Meet Fiona Hannah

Child and Adolescent Psychotherapist and Clinical Director

Founder and Clinical Director – Child and Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapist

Fiona founded Teenage Mental Health in 2018 with the belief that young people and families deserve direct access to thoughtful, specialist support that takes the time to understand the whole person, not just the difficulty they may be facing.

As Clinical Director, she leads the therapeutic approach across TMH while continuing to work directly with young people, parents and families. She is particularly interested in how the different parts of a young person’s life – home, school, relationships and wider support systems – can shape their emotional wellbeing.

Experience

Before founding Teenage Mental Health, Fiona worked across schools, the public sector and private practice, giving her a broad understanding of the pressures young people, families and professionals can experience.

Today, she oversees services supporting more than 200 young people each week, while maintaining an active clinical practice.

Alongside this, Fiona leads the TMH Parent Programme, providing one-to-one guidance to help parents better understand what their child may be experiencing and how they can support them.

Her work extends beyond individual therapy. Fiona delivers training, consultation, reflective practice and mentoring to schools, organisations and professionals working with children and young people. This includes helping adults recognise signs of distress, understand what may sit behind behaviour and feel more confident responding to emotional and mental health difficulties.

She’s also passionate about the role therapy dogs can play in supporting emotional wellbeing. Her doctoral research explores how therapy dogs can help children and young people feel calmer, build trust and express themselves when words are difficult to find. This research connects closely with her work at TMH, where Womble and Pingu often play a gentle and supportive role within the therapeutic environment.

Qualifications and training

BSc (Hons) Psychology
Graduate Diploma in Psychodynamic Thinking
MA Child and Adolescent Psychodynamic Psychotherapeutic Counselling
Postgraduate qualifications in Counselling, Teaching and Mentoring
Professional Doctorate Candidate, University of Essex
Member of the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP)
Member of the Association for Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH)

Fiona’s approach

Fiona believes therapy works best when people feel understood rather than judged, supported rather than rushed and accepted rather than needing to be ‘fixed’.

Her approach is thoughtful, reflective and curious. Rather than focusing only on what may be happening on the surface, she looks at the wider experiences, relationships and patterns that may be shaping how someone feels or behaves.

She places the individual at the centre of that process, taking time to understand their circumstances and what they may need from therapy.

Whether working with a young person, supporting a parent or advising a school or organisation, Fiona aims to help people make better sense of what’s happening and feel better equipped to move forward.