Dr Pamela Parker, Director, Consultant Clinical Psychologist
Pamela qualified in clinical psychology from the University of East Anglia in 2009. Since then she worked full time with children, young people and families in NHS and Local Authority settings. Until December 2019 she held a consultant grade post leading a team of clinicians working with care experienced children and their families, and children with learning disabilities.
She currently works full time in private practice offering psychological assessment, therapy, supervision, training and expert witness work for family court.
Pamela has a particular interest in working with children and families who have experienced adversity and traumatic events. She particularly enjoys working with care experienced children, young people, their networks and families. She has extensive experience supervising and consulting to professionals who provide services for this client group.
Since qualifying in 2009. Pamela has undertaken additional training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, Systemic Practice, Clinical Supervision and Public Sector Leadership. She has formal training in the assessment of parent-child relationships.
Pamela understands that making contact to seek help may feel like a big step. It is absolutely fine to just call or email to discuss whether this would be the right service for you.
Pamela is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society (293591). She is registered with The Health and Care Professionals Council (PYL25060)
Research & Publications:
Parker P. (2016) Safeguarding Children with Disabilities. In: Smith L. (eds) Clinical Practice at the Edge of Care. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Parker, P., & McLaven, G. (2018). ‘We all belonged in there somewhere’: young people’s and carers’ experiences of a residential sibling contact event. Adoption & Fostering, 42(2), 108-121.
Bowden, G. E., Smith, J. C. E., Parker, P. A., & Boxall, M. J. C. (2015). Working on the edge: Stresses and rewards of work in a front‐line mental health service. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 22(6), 488-501
Pamela qualified in clinical psychology from the University of East Anglia in 2009. Since then she worked full time with children, young people and families in NHS and Local Authority settings. Until December 2019 she held a consultant grade post leading a team of clinicians working with care experienced children and their families, and children with learning disabilities.
She currently works full time in private practice offering psychological assessment, therapy, supervision, training and expert witness work for family court.
Pamela has a particular interest in working with children and families who have experienced adversity and traumatic events. She particularly enjoys working with care experienced children, young people, their networks and families. She has extensive experience supervising and consulting to professionals who provide services for this client group.
Since qualifying in 2009. Pamela has undertaken additional training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing, Systemic Practice, Clinical Supervision and Public Sector Leadership. She has formal training in the assessment of parent-child relationships.
Pamela understands that making contact to seek help may feel like a big step. It is absolutely fine to just call or email to discuss whether this would be the right service for you.
Pamela is a chartered member of the British Psychological Society (293591). She is registered with The Health and Care Professionals Council (PYL25060)
Research & Publications:
Parker P. (2016) Safeguarding Children with Disabilities. In: Smith L. (eds) Clinical Practice at the Edge of Care. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Parker, P., & McLaven, G. (2018). ‘We all belonged in there somewhere’: young people’s and carers’ experiences of a residential sibling contact event. Adoption & Fostering, 42(2), 108-121.
Bowden, G. E., Smith, J. C. E., Parker, P. A., & Boxall, M. J. C. (2015). Working on the edge: Stresses and rewards of work in a front‐line mental health service. Clinical psychology & psychotherapy, 22(6), 488-501
Dr Rachel Watson
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Rachel is an experienced systemic family psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, and leader. She has over 25 years experience working in the public, private and voluntary sector, with adults and children. Rachel has extensive experience working sensitively and collaboratively with families and individuals experiencing distress.
Alongside clinical work, Rachel offers clinical supervision, consultation to individuals, groups and teams. Throughout her career to date, Rachel has looked to develop innovative approaches to address organisational service dilemmas. She has successfully delivered a number of projects looking to increase access to services for different groups of people and invite collaborative effective responses by services. She is interested in working with situations of high complexity, and with consideration of power structures and contexts.
Rachel is registered with The Association of Family Therapy (AFT) and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist. She holds an MSc in Systemic and Family Psychotherapy (IFT/University of London), a Postgraduate Diploma: Systemic Supervision, Teaching and Training (KCC/University of Bedford) and a Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy (Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust –University of East London).
Rachel is the Director of the Institute of Family Therapy in London.
