About me
I am a critical psychologist and (group) analytic psychotherapist. Although I often use analytic and psychodynamic ideas as the foundational basis in my clinical work, I am also trained in CBT, in Humanistic and in Existential Approaches, in Compassion Based practice.
I am naturally drawn to community and liberatory approaches to clinical practice.
Hence, I work integratively and critically, that means I am particularly attentive to the influence of power, inequality and injustice in people’s history and presenting difficulties and borrow from various models and schools of thought to support reflection, meaning making and change, where relevant.
Clinical activities
I am able to carry out;
*Assessment
*Formulation
*Intervention (usually psychotherapy but occasionally coaching)
*Evaluation
*Consulation
*Report writing
*Court mandated expert reports
I work 1:1 and in groups, mainly online.
Clinical Specialism
My core specialisms are;
*Racial trauma and race-based injuries
*Team and group dysfuntions including discrimination, exclusion, scapegoating, and other abuses of power
*Intergenerational trauma
*Intersectional and social identity related challenges
*Political violence and resistance
Most of my work has been with adults with more severe, complex and or enduring psychological difficulties and with very high levels of distress, many of whom were compulsorily detained under the Mental Health Act (1983) or otherwise deprived of their liberty.
I have also acquired much experience supporting senior executives navigating race-related challenges at work.
As such, a large proportion of my experience has been with people of colour, many of them traumatised.
Over the past 10 years I have led and developed much thinking on racial, historical and intergenerational trauma, particularly in descendants of displaced Africans and those living in the aftermath of colonial violence.
I have designed from scratch the first depth course on racial trauma in the U.K. which also equips students with an approved by the Institute of Group Analysis foundation level qualification in Group Analysis. This remains the only course addressing this widely unmet clinical and organisational need in global majority communities. You can read about it here.
My work is deeply influenced by Fanon.
Patients who are keenly aware of the sociopolitical realities shaping their experiences, distress or malaise tend to seek me out. I am sure it works in both directions. I am trained though to also work more traditionally and with multiple therapeutic orientations.
Professional and academic background
I come from a mixed background, part clinical, part research and academic and part organisational. All parts have centred on equality and justice with a heavy focus on intersectional thinking.
In the past I have held a number of management and senior management posts focused on embedding equality and justice in various settings including organisational consultancy, community development and engagement and research. I have freelanced as a trainer and as an equality and organisational consultant for years before starting Race Reflections.
I have also taught critical psychology and Black Studies at Syracuse University in London.
My long-standing involvement in anti-racism has deeply influenced my scholarship and thinking.
Before my PhD research, I completed a degree in Cultural Studies and studied Counselling and Clinical Psychology after obtaining a Masters in Transcultural Mental Health. I have since completed further studies in Psychoanalysis and in Group Analysis.
My PhD research is in the department of Social Sciences at Birkbeck where I am developing a new model called Afroanalytics to work with racial trauma, racialised violence and the afterlives of colonialism and enslavement. I put analytic thinking in conversation with African, mainly Bantu, philosophies in considering inheritance, memory and embodiment in relation to the past.
Fees
My standard fee for 1:1 work is £75 per clinical hour/session (50 minutes for 1:1 and 1h15 minutes for groupwork).
Consultation, report writing and assessment usually have a different fee structure.
Consessions are available depending on availability.
Get in touch for more information.
