Experience

Before starting in private practice in 2019, and beyond my training, my experience spans:

 

• 2018: Counsellor at the Lambeth Academy, a secondary school in London, serving a multi-cultural community.

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• 2016: Working in the NHS, in a Tier 3 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) at Kaleidoscope, in the Borough of Lewisham, London.

 

• 2015: Working in the NHS, in a Tier 4 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS), in the Child and Adolescent Forensic Service, at the Maudsley Psychiatric Hospital, dealing with cases related to sexually harmful behaviours. 

 

• 2008-2016: Sessional counsellor for the NSPCC, working on the night service at Childline.

 

This experience gives me a unique insight into different developmental pathways of neuro-diversity, emotional and personality dis-regulation. But in my work now, I treat my clients as individuals, not labels. 

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I am from Paris originally and lived in Australia and Japan before relocating to London in 1995. My first career was in corporate brand design and tech start-ups. As I gained in seniority, I developed an interest for the psychology of human behaviours. I eventually decided to retrain in developmental psychology and child and adolescents mental health, then counselling and hypnotherapy. 

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I run a regular online Meetup group, called Relax and Explore Hypnotherapy Online, for anyone who is interest in learning about clinical hypnotherapy. My aim is to showcase some of the techniques I use in my practice to reduce anxiety and promote. To find out more, please go to https://www.meetup.com/relax-restore-online-coronavirus-meditation-sessions/ or https://www.facebook.com/groups/406024044979174

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Qualifications

• 2016, MSc. Child and Adolescent Mental Health (CAMH), Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience (IOPPN), King’s College, London. 

• 2011, MSc. Neuro-Developmental Psychology, Birkbeck University, London.

• 2009, BSc. Psychology, Open University. 

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Training 

• Hypnotherapy and Psychotherapy training, National College of Hypnosis and Psychotherapy, 2017-19.

• Mindfulness training, www.bemindfulonline.com, 2017.

• CBT training, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College, London, 2016. 

• Mind over Matter, BPS, 2016. 

• Parenting skills training, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College, London, 2016.

• Using Play in Children’s Therapy workshop, Place2B, 2011.

• Psychosynthesis and Creative Visualisation workshop, University of East London, 2010. 

• Child Centred Solution Focused counselling training Childline, NSPCC, 2008.

• Professionally insured

• Enhanced DBS

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Academic Research

Most recently, I have contributed to epidemiological research studies to better our understanding of neuro-diverse developmental pathways. 

• 2017: Research Assistant, REACH study (Resilience, Ethnicity and Adolescent Mental Health), led by Prof C. Morgan, King’s College, London, 2017. 

• 2017: Research Assistant, Autism and ADHD Comorbidity study, led by Prof J. Turk, King’s College, London, 2017.

• 2016: ‘Are there reliable predictors, during the preschool years, of a neurodevelopmental cascade leading to the emergence of ADHD in childhood?’. 

• 2011: ‘Characterizing suicidal women in pregnancy and early postpartum’.

• 2011: ‘An international review of early childcare models’.

• 2009: ‘Comparative experience of fatherhood using interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA)’.  

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Publication 

Systematic Review of Mindfulness Induced Neuroplasticity in Adults: Potential Areas of Interest for the Maturing Adolescent Brain. Kirk, V., Fatola, C. and Romero Gonzalez, M. Journal of Childhood & Developmental Disorders (2016).

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Professional membership

I am a Graduate Member of the BPS (British Psychological Society) and

Trainee Member of the UKCP (United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy).