Practitioner Psychologist
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Counselling Psychologist and Positive Behaviour Support Practitioner with experience across primary care, NHS services, private provision, intellectual and developmental disabilities, and autism. I specialise in therapeutic services, Positive Behaviour Support, supervision, clinical governance, service development, and evidence-based practice. Available for full time and permanent role in the Swale area.
My achievements have included setting up service audit systems for the review of PBS practice, and reduction of restrictive practices, collaborating with managers and teams to improve communication systems and collaborative working, and enhancing policies to reflect legislation and best practice in the field of IDD, clinical practice and mental well-being in the workplace. I have developed and delivered training courses to support staff in the areas of IDD, mental health awareness, mental health first aid, Person centred support, post incident support, supervision and stress management. I consult with teams who support clients with complex attachment histories to develop working relationships and manage relational tensions.
A secure base model is used to provide a framework to enhance the provision of care. I have developed and shared a working model of ways to support the working relationship in the delivery of PBS (The Star Model) (available at ).
I have worked to establish guidance on the provision of clinical supervision and take a lead role in supervising and training managers and practitioners. I provide academic supervision and have developed an attachment based supervision model to assist supervisors to support supervisees to understand, develop and reflect on their working relationships with clients and feel safe in supervision. I have helped to foster evidence-based practice drawing on both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate and report on service and client focused interventions.
I have presented in local Learning Disability Practice Forums with focus on integrative approaches to assessment and treatment in people with IDD. I have taught on training day events on PBS as part of the Kent Challenging Behaviour Network. Past projects targeted the development of well-being support at both individual and organizational team level, enhancing trauma informed practice and complementing therapy with neuropsychological formulations.
I have worked closely with the leadership team to facilitate organizational change management and been effective in improving the quality of PBS leadership and provision. I am currently co-supervising a trainee clinical psychologist in their Doctoral Research Project and provide sessional lectures at Canterbury Christchurch University. I am developing and piloting a trauma screening tool for people with IDD who are non-verbal.
September 2011- September 2016 University of East London (UEL)
Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology
Thesis -Experiences of self-compassion and empathy in male staff supporting adults with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour available at
September 2010-September 2011 Institute of Counselling
Certificate in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
September 2009-September 2010 Canterbury Christchurch College
September 2004-September 2009 The Open University
2:1 BSc (Hons) Psychology
September 2000-May 2002 University of Kent and Canterbury: The Tizard Centre
2:1 Diploma in Applied Psychology of Learning Disability
