Dr Laura Powling
Dr Laura Powling, Director and Clinical Psychologist.
Dr Powling is an HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist and Accredited Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner, DBT and trauma therapist holding:
- A Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Psychology from the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne
- Post- Graduate Certificate in Primary Mental Health Care from the University of Manchester,
- Post- Graduate Diploma in Cognitive Analytic Therapy
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Sheffield.
- Post-Graduate Supervision Course through the University of Leicester, accredited by the British Psychological Society.
Laura has more than 14 years’ experience across clinical and forensic psychological services and mental health services including work across a range of different settings in the community and expertise in medium, low and high secure hospitals (including DSPD) clinical and forensic services. She also has extensive experience of working in community Child and Adolescent, Looked After Children and Adult Mental Health Services.
Since May 2011 Laura has undertaken expert witness work involving a wide range of independent assessments for offender clients of differing levels of risk residing in HM prison establishments and secure hospitals across the country.
She has conducted numerous assessments for clients residing in DSPD services:
- DSPD assessments
- CSC assessments and on-going treatment planning
- Fitness to plead and fitness to stand trial assessments
- Personality Disorder assessments
- PCL-R and risk assessments for both violent and sexual offenders.
Dr Powling undertakes assessments, has extensive experience of writing for and giving evidence to the parole board and courts across:
- Family law,
- Criminal law,
- Prison law
- Medico-legal cases for learning disabilities, traumatic brain injury, neuropsychology, post stroke assessments, capacity and mental health assessments such as PTSD.
Alongside her independent work, she continues to work clinically and currently specialises in developmental assessments, including assessment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders across all age ranges.
She is Clinical Psychologist and clinical lead for a paediatric Autism Assessment Service.
Her career has also involved working in Looked After Children’s Services and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, as well as adult psychiatric services (in-patient and community).
Dr Powling founded Evolve Psychology Services in 2014, with a commitment to providing extremely high-quality evidence-based assessments for individuals and families across the fields of Clinical and Forensic Psychology. Supporting testimonials can be provided if required.
Dr Sarah Oliver
Dr Sarah Oliver, Clinical Psychologist.
Sarah graduated with a first class (hons) Bachelor of Science in Psychology at the University of York and subsequently completed her Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Hull.
She has since undertaken an Advanced Diploma in Family Therapy and Systemic Thinking at the University of Derby and Supervisor Training.
As well as independent work Sarah continues to practice in the NHS in a busy Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS).
Throughout Sarah’s career, she has specialised in working with people with neurodevelopmental conditions including Autism Spectrum Condition, ADHD and moderate to severe Learning Disabilities. She is trained in the field of Psychological Assessment and Specialist Neurodevelopmental Assessment, including Autism Spectrum Condition.
Sarah is passionate about supporting emotional wellbeing and as such, she works therapeutically with adults, young people and parents to offer interventions drawing on a range of psychological approaches including cognitive behaviour therapy, positive behaviour support and systemic therapy.
She believes in ensuring that therapeutic approaches are accessible to everyone and therefore has extensive experience of adapting approaches for working with people with additional needs.
Dr Vicki Lee
Dr Vicki Lee: Clinical Psychologist.
Dr Lee is a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist with 9 years qualified experience working with Children and Young People. Since qualifying, she has worked in NHS settings working primarily with children with chronic health conditions and undertaking Autism assessments.
She has experience in using a range of approaches to work therapeutically across the lifespan, including Narrative Therapy, EMDR and CBT.
Naomi Clasper
Naomi Clasper: Registered Learning Disability Nurse.
Naomi has over 24 years of experience working with people who have Learning Disabilities and Autism Spectrum condition; 18 of these as a registered Learning Disability Nurse.
As a nurse Naomi has worked in adult long stay NHS residential homes, continuing care teams and working in Learning Disability Community Services.
She has spent a significant part of her nursing career in CAMHS supporting parents and families with implementing strategies and interventions for children and young people who have a Learning Disability and/or Autism spectrum condition and challenging behaviours. This included individual sessions of support and post diagnosis group programmes.
As part of the Autism Spectrum Condition assessment team she was involved in
- All aspects of the assessment
- Diagnostic process
- Post diagnostic programmes and support including supporting young people in Transition from child to adult services.
