Meet the Team
All of our Educational Psychologists have completed Doctorate level training in Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology at a University approved by the Department for Education (DfE) in England; are registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC); and have Chartered Psychologist status with the British Psychological Society (BPS).
Co-Founders and Directors
Dr. Laura Grahamslaw: BSc, DAppEdPsy, CPsychol, AFBPsS
Laura founded Psychology First with Dr Chantelle Makin in 2018 and has over ten years of experience working in Local Authorities. She completed her Doctorate in Applied Educational Psychology at Newcastle University in 2010, and for her thesis she evaluated the impact of the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Project on support assistants’ and children’s self-efficacy beliefs. Following her thesis research, and due to her interest in emotional literacy and self-efficacy, Laura and a colleague set up the ELSA project in Surrey in 2011, and since then over 400 ELSAs have been trained across the county.
Prior to founding Psychology First, Laura was an Academic and Professional Tutor on both the Doctorate in Educational and Child Psychology at University College London (UCL) and the Doctorate in Professional Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology at the Institute of Education (IOE). She is passionate about the supervision of Educational Psychologists, is highly experienced in this area and has completed further training in psychological supervision at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.
Laura has additional training in a range of psychological models and interventions including: Narrative Therapy Levels 1 and 2; Theraplay; Dynamic Assessment; Motivational Interviewing; Mindfulness; supporting pupils who self-harm; Optima Reading Programme and the Principles of Instructional Psychology; Personal Construct Psychology; and Sycol Solution Oriented Schools.
Laura’s current research interests include: the use of video feedback to parents and children following dynamic assessment; Trainee Educational Psychologist’s (TEPs) experiences of supervision; and ELSA’s self-efficacy beliefs and factors that enable these to be maintained over time.
Laura lives in Surrey with her husband and young daughter.
Publications and research:
Grahamslaw, L. S. (2010) An Evaluation of the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) Project: What is the impact of an ELSA Project on support assistants’ and children’s self-efficacy beliefs? (Thesis research available through the British Library)
Dr. Chantelle Makin: BSc, PGCE, DEdPsy, CPsychol
Chantelle completed her Doctorate in Professional Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology at the Institute of Education, University of London, in 2011, having previously worked as a primary school teacher. She has worked in Local Authorities (LA’s) for over nine years and has gained extensive experience working with children, young people and adults with Special Educational Needs, and their families and school staff, across a range of educational settings.
Chantelle has been involved in LA wide projects linked to her interests in emotional literacy and autism. In 2012, Chantelle co-prepared and delivered the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) project to over 50 ELSA’s across an LA, and she has regularly supervised groups of ELSA’s ever since. In 2015, Chantelle was one of the Lead Trainer’s central to the first-time implementation and roll-out across an LA of the Cygnet Parenting Programme, an education and support programme for parents and teachers of children, young people and adults with autism. Chantelle has a particular interest in autism and for her doctoral research study she engaged with children with autism and their parents and teachers living across an LA to understand their experiences in relation to the secondary transition process.
Chantelle is trained in clinical supervision and has worked as an Academic and Professional Tutor on the Doctorate in Professional Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology at the Institute of Education supervising Trainee Educational Psychologists (TEPs), a role which allowed her to further her experience in Video Enhanced Reflective Practice (VERP). Chantelle and Laura are currently in the process of completing a piece of research looking at the supervision experiences of TEPs and their LA supervisors.
Chantelle has taken part in advanced practitioner training in a number of psychological topics, frameworks and interventions including: The Principles of Instructional Psychology, Organisational Change – Solution Oriented Schools, Circle of Adults and PATH, Mindfulness, Dynamic Assessment, Narrative Therapy Level 1, Adolescence, Anxiety and School Refusal, Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Emotion Coaching.
Chantelle is married with three children and she lives in East Sussex.
Publications and research:
Associate Psychologists
Dr. Ciara Close: BSc, PGCE, DEdPsy, CPsychol
Ciara completed her Doctorate in Professional Educational, Child and Adolescent Psychology at University College London in 2011. She is an established psychologist with over eight years of Local Authority experience working with children, young people and adults (0-25 years) and their families within a range of educational provisions. Previous to this, Ciara gained extensive experience working within school settings as a Specialist Teacher for Cognition and Learning, a Primary School Teacher and an Assistant Educational Psychologist.
