Overview

A Clinical Psychologist aims to reduce distress and improve the psychological well-being of clients. We use psychological methods and research to make positive changes to our client's lives and offer various forms of treatment. All individuals and families face various problems in life and many overcome such challenges without the need for professional help. However sometimes problems persist despite trying various solutions and they start to impact on day to day life in a negative way. I work with individuals and families to build on existing skills and strengths to find solutions to these challenges. I offer support to looked after and adopted children as well as those living with birth parents. Please find below some examples of the kind of issues I can help with. If you think a Psychologist might be able to help you or your family please feel free to contact me to discuss your needs.

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.

Children

Teens and young adults

  • 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

Input for Individuals and Families

I also use psychological knowledge and expertise to develop and deliver training packages and offer consulation to those working with children and young people.

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

Therapeutic Approaches

Pre-schoolers

Consultation

Access Psychology can provide advice and consultation to other professionals including social and residential care workers. Consultation can be a helpful way of increasing the psychological understanding of children and young people and informing care plans and intervention. 

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. 

Assessments

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.

Adults

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.

  • Clinical interviews
  • Observation and play
  • Formal psychometrics including the WISC-V and WAIS-IV cognitive assessments
  • Reports can be produced