Who are you?
I am a Child and Young People’s Psychological Wellbeing Practitioner with a Post Graduate qualification from UCL and the Anna Freud Centre.
I have worked in this role in clinical settings: CAMHS( NHS) and primary and secondary schools. I am able to deliver sessions in English, Portuguese, French and Italian.
I have gained experience working in healthcare, palliative care, bereavement and educational settings which has strengthened my work with vulnerable children, young people and their families.
At the age of 8, I underwent a childhood depression and benefited greatly from therapeutic intervention. This experience shaped me and gave me a natural curiosity and an empathetic view of psychological suffering in childhood.
My extended family ties have meant that I have grown up around children and have developed a natural affinity with them.
How you work?
I offer psychological support, based on the principles of CBT, for children and adolescents between the ages of 4 and 19, with mild to moderate mental health difficulties, including: anxiety, low mood and common behavioural difficulties.
My focus is on prevention and early intervention. By identifying unhelpful behaviours, thought patterns and reactions which can form a vicious cycle, we can develop more helpful ones to alleviate symptoms and get ‘unstuck.’
Parent-led (for children under 12):
My sessions are focused around the parents(s)and introducing them to strategies to help their child overcome his/her difficulties. These strategies are based on the Social Learning theory and on behavioural and emotional regulation strategies (sleeping, daily routines, consequences, etc..)
Adolescents:
The sessions encourage the young person to explore their emotional difficulties, such as: self-esteem, anxious thoughts, low-mood etc..
The sessions are tailored to meet their individual needs and directed towards their own personal goals, with the aim of empowering the young person. At times giving a reparative approach to therapeutic alliance.
Your core values, what are they?
My values are compassion and empathy; above all I value kindness and understanding for clients at all times.
My practice is also informed by consistency and honesty: doing what I say I will do, when I say I will do it and being transparent with patients about this process. Being genuine with my approach as a practitioner, thus, aiming to create for clients a corrective emotional experience.
Collaboration is a big focus of my practice: working together to achieve a sense of change and autonomy.
Solution-based: I encourage clients to focus on finding an alternative way of thinking about their problems, with a cognitve behavioural approach.
Why choose you as a therapist? What about your therapy makes you unique?
My own struggle with mental health as a child has given me an understanding of psychological problems at an early age. I learnt from my own experience, the benefit of therapeutic work with children and their families.
I am also comfortable delivering interventions in English, French, Portuguese and Italian.
What therapies do you offer?
Parent-led interventions for children between the ages of 4 and 12 with: low mood, anxiety and common behavioural problems.
Adolescent interventions between the ages of 12-19 for low-mood, anxiety and difficulties brought about by changes in family or school situation.
I look forward to working with you.