base for intervention. Working in this team also enhanced my appreciation of the views and input of my colleagues from different disciplines, working effectively with professionals from medical, social care, and other therapeutic backgrounds to improve outcomes for families.
In addition, I completed further training in schema therapy, compassion-focussed therapy, and dialectical behavioural therapy (DBT), and grew my skills in the diagnosis and understanding of Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) within complex presentations.
Local Authority and King’s College London
In 2018, I joined the Virtual School Team for Looked After and Previously Looked after Children in the London Borough of Harrow’s Children’s Services. I established a mental health provision to support children involved with the social care system to feel heard and supported, and to support their professional network, to help young people achieve the best possible outcomes. I remain in this role part-time as the Principal Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead, working to expand the psychology offering following its success.
In 2019, I became a Senior Clinical Tutor with the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) Programme at King’s College London, providing teaching and guidance to trainee mental health practitioners to develop and refine their clinical skills in working with children and families. It is exciting and inspiring to support practitioners to complete their training, bringing their own unique perspectives and experiences to their new role and seeing them make a real difference in the lives of others.
Private Practice
In 2018 I began completing more independent work alongside my social care and university roles, including expert witness reports with the Cambridge London Group, providing clinical supervision to other professionals, providing training about the impact of trauma complemented by Virtual Reality (VR) equipment, developing and presenting teaching and training at different universities and conferences, and training and supervising social workers to apply cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) strategies in their work with teenagers.
I also increased my private practice assessment and therapy work with young people and young adults, both in person and online, and completed further training in Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR). My private practice work often focuses on enhancing emotional literacy and regulation skills, managing anxiety and low mood, helping people to feel able to make choices in line with their goals and values, supporting people to begin to heal from complex trauma and process difficult memories, and/or supporting caregivers to encourage and respond to their children effectively and strengthen relationships within the family.
GET IN TOUCH
After more than a decade of working in this field, I am still passionate about helping others, committed to developing my skills, and learning from every individual and family I meet.
I look forward to hearing your story.