Dr Robyn O’Connell
My Experience
I have worked in the NHS since 2007 in various psychology services, offering mental health support to individuals across the lifespan. I have worked with individuals with a range of difficulties including (but not limited to) Anxiety Disorders (including Generalised Anxiety Disorder, Specific Phobia, Panic Disorder and Social Phobia), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Hoarding Disorder, Emotion Regulation difficulties, unusual experiences (such as hearing voices), Body Dysmorphia, Body Image issues, and weight management. I have worked with individuals with difficulties ranging in severity from mild to moderate difficulties in an adult Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) clinic, to working with adults with severe and enduring mental health needs in a community mental health team and inpatient setting. Alongside my private practice with adults, I currently work part-time in the NHS in a child and adolescent mental health service, providing psychological therapy to children and families, and form part of an Autism Spectrum Disorder assessment clinic.
My Values
At the core of my approach is holding the people I work with in mind with compassion and kindness. I provide a safe, confidential space, where people are met with warmth and understanding. I think it’s important to understand clients within their wider social and cultural context. I work collaboratively with clients, empowering them to identify and achieve their goals and develop lifelong skills to carry with them long after therapy has finished. I am passionate about promoting wellness and a healthy mind-body connection.
The Models I Work With
I am trained to use a range of different talking therapies and draw on these to provide an evidence-based intervention that is bespoke to the individual. I aim to help clients identify and achieve their goals within a time-limited period. My main approaches are:
• Cognitive Behavioural Therapy
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• Compassion-focused Therapy
• Mindfulness
• Solution Focused Therapy
• Narrative Therapy
Clinic Information
I currently work in the ASD service offering ASD Assessments.
Training and Qualifications
• Professional Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of East London, 2009-2012
• BSc Psychology (Hons), University of Nottingham, 2001-2004
• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 2 (ADOS-2), 2019
• Dialectical Behavioural Therapy; Essential Skills, 2019
• Therapeutic Assessment of Self-harm (using Cognitive Analytic Therapy); South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, 2016
• Mindfulness Training; IOPPN, 2014.
• CBT for Children and Young People; Anna Freud Centre, 2012.
• The Development of Psychoanalytic Theory; The Tavistock Centre, 2011-2012.
Professional Registration
• Practitioner Psychologist; Health Professionals Council. Registration number: PYL28735.
• Chartered Status; British Psychological Society. Membership number: 492547.