Clinical Psychologist specialising in:
Psychological Assessments
Adult ADHD Assessments and Coaching
Treating the impact of Trauma
Supporting your mental health wellness
Helping you break free of negative relationship patterns
The use of different psychological approaches to match your needs
IS IT YOUR TIME FOR A CHANGE?
Working with Me
Welcome to the site and thanks for visiting. Breakthrough Psychology Services offers a range of services specialising in supporting people in overcoming mental health difficulties. My passion is supporting people to thrive and see their true potential, not to only 'treat' the difficulties and move away from pain... but to connect with their desires and feel joy and excitement about life.
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I am passionate about psychology being more accessible for everyone; there is so much positivity and preventative work that can be done just by learning more about how we operate and the impact that our experiences have on us. Part of my aim is to develop ways that information and strategies can be more accessible and not only something that people learn about in the 'therapy room'. I believe that this can help us grow and flourish.
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Having worked with people who have been struggling with mental health issues for over 20 years, this is my area of specialism. My experience has taught me that there is often a trauma at the root of many mental health issues; not necessarily hugely significant in our adult eyes, but from the perspective of a child, it could have been scary or painful. These experiences become coded in our brain and fragments of the memory can be activated again and again until we are able to recognise, understand and process it so that our brain releases it from that repetitive loop and it gets filed away where it should be. Though that is a simplification of a complex and challenging process!
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I believe that we are complex beings and therefore, therapy requires an approach which is tailored to you and so I integrate different models that I have been trained in. If this sounds like the type of flexibility and approach you think could be useful then please read on to find out more.
How I Can Help
I offer a range of services and aim to make the positive influence of psychology as accessible as possible. My specialist area is mental health and particularly trauma informed care; which means I am keen to help you to understand what is at the root of your difficulties and obstacles. I also specialise in adult ADHD, offering both assessments and coaching (see here)
I enjoy working across the spectrum of wellbeing; from helping people overcome their experience of debilitating mental health problems to using psychologically informed coaching to enhance mindset and removing the blocks to going after your dreams.
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With regards to mental health, my speciality is trauma and I work with a range of conditions and issues which are affected and caused by trauma, including:
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PTSD and C-PTSD (complex PTSD)
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Depression
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Anxiety
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Attachment and relational issues (often diagnosed as personality disorders)
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Stress
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Phobias
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I also have a specialist understanding of adult ASD and ADHD and the impact of mental health and neuropsychology having led an NHS service on this.
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I am passionate that everyone should have the opportunity to access proven psychological information and support and that this can be delivered in different ways to suit the individuals learning style, budget and what they feel they need at this particular time. Below you can find information on the range of services which I offer including psychological therapy, coaching, online courses and supervision.
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Specialist Psychological Assessment including Adult ADHD
If you are looking for a psychological assessment, rather than therapy, then contact me to discuss this. I am able to provide specialist assessments with regards to mental health and also have extensive experience assessing adults with ASD and ADHD. Find out more about the ADHD services I provide here
I do not have a fixed fee for assessments as the length of time taken can depend on complexity and requirements. A thorough psychological assessment includes a shared understanding of the issues, how & why these have developed, and what maintains them. It often involves identifying some of the patterns that we find ourselves getting stuck in and why. This understanding helps to guide ideas about treatment. Fees for an ADHD assessment are £140 per hour, estimated time taken is 7-9 hours.
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Individual Psychological Therapy
Any individual psychological therapy will begin with a thorough assessment. Although assessment can be a piece of work on it's own, it is an important part of therapy as the understanding that comes from assessment will guide treatment and can also be therapeutic in itself. The therapy I offer is tailored to the individual; I do not use one single approach or a 'text book' one size fits all protocol. However, I do have certain approaches which I have trained further in so these are the ones I draw upon.
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It is difficult to give an exact timeframe for therapy. Some people come to therapy and may need long-term therapy to reach a place where they need to be, others may need only a few sessions to make sense of what's going on and implement strategies for change. The assessment will help inform the process of making decisions about length given goals, complexity and taking into account budget and any pressing timeframes. Although issues can't always be clearly separated, sometimes it is possible to work on one issue and not necessarily feel like everything needs to be dealt with all at once.
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In terms of frequency, I would suggest weekly or fortnightly sessions but some people do benefit from monthly sessions so please do contact me if you want to discuss this further.
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I am registered with several insurance companies including: Bupa, AXA, Aviva, WPA, Cigna & Vitality.
Self funding fees are £100 per session (55 mins). Insurance fees may differ based on the individual agreement with the company.
Clinical Supervision
I have extensive experience of supervising psychologists of all levels, psychotherapists and, within the NHS, I also supervised nurses, occupational therapists and social workers. I really enjoy the supervisory role and supporting people to find their own style and develop themselves in alignment with how they want to work to support people. As mentioned above, I do not work from a specific approach and this include supervision, where I draw on different models, but am heavily influenced by internal family systems and have used the seven-eyed supervision model for over 16 years. Please contact me to discuss what you are looking for & if I can help. Fees for supervision are £80 per hour session.