Naomi continues to work for the NHS supporting children who have a high level of complex health needs which includes complex physical and mental health needs and children with high levels of challenging behaviour.
Dr Claire Mitchell
Dr Claire Mitchell : Clinical Psychologist.
Claire is a HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist with 8 years qualified experience. She has experience working in a NHS setting with a variety of client groups across the lifespan with a range of presenting problems, abilities and social and cultural backgrounds.
Dr Mitchell has a particular in interest in supporting children and young people with chronic health conditions and their families with extensive experience providing Autism Spectrum Disorder assessments and diagnosis for children and young people. She is passionate about developing and managing interventions to support young people and their families following a diagnosis. This includes managing specific behavioural and developmental concerns as well as supporting the adjustment to the diagnosis.
Claire enjoys working collaboratively with individuals of all ages and their families to develop a shared understanding of their presentation or difficulties. Providing a safe, non-judgemental space to explore difficulties and developing trusting therapeutic relationships are key aspects of Claire’s role.
Using a range of evidence based psychological interventions therapeutically, including cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT), compassion-focused therapy (CFT) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), she meets the needs of the individual.
Shakila Mustafa
Shakila Mustafa: Principle Speech and Language Therapist
Shakila is a Registered HCPC Speech and Language Therapist with 11 years qualified experience working with children and young people. Since qualifying, she has worked in NHS settings, private settings and more recently is working as part of a Multi-disciplinary Team specialising in Neurodevelopment conditions, Autism Spectrum Condition and ADHD. She is currently working with allied health professionals on a National Research Project for children with undiagnosed autism.
Shakila holds qualifications in the following:
- Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Clinical Language Sciences from Leeds Beckett University
- Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Psychology from the University of Lincoln
- An OCR certificate in counselling skills
- Shakila has provided services within school’s settings of all ages, (0-19)
- ADI-r and ADOS trained
She has been trained in the following approaches:
- ELKLAN tutor
- Social Thinking.com
- Intensive Interaction
- PECS Training
- Autism:Women and Girls Training
Kate Blake
Kate Blake: Speech and Language Therapist
Kate is a speech and language therapist with almost 20 years experience. She qualified from University College London with a BSc in Speech Sciences. In 2015 she completed a MSc in Speech Difficulties from the University of Sheffield, passing with distinction.
Having worked in the NHS for ten years in clinics, mainstream and special schools, she set up her independent practise ten years ago. She works with a multi-disciplinary team, diagnosing autism in children and adults.
Kate is also a Registered Intermediary (RI), trained by the Ministry of Justice at City Law School. As an RI she advises police officers and barristers on how to question child witnesses.
Kate is registered with HCPC and is a member of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists.
Laura Hamilton
Laura Hamilton: Consultant Forensic Psychologist.
Laura is a Consultant Forensic Psychologist (NHS) at HMP Whitemoor accredited Cognitive Analytic Therapy Practitioner, DBT and trauma and schema therapist.
Previously she worked for more than 10 years as a Consultant in DSPD at Rampton Hospital and was the Professional Boundaries Training Lead for the Forensic Division in Nottinghamshire Healthcare.
Laura has over 20 years’ experience in secure hospitals and the prison service. She has been involved in providing academic training for Forensic Psychologists for over 10 years, developing and leading Nottingham Trent University’s Postgraduate Forensic Psychology Training Programme.
Other relevant employment history has allowed Laura to demonstrate and develop a range of transferable skills.
Dr Steve McGovern
Dr Steve McGovern: Consultant Clinical Psychologist.
Steve specialises in Child and Adolescent Mental Health and developmental/Autistic Spectrum Condition Assessments.
Steve has worked in Child and Adolescent services since 2004 and his current role in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Team is the lead clinician for a multidisciplinary team which provides service direction in conjunction with senior management on all clinical matters.
Sitting on the clinical audit and governance group within the Trust, Steve is also involved in a range of developments, including the development of group work and offers therapeutic work and highly specialist assessment of Children, Young People and their Families (CYPF) with a range of psychological/emotional difficulties including anxiety disorders and depression.
Steve works as part of an out-of-hours on-call service providing specialist assessment of children and young people presenting to local A & E departments with suicidal ideation and severe self-harm. He has a strong interest in chronic health difficulties and all aspects of mental health in CYPF and neuropsychological assessments, including Autistic Spectrum Conditions.
