DR FRAN WILKINS

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

I am an enthusiastic, warm and empathetic Clinical Psychologist with over twelve years’ professional experience in mental health across both community and hospital settings.  I am committed to providing collaborative, compassionate and individualised care within a safe and containing space.  This means that I work together with you to develop a shared understanding of your difficulties (what has contributed to them and what is keeping them going), your hopes and your goals, before thinking about how we can move towards these.  To helps us with this I will draw upon different psychological ‘models’ and therapeutic approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR), Systemic, and Mindfulness approaches.  At times it may be appropriate to integratively draw upon a number of these approaches to best meet your needs.  I strongly believe that one size does not fit all, as we are all individuals with different experiences.

Depending on your difficulties, needs and circumstances, I offer short- and longer-term psychological therapy face-to-face, online or via the telephone.  I have significant experience working with adults of all ages across these modalities to help address a wide range of psychological difficulties of varying severity and complexity.  This has included, but is not limited to, anxiety and panic disorders, depression, stress, trauma, adjustment and the interactive impact of mental and physical health.

I see mental health as being on a continuum, on which we all move up and down depending on what is going on in our lives in combination with past experiences, current support and access to coping strategies/protective factors.  As such, I am also passionate about fostering preventative approaches and strategies to promote good mental health.

I consider it an honour to help anyone with their mental health and psychological wellbeing.  I believe the power of the therapeutic relationship is key to any form of therapy and so hope that you will find me a warm, non-judgemental and responsive individual, who you can trust to help you feel at ease to explore whatever has brought you to therapy.  I look forward to meeting you and beginning our work together.

Training and qualifications

• Doctorate in Clinical Psychology (DClinPsy)
• Accredited EMDR Practitioner
• Post-graduate Certificate in Low Intensity Psychological Therapies (PGLIPT)
• MA (Hons) Psychology
• 2022: Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)–Deepening Knowledge
• 2022: Clinical Complexity: Conceptual Model and Practical Applications
• 2020-2021: Post-COVID Syndrome
• 2020: Uncertainty Distress in the Context of Coronavirus
• 2020: Management of Adherence and Compliance to Medicines
• 2019: EMDR Group Traumatic Episode Protocol
• 2016: Introductory Training in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
• 2015: Introductory Training in Compassion Focused Therapy
• 2015: Family Therapy and Systemic
• Practice (Foundation Level Equivalent)

ACCREDITATION TO PROFESSIONAL BODIES

• Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) registered

• EMDR UK Association

• Chartered Membership of British Psychological Society (BPS)

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST

• Adult Mental Health (including anxiety, panic, depression, stress)
• Adjustment
• Clinical Health Psychology (including long-term conditions/chronic illness, adjustment to diagnoses)
• Post-natal difficulties
• Sleep difficulties
• Trauma