I am a doctor of Educational Psychology, registered with the Health and Care Professions Counsel and the Association of Educational Psychologists (HCPC).

I completed my doctoral training at the University of Bristol. Prior to that I also completed a Masters in Forensic Psychology and an Undergraduate degree in Psychology and Education at Cardiff University.

My experience includes working for Action For Children; supporting children with social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH) and Autistic Spectrum Condition (ASC) in specialist schools.

I have also worked in the private sector, providing psychological consultation and direct therapeutic intervention to independent residential care providers for children who are looked after.

Alongside Clifton Psychology, I also work for the local authority in the role of specialist educational psychologist for Childrens services. In this role I provide consultation, assessment, training and therapeutic intervention to children and young people who have experienced developmental trauma or adverse childhood experiences (ACES). This experience has helped me to develop specialist skills in supporting social, emotional and mental health needs.

My specialist skills and interests include understanding the impact of developmental trauma on brain development, learning and attachment needs. I have years of experience working with trauma informed models of practice and I train schools, social workers, care staff and other groups of professionals on how to work in a trauma informed way. All children need to feel safe and regulated in order to learn. I am passionate about supporting adults to develop their skills to increase Childrens’ sense of safety, so that they can learn, develop and thrive.

As well as trauma informed practice, I also have a specialist interest in working with children with social communication needs. I enjoy supporting adults and young people to understand neurodiversity and creating safe, inclusive spaces where all differences can be celebrated.

I am trained in and apply models of practice including the Trauma Recovery Model (TRM), Emotion Coaching, Motivational Interviewing (MI), Video Interactive Guidance (VIG), Non-Violent Resistance (NVR) and Dynamic Assessment (DA). I also use standardised psychometric assessment tools in practice to assess learning and cognitive strengths and needs.