NHS work

In the NHS I am part of the Complex Psychological Interventions team, working with adults who have serious and enduring experiences of psychological distress. Before my doctoral training, I worked at the University of Oxford conducting research into PTSD and social anxiety. I have previously worked in services such as crisis teams and centres for people who are asylum seekers or refugees – many of whom had been tortured. These roles have given me the privilege of connecting with people in their most vulnerable times and have opened me up to asking and exploring challenging questions about the meaning of suffering.

My main area of specialism is in complex trauma. People I work with have often been diagnosed with problems such as PTSD, psychosis, personality disorders, bipolar, addictions, OCD, panic, BDD, social anxiety, depression and eating disorders, and come from all walks of life. I tend to lean away from diagnostic labels – unless they are helpful for the people I am working with, which they often are – and towards understanding the personal story that has led a person to where they are today (not ‘what’s wrong with you’, but ‘what has happened in your life that’s led you here?’). A biological-psychological-social-spiritual-ecological lens that is not always easy to integrate in an often overly medical model that dominates in the NHS (although things are changing).

As well as offering individual and group therapy, I love teaching and training others, having developed and delivered a number of innovative staff training sessions to increase staff skill and confidence in their ability to make a difference to the lives of those they work with. I also deliver training to medical doctors and psychiatrists around psychological perspectives on trauma and how to work with such experiences. A large part of my job involves supervising other members of staff, consulting on complex cases, holding reflective practice and thinking creatively about addressing systemic issues in the services I work with. I am eager to support systems (families, workplaces, communities etc.) to develop healthy ways of relating and functioning and appreciate critiques of individually focused interventions.