Publications:
Watson, R. (2018) Jointly created authority: a conversation analysis of how power is managed by parents and systemic psychotherapists in children’s social care. Journal of Family Therapy Early release: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12244
Watson, R. (2018) Familiar ideas for changing times, our Cambridgeshire experience continued: using ‘approach, method, technique’ to address innovation and sustainability. Context. Issue 159 pp. 9-13.
Wood, S. and Watson, R. (2014) Cambridgeshire Safer Families: The story so far. Context. Issue 131, pp17-20.
Caviston, P and Watson, R. (2006) “Welcome the coming and speed the going”: hospitality in an in-patient setting. Context.
Consultant Systemic Psychotherapist
Rachel is an experienced systemic family psychotherapist, supervisor, trainer, and leader. She has over 25 years experience working in the public, private and voluntary sector, with adults and children. Rachel has extensive experience working sensitively and collaboratively with families and individuals experiencing distress.
Alongside clinical work, Rachel offers clinical supervision, consultation to individuals, groups and teams. Throughout her career to date, Rachel has looked to develop innovative approaches to address organisational service dilemmas. She has successfully delivered a number of projects looking to increase access to services for different groups of people and invite collaborative effective responses by services. She is interested in working with situations of high complexity, and with consideration of power structures and contexts.
Rachel is registered with The Association of Family Therapy (AFT) and the United Kingdom Council for Psychotherapy (UKCP) as a Family and Systemic Psychotherapist. She holds an MSc in Systemic and Family Psychotherapy (IFT/University of London), a Postgraduate Diploma: Systemic Supervision, Teaching and Training (KCC/University of Bedford) and a Doctorate in Systemic Psychotherapy (Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust –University of East London).
Rachel is the Director of the Institute of Family Therapy in London.
Publications:
Watson, R. (2018) Jointly created authority: a conversation analysis of how power is managed by parents and systemic psychotherapists in children’s social care. Journal of Family Therapy Early release: https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6427.12244
Watson, R. (2018) Familiar ideas for changing times, our Cambridgeshire experience continued: using ‘approach, method, technique’ to address innovation and sustainability. Context. Issue 159 pp. 9-13.
Wood, S. and Watson, R. (2014) Cambridgeshire Safer Families: The story so far. Context. Issue 131, pp17-20.
Caviston, P and Watson, R. (2006) “Welcome the coming and speed the going”: hospitality in an in-patient setting. Context.
Sharon Kenny, Clinical Nurse Specialist in Child and Adolescent Mental health
DDP informed, Systemic Practitioner, VIG Guider.
Sharon has over 20 years’ experience of working therapeutically with children and families in NHS CAMHS and in Children’s Social Care. She specialises in relational interventions for families with developmentally traumatised and care experienced children.
Sharon considers the child’s relationship with their parents/carers to be the most important factor in their recovery from early adversity and the key to progress in their social and emotional development.
She offers Dyadic Developmental Psychotherapy informed sessions (www.ddpnetwork.org) to parents who maybe feeling discouraged in their efforts to offer a stable and loving home to their child.
Sharon begins work with parents to develop a deep understanding of their child, their relationship with the child and how that relates to their own life experiences. She supports parents to therapeutically parent their child with PACE (www.ddpnetwork.org/about-ddp/meant-pace/). PACEful parenting helps the child become less reliant on defensive survival strategies and to connect positively with their parents and embrace the joys of social engagement and learning.
Sharon joins the wider professional network around the child as required to ensure that her approach is joined up and fits well with multi-agency plans.
She aims for sessions to reflect the PACE approach with an atmosphere of Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy. Sessions may involve play, telling and creating stories, using video to share and celebrate positive moments (VIG), movement, mindfulness and attending to sensory systems.
Sharon is registered with the Nursing Midwifery Council (NMC) and a member of the Royal College of Nursing. She has a MSc (M19) that applies psycho-analytic principles to front line nursing and social work
from the Tavistock and Portman NHS Trust and Middlesex University. She holds a Post Graduate Diploma in Systemic Practice from the Institute of Family Therapy and Birkbeck college, University of London. She is an
accredited Video Interaction Guider (AVIG UK). Sharon is working towards level 3 DDP accreditation.