DR LAURA TAYLOR GRAY

PROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND AND EXPERIENCE

My career began with working in children’s homes, and this sparked a real passion for wanting to help others to achieve their best potential. From there I completed my undergraduate degree in Psychology at Northumbria University and began working  for a private neuro rehabilitation company. This role involved working with individuals who’d suffered a head injury, stroke or other disability and provided support for these individuals to live life to the fullest. Seeing people overcome obstacles in life and being a part of this process was wonderful.

Since qualifying as  Psychologist, I have worked mainly with individuals who have suffered some kind of childhood trauma and I currently work 4 days per week with the NHS as a highly specialist practitioner psychologist and around 8 hours per week in private practice. My NHS work provides services to individuals with common mental health difficulties as well as very severe and enduring mental health difficulties. I find both my NHS work and private practice to be hugely rewarding.

During my entire career to date, I have found that my natural empathetic, and calm nature has provided individuals with a safe space to explore their difficulties. I am very passionate about being alongside individuals, helping the healing process and I find real joy in watching others flourish. My passion and skills lie in working with those who have been impacted by trauma and those who struggle with relationships but also in simply making sense of the things that have happened to them. My main aims are always to listen without judgement, to understand, and to help contain difficult or frightening feelings and I always tailor my approach to the client’s individual needs. To do this, I use approaches informed by a number of therapeutic models. These include Cognitive Analytic Therapy, Dialectical Behaviour Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Compassion Focused Therapy. I am also specifically trained in Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Psychodynamic Therapy and Person Centred Therapy

My doctoral research thesis was based around post-natal depression (PND) and self-compassion and demonstrated a link between PND and people experiencing difficulties in being able to be kind to themselves, during an often challenging and isolating time in their lives. I believe that the stigma, shame, and self-judgment individuals feel, often drives further feelings of sadness and despair. As such I am a great promoter of people being kinder to themselves and encouraging people to see their worth.

Training and qualifications

• Doctorate in Counselling Psychology (DCounPsy)

ACCREDITATION TO PROFESSIONAL BODIES

• HCPC Registered

AREAS OF SPECIAL INTEREST