The input I offer is wide ranging and is tailored to the individuals, families and organisations I work with. I aim to respond to requests for help quickly without the need to wait for either assessment or intervention.
Primary school age children can find it difficult to make or keep friends, they may have worries and anxiety about school or other things in life, experience problems with eating, hyperactivity (ADHD) or learning difficulties. I can help find positive solutions through an initial assessment followed by either one-to-one sessions with the child, sessions with parents or foster carers or a combination of these.
Adolescence and young adulthood can be a challenging time where young people strive to develop their own identity separate to that of their parents and parents try to find a balance between protecting and letting go. Anxiety, depression, struggles with self-esteem and peer relationships can all arise for young people at this time. Difficulties can also result from the aftermath of a traumatic incident such as a bereavement, an accident or abuse or neglect. In addition to supporting parents or foster carers and the wider family, one-to-one sessions with young people can often help to find solutions and build self-confidence to overcome any difficulties.
- Clinical interviews
- Observation and play
- Formal psychometrics including the WISC-V and WAIS-IV cognitive assessments
- Reports can be produced
Children
Life can be though and sometimes events come along that leave us feeling overwhelmed. At these times we can struggle to manage our moods, feeling stressed and anxious and unable to focus on the important things in life and can consequently feel lost. At these times it can help to gain an understanding of what is going on before developing some positive skills to adjust and cope. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focused Therapy, Compassion Focused Therapy and EMDR can all be effective interventions in these situations. We will spend time understanding your needs together before determining which combination of these interventions is most likely to help.
Therapeutic Approaches
Parenting advice and support
Attachment based and therapeutic parenting
Solution focused
Family focused
Behaviour management
CBT - Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
EMDR - Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing
Compassion Focused Therapy
ACT
Teens and young adults
Training
Access Psychology can provide training to groups of professionals, foster or adoptive parents to increase the psychological understanding of various issues including:
Child development
Brain development
Developmental trauma
- Psychological difficulties commonly faced by looked after children
- Attachment theory
Assessments
Pre-schoolers
Adults
Input for Individuals and Families
Frequent challenges for families with babies and young children include bonding between parents and children, establishing routines for sleeping and feeding, dealing with sibling rivalry, behavioural difficulties including temper tantrums and transitions to nursery or school. I can help families to better understand why any difficulties are arising and work together with parents or foster carers to find solutions. Some families find a one-off session is sufficient, others prefer to meet on a monthly or more frequent basis.