Lisa Maltman
Lisa Maltman: Senior Forensic Psychologist.
Lisa worked across both DSPD and PD directorates at Rampton since 2003 and has also worked in medium and low secure services. She now works in the NHS OPD pathway in the community and has extensive experience of
- Assessing male and female prisoners,
- Forensic patients and community clients
- Providing Case Formulation, Intervention Planning and Delivery for criminal justice system clients with complex needs.
- Consultations for the probation service
- Working with forensic patients with personality disorder, psychopathy and mental health difficulties
- Extensive experience of working through assessment and treatment with both violent and sexual offenders – in particular as an individual and group therapist for the Violence Reduction Programme (VRP).
Emma Longfellow
Emma Longfellow: Senior Forensic Psychologist.
Emma has been working across the prison service and in a high secure hospital estate since 2001.
She has extensive experience of :
- Working with men with complex needs, including learning disabilities, mental health difficulties, personality disorder and psychopathy
- Extensive experience across both the prison estate and at Rampton Hospital across directorates or working through assessment and treatment with Violent, Sexual and Arson offenders.
- Experienced Dialectical Behaviour group, individual therapist and trainer (DBT)
- DBT trauma therapist, including adapted programmes for learning disabilities
- Trained in EMDR for complex trauma and schema therapy.
Emma continues to lecture at Leeds Beckett University alongside her clinical role and is also completing a PHD into sexual offending.
Dr Gráinne McKenna
Dr Gráinne McKenna: Senior Clinical Psychologist.
Gráinne has experience of working across community and low, medium and high secure hospital services since 2010 and has wider experience of working in mental health services and with children with Autism since 2007.
Gráinne currently works as a Senior Clinical Psychologist at Ashworth Hospital. She has extensive experience of
- Working with men with personality disorder, psychopathy and mental health difficulties,
- Undertaking neuropsychological /cognitive assessments with forensic and community clients.
Dr Michelle Rydon-Grange
Dr Michelle Rydon-Grange: Senior Clinical Psychologist.
Michelle is currently working in medium secure services in North Wales.
With significant experience of working with forensic clients with complex needs Michelle undertakes assessment and treatment of both violent and sexual offenders, with co-morbid personality difficulties and metal health difficulties.
Michelle is also committed to ongoing research and has a number of publications, which have been promoted through conferences and the media.
Laura Cataudo
Laura Cataudo: Senior Forensic Psychologist.
Laura has extensive experience of working with offenders with personality disorder and mental health difficulties in secure hospital settings and in the community
In addition to over 6 years experience in DSPD at Rampton Hospital, Laura is trained to deliver Dialectical Behaviour Therapy as well as offence related interventions, CBT and trauma work.
Laura has extensive experience of undertaking risk assessments for clients of varying levels of risk who have committed both violent and sexual offences. She is also trained to undertake Autism assessments.
Dr Monica Shaha
Dr Monica Shaha: Consultant Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist.
Dr Shaha is a highly experienced Consultant Child & Adolescent Psychiatrist, whose previous post at South West Yorkshire NHS partnership Foundation Trust was based with the Wakefield East CAMHS Team. She has a Medical Degree and is a Member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
Monica has more than 20 years’ experience working in the NHS. Covering a wide range of Child and Adolescent mental health issues, Dr Shaha is able to see patients with Autism, Anxiety, Depression, Behavioural Problems and is also able to complete Special Educational Needs Assessments (SENs). She is passionate about working systemically in her therapy with children and young people, involving parents, carers, extended family and schools.
Dr Shaha has been a key figure in the development of the successful trust-wide eating disorder pathway, covering one million people, which has been providing support to those in need since 2016. She also writes regular CPD modules on depression and anxiety in children, with more planned for the future.
A competent medico-legal expert, Dr Shaha is Section 12 Approved and is able to complete reports for court across the following areas; Behavioural Difficulties, Eating Disorders, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), Tourette’s Syndrome, Treatment Recommendations, Autism (ASD), Depression, Educational Needs and Postnatal Depression
Michelle Cregg
Michelle Cregg: Forensic Psychologist.
