Dr Helen Courtney
I am an experienced Clinical Psychologist and work with adults aged 18 years and above. I am experienced in providing assessment, formulation (a detailed way of making sense of people’s difficulties) and delivering psychological interventions and work collaboratively to support clients to reduce emotional distress and improve quality of life. Building a safe and trusting relationship is key to me.
About Me
Therapies
I am trained to offer a range of evidence-based treatments and work flexibly, drawing upon different approaches to best suit my clients. This includes: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Mindfulness Based Therapy, Compassion Focussed Therapy, (CFT) Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR)
Location
I offer in-person appointments in Portsmouth, Southampton and online therapy via Zoom which can be accessed by anyone in the UK.
My Experience
I have over 15 years experience of working in various NHS settings, most notably in secondary care mental health. I have also had a small private caseload for the past 6 years.
I have extensive experience in providing therapy to clients with a wide range of psychological difficulties including psychosis, bipolar, anxiety presentations, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression and personality difficulties. I have a specialists interest in psychosis and trauma and have worked in Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams and currently lead the psychological interventions for psychosis pathway, As a principal clinical psychologist, I am also responsible for offering consultation to my colleagues, developing therapy pathways, supporting and supervising other therapists and providing training.
Training, Qualifications and Accreditation
I gained my BA (Hons) undergraduate psychology degree from the University of Bedfordshire and my Masters (MSc) in Health Psychology from University College London. I later completed my doctoral-level training in Clinical Psychology at Southampton University in 2008. I am registered as a practitioner psychologist with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC).
I completed further Cognitive Behaviour Therapy training at Southampton University in 2009 (Post graduate diploma in CBT for severe mental health problems). I completed the complete training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) in 2018.
As part of my registration with the HCPC, I am required to attend regular training to update my qualifications and skills.