DR RENSKE HERREMA

Hello, my name is Renske.

I am a Clinical Psychologist with a variety of experience of supporting people who are struggling with emotional and psychological distress. Many of my roles have involved working with neurodivergent individuals (autism and ADHD), as well as individuals from marginalized communities. I offer a safe space to explore your difficulties and help you make sense of what is going on. Therapy can support healing, growth and recovery from adversity, trauma and distress, helping us to reconnect with feelings of safety in the present. I believe deeply that therapy can be a rich and rewarding experience, which can support you to better understand yourself, your difficulties and make changes to support you to live a life more aligned with your values and what is important to you.

I have worked in various roles in the NHS including children and young people’s services, adult mental health talking therapies, an adult gender dysphoria clinic and more recently in a specialist autism role, providing training and supervision to staff in working therapeutically with neurodivergent individuals. I am passionate about the importance of a person-centred, individualised approach to therapy that tailors support to your needs and goals.

I am a BABCP accredited CBT practitioner and find this approach can be useful in supporting you to make sense of your difficulties, identify how things may have become “stuck” and look at ways to make changes. I am trained in a variety of therapeutic models, such as; Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Systemic Family Therapy principles. I integrate attachment theory and mindfulness, alongside these different types of therapies. I completed FLASH training to support individuals who have experienced trauma, allowing for re-processing and stabilisation to support ongoing therapy.

My therapeutic experience enables me to offer neuro-divergent affirming and trauma-informed support. I am aware that diagnostic labels can be helpful for some people and for others, this can feel a confusing and overwhelming experience. I tend to consider what has happened in your life that helps us to understand what is happening now. In my experience, this then enables us to focus on what you want to be different moving forwards and how we can support you to move towards these goals. My therapeutic approach integrates elements of different therapies to create a bespoke intervention for you.

Asking for help and talking to someone you’ve never met before can be an intimidating and scary experience. I offer a compassionate and non-judgmental space to explore your difficulties. I appreciate that this can be a difficult first step and I would support you throughout the therapy process. I look forward to meeting with you.

Qualifications:

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
• Accredited BABCP CBT Practitioner
• PGCert in Low Intensity Psychological Therapies
• MSc Clinical and Health Psychology
• BSc Applied Psychology

Training:

• 2020-ongoing: CBT-specific training on trauma, working with neurodiversity, LGBTQIA+, use of imagery etc.
• Using Compassion Focused Therapy for Trauma
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy training workshop
• Neuro-affirmative approaches to therapy
• FLASH Training Technique (to support individuals who have experienced trauma)
• Involvement in research projects exploring adapting therapy for autistic individuals
• Autism-specific assessment training