About me:
Hi, I'm Audrey.
I'm a Psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
I work towards empowering people to live well, understand themselves, and do what matters to them.
Things that matter to me include moving my body, being outside, crafting, reading, community, and spending time with loved ones.
My Therapeutic Approach:
I see us as a team, who work together to understand what you are experiencing, and find a way forward.
To do so, I strive to create a space where it feels safe for you to bring your whole self; to be open, and honest, and to try new things. To create this space, I bring patience, compassion, curiosity, and kindness. I also bring knowledge from years of formal education on psychological models and theories. I draw on this knowledge when working together to understand your unique experience.
This process is called "formulation" and the explanation that we reach together will inform our specific therapeutic plan. The approaches that I most commonly draw on for therapeutic planning are below.
Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT)
CBT recognises that our thoughts, behaviours, and emotions are all interconnected.
Working from a CBT approach means increasing awareness of our thoughts and behaviours, how they relate to each other, and to the difficulties you are experiencing.
CBT also means questioning or testing out thoughts and experimenting with different behaviours.
CBT sessions are usually quite structured, focus on goals, and involve between session tasks.
You find out more about CBT here.
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
ACT is a type of CBT, but where CBT traditionally asks "is this thought true"?, ACT asks "is this thought helpful for me to pay attention to".
ACT recognises that we will all experience negative emotions and thoughts and encourages us to step back and notice how we relate to these experiences.
Working from an ACT approach usually includes developing mindfulness skills, recognising our values, and taking action in line with our values.
You can find out more about ACT here.
Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
CBT including ERP is the recommened frontline treatment for OCD.
ERP is a treatment approach where you will be supported to recognise how certain actions (compulsions) keep a false anxiety alarm going.
You will be encourgaed and supported to approach feared situations whilst reducing and eventually dropping those compulsions.
This allows your brain and body to learn something new and update that false alarm.
You can learn more about ERP here.
Inference-based CBT (i-CBT)
Inference-based CBT is a specialised CBT approach for the treatment of OCD (obessive compulsive disorder).
It targets the reasoning processes that generate obsesisonal doubt. By learning to recognise how doubt is created and maintained, I-CBT can facilitate the resolution of obsessions without the need to provoke anxiety.
For clients wishing to explore I-CBT for OCD, I generally recommend working through the Resolving OCD books, as a self-help resource, or as a support to individualised therapy.
Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)
Compassion means recognising suffering in ourselves and others and being committed to reducing or preventing it.
CFT is an approach that is often integrated with CBT or ACT. It recognises that shame and self-criticism can underpin a range of mental health difficulties.
A CFT approach usually includes learning about how our brains evolved, and taking part in exercises to develop and practice compassion.
You can find out more about CFT here.
My career journey so far....
I grew up in Moray.
After a couple of false starts at flying the nest, I found my way to studying Psychology at the University of Dundee. Here I thrived. I was fascinated by the brain, the mind, and why we do the things we do. I learned about the scientific method and how to plan experiments to answer interesting questions. I was particularly interested in the mind-body connection and for my final year project studied decision making across the menstrual cycle. I graduated top of my class.
Drawn in by science and psychology, I went on to study for a PhD in Evolutionary Psychology at the University of St Andrews. I learned how human minds and bodies have been shaped over time. This opened my thinking to new ways of understanding the human experience. I was fortunate during this time to be able to travel and had opportunities to share science by attending conferences and working with the media.
My PhD got me thinking about the environments we are in, and how they can shape the way we feel and what we do. I knew I wanted to help shape environments that others could benefit from. I worked for a few years as a data analyst in the NHS, helping to shape services that support our health and wellbeing. But I craved working with people one-on-one. I wanted to share my skills and knowledge with people directly, so that they could shape their own world today. That's when I decided to start my clinical training.
In 2019, I trained as a Clinical Associate in Applied Psychology. I completed my training within the NHS and at the Universities of Dundee and Stirling. I learned about CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) and used it in my work with adults experiencing anxiety, depression, and a range of other difficulties. I also started using the CBT tools in my own life, and they worked. Not in a life changing overnight kind of way, but in a gradual growing of confidence kind of way. It was like building muscles at the gym, the more I used the tools, the easier they came when I needed them. And they helped me shape a life that worked for me. By this time, I was back in Moray, balancing career and life as best I could. I knew I wanted to keep sharing CBT with others.
I continued working in the NHS, as a psychological therapist until I began my doctoral level training in Clinical Psychology at the University of Edinburgh in September 2021. During this final training, I completed 5 NHS placements, working across all age ranges and with a variety of difficulties. I learned about additional therapeutic models which I have incorporated into my practice. I had the opportunity to do more research and revisited my interests in the mind-body connection by studying psychological mechanisms in PMDD (premenstrual dysphoric disorder). You can read the research here.
Today, I am delighted to be running a Private Practice in Moray.
I feel humbled that people have shared with me with their difficult stories; and it is an honour to witness the personal growth that can occur with psychological therapy. I currently offer in person sessions in Elgin, or online for clients across the UK. I work with a range of difficulties and have special interests in anxiety disorders, including Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and Panic Disorder.
In the future I hope to expand my offer to include groups, workshops and community building activities.
If you are a professional interested in working together, please get in touch to discuss.
If you are a client looking to start therapy, please get in touch by email or book a free 15 minute compatibility call.
My Education
2021-2024
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology, University of Edinburgh
Hosted by NHS Grampian
2019-2020
MSc Psychological Therapy in Primary Care
Universities of Dundee and Stirling
Hosted by NHS Grampian
2013-2016
PhD Psychology
University of St Andrews