Dr Sarah Cunningham

 Clinical Psychologist

Since qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist in 2014 I have specialised in working with children and young people with a particular interest in neurodevelopmental conditions and supporting individuals who have experienced early adversity. This experience is preceded by several years working within specialist educational and community settings with young people with additional needs.

I have worked across both NHS and independent healthcare services including leading a multi-disciplinary team within a residential autism service. Until recently I held a post as the Clinical Lead of a digital health care service providing online mental health assessment and therapeutic intervention to children, young people and families. This role included provision of training and supervision to clinicians as well as leading on organisational development. I left this post to concentrate of my private work which affords me more time with my young family. My previous role in community CAMHS was as a senior member of the neurodevelopmental assessment team whilst also responsible for meeting the mental health needs of young people living within the care system including children growing up in foster care and children’s homes.

In my private work I am able to complete assessments for possible autism and ADHD as part of a multidisciplinary team as well as specialist therapeutic assessments. I am also able to offer time limited therapeutic work. I believe in demystifying the assessment and therapeutic process and strive to make mental health support as accessible as possible to families. This includes trying to avoid jargon, taking time to explain processes and being as available as possible to answer questions or concerns. I am able to adapt my therapeutic approach to meet the individual needs of clients who may have learning difficulties or may otherwise struggle to engage in a traditional clinic-based approach. In my therapeutic work I draw upon skills based interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy, dialectical behavioural therapy and compassion focused therapy but I am particularly interested in the role that relationships play in our lives and impact upon our mental health. I am able to work with young people on a 1:1 basis, or indirectly via parent or carer-led work dependent upon the person’s needs.

HCPC registration number: PYL31256