Becks
Clinical Psychologist
Becks is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. She has over six years experience within the NHS working therapeutically with both children and adults.
Sometimes life can be tricky and we need space to think about the difficulties or some help in managing how we feel. Becks specialises in working with children and young people who are experiencing psychological distress. She has worked with children and young people with mental health difficulties and additional needs such as Learning Disabilities, Autistic Spectrum Conditions and long term physical health conditions. She is qualified to utilise a variety of different psychological models to support children, young people and their families in understanding what may be contributing to how they are feeling and she supports children and their families in thinking about different ways to relieve this distress.
Outside of her work at Therapy4Kids, Becks works in an NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) team. This compliments her work at Therapy4Kids and ensures she keeps up to date with the evidence base, has access to different types of training and provides her with the opportunity to work with and learn from colleagues of other professions. She utilises supervision to think about her work and to ensure that she is offering the best possible service to anyone that comes to see her.
Becks is an experienced, thoughtful Clinical Psychologist who utilises playful approaches to ensure that each child feels comfortable in speaking to her. She works in line with the British Psychological Society’s professional practice guidelines.
Olivia
Paediatric Dramatherapist
Olivia is a fully qualified Dramatherapist registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council. She holds a Master’s degree in Dramatherapy from Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge and is a member of the British Association of Dramatherapist.
Olivia uses her trainings in performing arts and therapy to create methods to engage clients in emotional and social changes. She uses a range of interventions such as; Stories and playtexts, puppetry and marks, art, music and improvisation. These techniques will enable the client to explore changing and complex life experiences through an indirect approach.
Olivia utilises her techniques to engage children and adolescents of all ages with different needs such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Mental Health difficulties, Learning Disabilities, long term Physical health conditions and Child and adolescents who self-harm.
Sophie
Specialist Clinical Psychologist
Sophie is a Chartered Clinical Psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. She also has a Master’s degree in Cognitive Neuroscience from University College London. Sophie specialises in working with young people and families with mental health difficulties, and works in an NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMHS) team outside of her work with Therapy4Kids. Sophie is also experienced in working with young people and families who may be living with physical health difficulties or neurodisability.
Sophie’s practice is guided by NICE recommended and evidence-based approaches, which she uses to inform her work with a range of childhood mental health difficulties including worry and anxiety, low mood, and other behavioural difficulties. Sophie draws on a range of therapeutic models to best meet the needs of the young people and families she works with, considering research and best practice alongside a families wishes and needs. These include Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), systemic therapy, narrative therapy, and solution-focused therapy.
Sophie utilises creative and playful techniques to engage children and families of all ages, and builds on existing resilience and resource within the family system to tackle the problem from a position of strength and agency.
Fiona
Clinical Psychologist
Fiona has a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology and is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council. Fiona has had the privilege of working with children, young people, and their families, for over 10 years in varied roles across the voluntary sector, social care, and NHS.
Fiona has experience of working therapeutically across the lifespan but specialises in working with children and young people who have difficulties with anxiety, worry, low mood, or behavioural concerns. Fiona also has experience of supporting children and young people with mental health difficulties and additional needs such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disability, and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) as well as children and young people looked after by the Local Authority or who have been adopted. As well as working at Therapy4Kids, Fiona works in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) for a London NHS Trust. In her NHS role, Fiona supports the team by carrying out ADHD assessments.
Fiona’s work is informed by evidence based practice and National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Guidelines. This enables her to deliver best practice interventions. Fiona draws on a range of therapeutic models which include Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Narrative Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT), Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), motivational interviewing, and systemic therapy. Fiona believes in utilising humour (where appropriate) and building rapport to help children and their parents feel as comfortable and understood as possible. Fiona believes in the importance of including parents and carers in therapy in order to gain new knowledge, understanding, and skills, to support their child’s journey.
Fiona is particularly interested in developmental trauma and attachment and is soon to complete her Storystem Assessment training at the Anna Freud Centre. This will enable more in-depth exploration of a child’s attachment behaviour and relationships with the aim of informing therapy.
Fiona is passionate about promoting the emotional wellbeing of healthcare professionals so they are able to provide compassionate care and best practice to their work. Staff wellbeing was the focus of her doctoral thesis which was shortlisted for The Lavender Award for Research that Makes a Difference. Fiona is in the process of writing this up for publication in an academic journal.
Allison
Educational Psychologist
Allison gained her masters in Educational Psychology from University College, London. She worked for a local education authority in London for eight years before moving with her family to Tokyo, where she worked independently, with clients from the international community. Allison has worked closely with a wide range of primary and secondary schools, at the level of the individual child and by offering consultation and training to parents, teachers and management staff. She has also worked extensively within multidisciplinary teams. Allison has developed her experience of and interest in working with families by completing the foundation course in systemic family therapy. She speaks Spanish and Portuguese and has assessed and supported many bilingual children. Allison is registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
Allison adopts a holistic and problem solving approach to each child’s individual case, assessing them in a number of ways, which may include:
- discussing the child and the concerns with their parents/carers and teachers
- observing the child in their classroom, playground or at home
- reviewing the work the child has been doing at school
- speaking to or playing with the child
- using standardised tests, to check the development of the child’s thinking and learning skills and gain an insight into their strengths and relative difficulties.
Alix
Child and Educational Psychologist
Alix is a Chartered and Practitioner Psychologist registered the British Psychological Society and the Health and Care Professions Council. Alix is a passionate and creative psychologist, psychotherapist and consultant with exceptional knowledge and experience in working therapeutically with children, adolescents and their families.
She has a keen interest in the emotional development and is able to engage hard to reach children and young people who have difficulties that may interfere with family life successful learning, and participation in school and other activities. Alix believes in a multidisciplinary approach, and works in partnership with families, teachers, social workers and other health care professionals that may be involved.
At Therapy4kids, Alix offers Psychotherapy to children and adolescents, Play Therapy, Family Therapy, Parent Consultations and full Psycho-Educational Assessments.