Since completing her doctorate research on ‘Social Inclusion for Pupils with High Functioning Autism’, Ciara has continued to pursue her interest in this area. She has valued experience in working within special school settings for pupils with complex communication needs, as well as developing her knowledge on SCERTs, a research-based and multidisciplinary framework that directly addresses the core challenges faced by children with Autism. She has received excellent feedback on the delivery of the ‘Cygnet Programme’, a parent support programme aimed to increase awareness and support parents with children who have a diagnosis of Autism.
Ciara has a keen interest in working with parents and families to support child development. She has trained in Multi-Family Groups in Schools, a therapeutic intervention which aims to support and empower parents through a non-judgemental and collaborative approach.
Ciara has developed her skills in clinical supervision and has supervised a Trainee Educational Psychologist and groups of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs) in schools. Ciara has also developed and delivered training on various topics underpinned by psychological theories/frameworks to a wide range of audiences, including school borough teams. She has developed her skills and knowledge further as an applied psychologist by undertaking additional CPD in the following: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy approaches; Motivational Interviewing; Dynamic Assessment; Sycol - Solution Oriented Schools; Circle of Adults; The FRIENDS programme; and Emotion Coaching.
Ciara hopes to add to the research evidence on dynamic assessment by looking at the effects of using video feedback to parents and children.
Ciara lives in Surrey with her husband and two sons.
Publications and research:
Close, C. (2011). Does providing descriptive and/or explanatory information affect peer attitudes and behaviour intentions towards children with High Functioning Autism? (Thesis research available through the British Library).
Dr. Sarah Evans: BA, PGCE, DEdPsy, CPsychol
Sarah completed her Doctorate in Educational Psychology at Southampton University in 2010. Her thesis explored the impact of evidence-based classroom interventions on reducing the core behaviours associated with attention difficulties. Sarah is an established psychologist with over ten years of Local Authority experience working with children, young people and adults (0 -25) and their families within a range of educational and community settings. Prior to this, Sarah was a Primary School Teacher and Lead Practitioner for Social Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) across a locality of schools.
Since completing her doctoral research Sarah has remained committed to improving outcomes for children and young people who experience attention difficulties. This work has included completing an eight-week Mindfulness course and being trained to deliver the Mindful Awareness Practices (MAPs) Programme, a Mindfulness intervention for children aged 4 to 11 years. Sarah has devised training and worked with a range of educational settings to explore how Mindfulness can be utilised as a tool to improve staff and pupil well-being, in addition to educational outcomes.
Sarah has completed further training in supervision and has applied her skills in this area through supervising Assistant Psychologists, Trainee Educational Psychologists and Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs). Sarah has also developed and delivered training on a range of topics including, attachment; reading difficulties; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and executive function; and whole school approaches to promoting social emotional skills and well-being. Sarah is passionate about the importance of listening to the voice of children and young people and has received training in a number of Person-Centred Planning approaches, such as PATH and Circle of Adults, which she draws on frequently in her work.
Sarah receives regular continued professional development (CPD) and has received training in a range of psychological models and interventions including: Dynamic Assessment; Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT); Motivational Interviewing; The Well Being Toolkit(s); Bereavement and Loss; Gender; Sycol – Solution Oriented Schools; and Well-Being in Schools.
Sarah’s current research interests include: non-pharmaceutical interventions for children and young people with attention difficulties; and whole-school approaches to promoting well-being.
Sarah lives in West Sussex with her partner and their daughter.
Publications and research:
Evans, S. P., Grahamslaw, L. S., Henson, L., & Prince, E. (2012). Is the restructured initial professional training in Educational Psychology fit for purpose? Educational Psychology in Practice, 28(4), pp 373-393.
Evans, S. P. (2010). A small scale randomised controlled trial exploring the effects of white noise as a classroom intervention for boys with attention difficulties. (Thesis research available through the British Library).
Burkitt, E. & Evans, S. P (2004). The effects of socio-economic background on creativity in children, presented at the Annual British Psychological Society conference, University College London, London, 2014.
