Meet the Team

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).

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.

Emily completed her Doctorate in Educational Psychology at Southampton University in 2010. Prior to this, she worked with children and young people with special educational needs, specifically those who had been permanently excluded from mainstream education, and also gained experience of working within the field of research. For her thesis Emily explored the role of belonging in understanding the effectiveness of inclusion for children with special educational needs.

For the last 11 years Emily has worked as an Educational Psychologist within Local Authorities and she continues to do so. She works across a range of educational settings and is involved in service delivery at multiple levels. Emily enjoys working through a consultation approach to support children, parents, teachers and other professionals in finding solutions to challenges that they face. She has also been involved in delivering county-wide training for staff working within Children’s Services including: Loss and Bereavement; Traumatic Bereavement; Early Years training for complex social communication difficulties; Eating Disorders and Self Harm; Motivational Interviewing techniques; FRIENDS social skills and resilience training; Video Interaction Guidance (VIG); Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACES) and delivery of the initial training of Emotional Literacy Support Assistants (ELSAs).

Emily receives regular professional development and has additional training in a range of psychological models and interventions including: Psychological models of Resilience; Attachment; Coaching Psychology; Circle of Adults and PATH; Dynamic Assessment; Narrative Therapy Level 1; Solution Focused approaches; Principles of Instructional Psychology; Personal Construct Psychology; and Video Interactive Guidance (VIG).

Emily’s current research interest is exploring resilience in looked after children.

Emily lives in Hampshire with her partner and two young children.

Publications and research:

Prince, E. J. & Hadwin, J. (2013). The role of sense of school belonging in understanding the effectiveness of inclusion of children with special educational needs. International Journal of Inclusive Education, 17(3), pp238-262.

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), pp373-393.

McCann, D., Barrett, A., Cooper, A., Crumpler, D., Dalen, L., Grimshaw, K., Kitchin, E., Lok, K., Porteous, L., Prince, E., Sonuga-Barke, E., O’Warner, J., & Stevenson, J. (2007). Food additives and hyperactive behaviour in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the community: A randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled trial. The Lancet, 370(9598), pp1560-1567.

Charman, T., Howlin, P., Berry, B., & Prince, E. (2004). Measuring developmental progress of children with autism spectrum disorder on school entry using parent report. Autism, 8(1), pp89-100.

Kristina competed her Doctorate in Child, Community and Educational Psychology at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust in 2019. She has worked in a number of Local Authorities and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, gaining significant experience of working within multiagency teams to support people with mental health difficulties. Prior to starting her doctorate, Kristina worked for over 10 years in the public and private sectors as an Assistant Clinical Psychologist (in both community-based services and inpatient clinics) and also as an Assistant Educational Psychologist.

Kristina is passionate about systemic work in schools, particularly developing mental health policies to support children and young people, their families, and school staff. She is currently interested in using Compassion-Focused Therapy to support children and young people, including their families, who have experienced trauma in their lives.

Kristina uses a consultative approach across all levels of her work in schools to promote systemic change and improve outcomes for all. She also enjoys planning, designing and delivering training in a range of areas to meet the needs of schools. Kristina is committed to applying psychological principles to problem situations aiming to explore different perspectives and to create a holistic picture, thereby enabling people to find the next logical step forward.

Kristina is able to use her personal skills to quickly develop a positive relationship with children, young people and their families/carers, thereby enabling her to support them with a range of therapeutic interventions such as play based approaches, cognitive behavioural principles, and narrative approaches. Through using evidence based practice and sharing psychological principles, she empowers others to achieve their own positive outcomes.

For her thesis, Kristina explored the views of children who had received support from an Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA). She also has experience of delivering the initial ELSA training and supervising groups of ELSAs. Due to her experience in this area, she is currently writing a chapter in a book for Teaching Assistants on the ELSA project.

As part of her Doctoral training, Kristina took part in a group relations conference which is a reflective space that helps settings to improve their strategic thinking and to understand how organisational culture works. Subsequently, she has used this experience to work closely with senior leadership teams to help them to think about and reflect on their practice. Kristina also enjoys running work discussion groups for school staff which develops their capacity to manage the challenges of their role, practice and their relationships with pupils. She has completed additional training in systemic and psychodynamic supervision, and for a number of years she has supervised senior staff members in her schools.

Kristina is a committee member of the Division of Educational and Child Psychology (DECP) for the British Psychological Society (BPS). Within this role, her goal is to develop psychology both professionally and as a knowledge and skills base, and to promote the professional interests of educational and child psychologists. She does this by presenting at conferences; attending stakeholder meetings; developing documents and policies; and sharing psychology with both the public and other professionals.

Originally from Greece, Kristina is multi-lingual, and she also speaks Russian and English fluently. She lives in Berkshire with her sister.

Publications and research:

Balampanidou, K. (2019). Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) programme: Child-centred approach, building trust, listening and valuing children’s voices: A grounded theory analysis. PhD thesis, University of Essex & Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Alex completed her Doctorate in Educational Psychology at Southampton University in 2018 and she has six years of experience working within Local Authority Educational Psychology Services. Prior to this, she worked as a qualified teacher, in both mainstream secondary and specialist schools, and as an Assistant Psychologist.

In one Local Authority, Alex has been actively involved in the initial roll-out and delivery of the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) training programme, during the first two years of its implementation. She now provides regular, ongoing supervision to a number of groups of ELSAs across a range of settings. Alex is particularly passionate about using group supervision models to help provide a creative space for reflective and collaborative problem-solving.

Alex specialises in developmental trauma as a certified NME (Neurosequential Model in Education) Trainer with the Child Trauma Academy. She is especially interested in working within specialist social, emotional, and mental health (SEMH) settings, particularly with young people who have been excluded from mainstream schools, and those with care-experiences. For over three years, Alex has volunteered as an Independent Visitor for a child looked after within the care system.

Stemming from her own lived experiences as a sibling to someone with complex needs, Alex is passionate about family support work, particularly support for siblings of children with additional needs. She has attended the Sibling Group Leader Training Course and runs events (talks and workshops) for siblings and their families. Her doctoral thesis explored the school outcomes and experiences of adolescent siblings of children with autism, and Alex continues to co-supervise sibling research projects at Southampton University.

Alex is passionate about positive psychology (aka the science of happiness) to promote student, family and staff wellbeing, such as through mindfulness, gratitude, random acts of kindness, and self-compassion. She advocates person-centred planning approaches (e.g., PATHs, MAPs, circle of adults and solution circles) that put young people at the heart of decision-making about their future. Alex is also keen to use the PATH process at a systemic level to promote organisational change.

Alex receives regular continuing professional development (CPD), which has included training in developmental trauma, attachment, bereavement and loss, traumatic bereavement and suicide, harmful sexual behaviour, gender, personal construct psychology, emotion coaching, solution-focused practice, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, therapeutic thinking, restorative justice, dynamic assessment, person-centred planning, video interaction guidance, and supervision.

Alex lives in West Sussex with her partner.

Publications and research:

Gregory, A., Hastings, R. P., & Kovshoff, H. (2020). Academic self-concept and sense of school belonging of adolescent siblings of autistic children. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 96.