Meet Sarah

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Safeguarding Lead

Sarah is a psychodynamic counsellor and Clinical Lead who has worked with children, teenagers and young adults across school and private practice settings for many years.

Alongside her psychodynamic approach, she also trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), allowing her to draw on different techniques where helpful and adapt her approach to each person.

Experience

Sarah has extensive experience supporting teenagers and young adults with a wide range of emotional and mental health difficulties, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, self-harm, suicidal thoughts, eating disorders, attachment difficulties and the impact of sexual abuse and trauma.

She joined Teenage Mental Health in 2020 and now works as a Clinical Lead, working therapeutically with young people and providing technical support to the wider clinical team.

Sarah has worked across schools and private practice settings throughout Essex and Suffolk, supporting young people through the emotional and relationship difficulties that can emerge during adolescence and early adulthood.

She’s also the Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for Teenage Mental Health and holds Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead training.

Qualifications and training

MA Child and Adolescent Psychodynamic Counselling – University of Essex
MSc Psychology – University of Essex
PG Dip Psychology
BA Drama – St Mary’s University, Twickenham
Additional training in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Level 3 Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL)
Registered Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Enhanced DBS checked

Sarah’s approach

Sarah believes therapy works best when young people feel emotionally safe, genuinely listened to and free from judgement.

She understands that difficult feelings aren’t always easy to put into words and that anxiety, distress or changes in behaviour can sometimes be ways of communicating what may be happening underneath.

Calm, compassionate and reflective, she’s also practical where helpful. She works collaboratively with young people to help them better understand themselves, their relationships and patterns that may be affecting how they feel.

She aims to give each person the time and space to build trust, talk openly and make better sense of what they’re experiencing.