Michelle has 8 years experience working as a forensic psychologist across a range of settings including prison, police and hospital settings.
She is currently working as a Highly Specialised Psychologist within Looked After Children services within a Local Authority and has extensive experience of working with young people and adult males in custodial, mental health and care settings.
Michelle offers psychological assessment, formulation and treatment across these different population groups. She is currently in the final stages of training as a Cognitive Analytic Therapy practitioner.
Dr Ashley Francis
Dr Ashley Francis: Clinical Psychologist.
Ashley is a Clinical Psychologist specialising in adult mental health services and chronic pain management services previously in the NHS and now in his own private independent practice.
He specialises in the assessment and treatment of
- Trauma
- PTSD
- Complex PTSD
- Anxiety
- Depression
- Panic disorder
- OCD
- Attachment and interpersonal difficulties
- Medically unexplained symptoms
- Complex pain syndromes.
He is trained in a number of therapies suitable to treating trauma, including EMDR.
Dr Francis has completed the Bond Solon Expert Witness Certificate, accredited by Cardiff University Law School, to be recognised as an expert in assessing and reporting on Civil Cases. He also provides assessment and reports for the Criminal Courts for areas including:
- Mental health assessments
- Capacity assessments
- Immigration and asylum cases.
Dr Emma Knowles
Dr Emma Knowles, Senior Clinical Psychologist
Emma is an HCPC registered Clinical Psychologist holding:
- Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Psychology from the University of Hull
- Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Psychology from the University of Hull
- Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manchester
Emma has worked in CAMHS and paediatric services since qualifying and she is passionate about supporting young people’s emotional wellbeing. She specialises in neurodevelopmental assessments and has extensive experience in carrying out Autism Spectrum Disorder assessments.
Before moving into independent practice, Emma was a Senior Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead for an NHS paediatric Autism Assessment Service.
Dr Helen Warwick
Dr Helen Warwicks, Clinical Psychologist
Dr Warwick is an HCPC registered Chartered Clinical Psychologist and BABCP Accredited Cognitive
Behavioural Psychotherapist holding:
- A Bachelor of Science Degree with Honours in Psychology from the University of
York - A Masters degree in Developmental Psychopathology from the University of Reading
- Post Graduate Diploma in Evidence based Psychological Treatment (Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy) - Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the University of Manchester
- Post-Graduate Supervision Course through the University of Leeds, accredited by the
British Psychological Society.
Helen has a range of experience working with children and young people, their families, and also
adults, on a 1:1 basis. She draws on a breadth of evidence based therapeutic models and approaches
including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dyadic
Developmental Psychotherapy (DDP), in order to adapt to the person or family that she is working
with.
She is passionate about supporting and improving mental health and wellbeing. Her skillset lies
within understanding the importance of working collaboratively with the child, family or adult. Helen
understands that it is not easy to seek or engage in therapy and therefore places a lot of emphasis
on building a safe and trusting relationship to aim to ensure that each person she works with gets
the best out of therapy.
Helen is also a Principal Clinical Psychologist for an NHS specialist Child and Adolescent Mental
Health/CAMHS service. Within this role she is also part of the Neurodevelopmental assessment
pathway, and is trained in conducting diagnostic assessments for Autism Spectrum Condition/ASC
and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder/ADHD.
Dr Kate Empson
Dr Kate Empson, Clinical Psychologist
Since qualifying as Clinical Psychologist in 2017, Kate has worked within community NHS services. Most recently, she worked within a Community Learning Disability Team, supporting both children and adults who live with a learning disability. She has also worked in a community-based mental health team for older adults.
Kate has a strong interest in neuropsychological assessment, including cognitive assessments, adaptive functioning assessments and assessments for Autism Spectrum Conditions. She is trained in the use of assessment tools, including the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS-2). Kate also has an interest in psychological theory and its application to difficulties such as anxiety, low mood, and the effects of trauma.
In terms of therapeutic work, Kate incorporates elements of a number of evidence-based approaches into her work, and has a particular interest in Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT). She has also provided teaching to the Clinical Psychology Doctoral Programme at Teesside University, and has supervised Trainee Clinical and Counselling Psychologists
She believes passionately that psychological assessment and therapy should be accessible to everyone, and enjoys adapting and tailoring approaches to best meet the needs of the person she is working with.
