I am a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years of experience working with people who are experiencing emotional difficulties such as anxiety, depression or low mood, trauma, loss and bereavement, self-criticism, or managing the impact of a physical health condition(s). 

I have a special interest in supporting people to manage the stress and challenges of physical health conditions and treatments, and have worked as a lead psychological in cancer and Long COVID services. In my current role I have the privilege of developing a regional NHS psychology service for people living with or affected by Motor-Neurone Disease (MND).

As a Clinical Psychologist I am trained in a range of evidence-based therapies and offer a person-centred approach to understanding what might best support a person with their emotional well-being.  I believe that being flexible and responsive in this way makes therapy as useful as possible, because it is attuned to the person seeking support.  It also means that therapy is a collaborative process.  Therapies that I can offer are informed by these caring and evidenced-based approaches:  

• Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT)
• Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) and MBCT for Cancer
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Eye-Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR)

In my personal and work life, mindfulness and compassion approaches have helped me to cope with everyday kinds of stress, and in my own experience of loss and difficulty.  I am passionate about sharing these approaches in therapy and have been dedicated to developing these skills as a therapist alongside my own personal practice.

Qualifications

I completed doctoral training to be a Clinical Psychologist at the University of Leeds (D. Clin.Psych., 2003-2006).  Before this I studied for an undergraduate degree in Psychology at the University of Sheffield (BSc, 1997-2000).

Professional membership

I am a Chartered Clinical Psychologist with the British Psychological Society, a registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (PYL02625) and a member of the UK Association of Clinical Psychologists (ACP-UK).  I am also a registered Mindfulness Teacher with the British Association of Mindfulness Based Approaches (BAMBA).

Clinical experience

I have worked in NHS psychology services since 2001, and have experience of working psychologically with people in both mental health and physical health settings.  I have extensive experience supporting people to manage the impacts of physical health symptoms or treatments including cancer, fatigue, pain, surgery, life limiting conditions and Long COVID. My current NHS role is an exciting opportunity to develop psychology services for people with Motor-Neurone Disease across three West Yorkshire Hospital Trusts.

Since 2022 I have had the privilege of working with clients in private practice, supporting a range of emotional concerns including anxiety, depression and the impacts of trauma.

Further training

​Since qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist I have been committed to developing and maintaining a high standard of clinical skills.  I have further training in Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT),  Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and have trained to become a registered mindfulness teacher offering Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy training in groups and in individual therapy.  I deeply value the skills I have learned through my training, and so the approaches I share in therapy also inform how I look after my own personal well-being.