What I treat
Everything I treat
A deliberately narrow list: anxiety, OCD and the problems that sit closest to them, across the age range. Below is the whole of it, including the things I do not take on.
For adults
Different labels, largely the same machinery underneath: a feared outcome, and a set of behaviours that reduce the fear now and strengthen it later.
OCD in adults
Intrusive thoughts, contamination fears, checking, symmetry, rumination and reassurance-seeking, treated with Exposure and Response Prevention.
Read moreHealth anxiety
Body-checking, symptom googling and repeated medical consultations, where the relief never lasts more than a day or two.
Read moreSocial anxiety
Rehearsing before, self-monitoring during and replaying afterwards, until ordinary conversation starts to feel like a performance.
Read morePanic & agoraphobia
Panic attacks, fear of the physical sensations themselves, and a life that has quietly narrowed around avoiding them.
Read moreSpecific phobias
Needles, vomiting, flying, driving, animals, choking and similar — often treatable in a small number of sessions.
Read moreBody dysmorphic disorder
Mirror-checking, camouflaging, comparing and the search for cosmetic solutions to a problem that is not cosmetic.
Read moreSkin picking & hair pulling
Body-focused repetitive behaviours, which respond to habit reversal rather than to standard exposure work.
Read moreOCD with ADHD
A common and frequently missed combination that changes how ERP has to be structured, paced and remembered between sessions.
Read moreHow adult treatment works
What the assessment covers, what ERP actually involves week to week, and how treatment is brought to an end.
For adultsFor children and teenagers
With younger people the treatment is often delivered partly or wholly through parents, and it works whether or not your child is willing to attend.
OCD in children & teens
Rituals, repeated questions, long bathroom routines and sudden rage when a step is interrupted or done out of order.
Read moreAnxiety in children
Worry, stomach aches, tears at bedtime and avoidance — alongside the parent responses that unintentionally sustain them.
Read moreSchool refusal
When mornings have become a battle and the absence is building. A graded, structured route back, agreed with the school.
Read moreSeparation anxiety
Sleeping alone, being left with anyone else, or simply you leaving the room — common well beyond the early years.
Read moreARFID
Severely restricted eating driven by fear, sensory difficulty or lack of interest in food, rather than by body image.
Read moreSocial anxiety in teenagers
Often read as shyness until it starts closing down friendships, activities and sixth-form or university choices.
Read moreSkin picking & hair pulling
Body-focused repetitive behaviours in young people, treated with habit reversal and practical changes at home.
Read moreOCD with ADHD
How co-occurring ADHD changes the delivery of ERP for a child, at home and in the classroom.
Read moreHow family treatment works
Parent-based treatment, what happens if your child refuses to attend, and how I work with schools.
For parentsWhat I do not treat
I would rather say this up front than take on work that belongs with someone else.
- Eating disorders. I do not treat anorexia, bulimia or binge eating disorder. ARFID is different and I do treat it, but if the difficulty is driven by body image, weight or shape, you need a specialist eating disorder service.
- Tic disorders. I do not offer treatment for tics or Tourette syndrome as a service. Tics often sit alongside OCD, and I will assess and treat the OCD, but the tics themselves need someone who does that work.
- ADHD and autism assessment. I do not carry out diagnostic assessment for ADHD or autism. I treat anxiety and OCD in people who are already diagnosed, or who are waiting for an assessment elsewhere.
- Medication. I am a psychologist and do not prescribe. Where medication is being considered I will work alongside your GP or psychiatrist, with your consent.
If what you need is not on this page, tell me anyway on the free call. I will not take on work I am not the right person for, and I will try to point you towards someone who can help.
Not sure whether this is the right fit?
Start with a free 30-minute call. We will talk through what is going on, I will tell you honestly whether I think I can help, and if I cannot I will try to point you to someone who can. There is no obligation and no charge.