Experience

I’m a chartered counselling psychologist with extensive experience in both the NHS and private sector. I’ve worked with adults with a wide range of psychological challenges, from common issues through to highly complex and challenging presentations.

Addiction is a particular specialism, and my passion and experience in this field let me to set up City Addictions as a new private practice in the City of London focusing exclusively on this area. I also manage The House Partnership, a London-based private practice and professional psychologists’ partnership. Within this setting I provide psychological therapy to clients with a range of issues including depression, anxiety, stress, relationship difficulties, eating disorders and drug and alcohol addiction.

Previously I managed the psychology department at The Grove Drug Service for Barnet, Enfield & Haringey NHS Trust, and provided therapy to clients affected by drug and alcohol addiction. I’ve also worked with Barnet Drug and Alcohol Service (BDAS) and Re-Start (Turning Point), providing drug and alcohol related psychotherapy, managing the Re-Start psychology service and providing team clinical supervision.

I have extensive experience working with a range of models and techniques, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Enhanced Cognitive Therapy and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy. I’ve taught and supervised clinical and counselling psychologists in training, and have been a Visiting Lecturer at Regents University School of Psychotherapy and Psychology.

Philosophy

In our busy lives, with work stress and other responsibilities, we often feel we have to keep going under increasing pressure, and don’t have time to stop, reflect and think things through. Addictive behaviours are a coping mechanism that some people use to manage these pressures, or to stop thinking and cut off from unpleasant thoughts or feelings. We don’t know why some people develop addictions and others don’t – whether it’s nature or nurture, upbringing, socialisation or the individual pathway they’ve taken through life. Regardless of the root causes, for me what really matters is how and why it’s developed in that person’s life – and whether it’s causing a problem.

I come from a Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) background, so I work on an individual’s thoughts and behaviours, exploring the way they think and interpret situations, and which behaviours might be helpful or unhelpful in dealing with their emotions. I also work with mindfulness and Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, which is one of the latest ‘third wave’ CBT-based behaviour therapies.

I believe that the therapeutic relationship is key, trust being absolutely essential to the process, and as I get to know the client we can both consider what approach might be best for them. I will then put together a personalised approach based on one of the models that I work with. Treating addiction is not just about working with strategies to change thoughts and behaviour, it’s about understanding whats going on underneath that’s driving the addictive behaviour and keeping the client feeling stuck – and it’s these maintaining factors that we really need to address. All of this becomes clear by working with the psychological formulation that we use as psychologists from the very beginning.

I’ve worked in addictions for over ten years and it’s immensely fulfilling to see someone’s life turned around – seeing the change that a client can make in their own life. I have a lot of respect for my clients as I recognise that recovering from addiction is hard work and a considerable journey that we’ll go on together.

QUALIFICATIONS

Associate Fellow of the BPS
Chartered Counselling Psychologist
MSc Counselling Psychology


MA Health Education and Health Promotion

BSc Hons Psychology