About Chris
I am a Child and Adolescent Psychoanalytic Psychotherapist with more than thirty years’ experience working with children, teenagers, young adults and their families in both schools and clinics. I have worked as a teacher, senior manager and NHS CAMHS clinician and worked with all age groups from infancy to adulthood and with schools and parents.
I am trained at the Birmingham Trust for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy and am registered in the UK with the Association of Child Psychotherapists (ACP). My approach is thoughtful, containing and compassionate, grounded in careful listening and the belief that symptoms usually have meaning. I aim to help young people and families make sense of emotional and behavioural difficulties, rather than simply managing them.
Whether working online or in person, I offer a calm, containing and reflective space in which young people can explore their inner worlds, develop insight, and find new ways of relating to themselves and others. I also work closely with parents and carers, helping them think about what their child may be communicating through their behaviour, feelings, or struggles.
My Training and Professional Background
I completed the Tavistock Clinic’s two year postgraduate Master’s in Psychoanalytic Observational Studies (M7) in Oxford followed by my four year full time clinical training with the Birmingham Trust for Psychoanalytic Psychotherapy,— both NHS-accredited programmes. This rigorous six-year training involved academic study, intensive clinical work within an NHS setting, ongoing supervision, and personal analysis four times a week throughout the duration of the training. This training is regarded as equivalent to a clinical doctorate. Prior to this I trained as a teacher and worked for many years both in the UK and abroad as a specialist with younger children and those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities such as Autism.
I also hold degrees in Education and Psychology. My full membership of the ACP means I meet the professional and ethical standards recognised by the Professional Standards Authority and the Department of Health. I remain committed to ongoing professional development and regular clinical supervision to support safe, reflective practice.
My work reflects specialist knowledge of psychological and emotional development from infancy onwards. My background in both education and mental health allows me to think about the whole system surrounding a child — family, home, school/college/university, and wider relationships — while offering careful, containing therapeutic work with the young person.
Parents and Carers
I have spent many years working closely with parents. I have a particular interest in fatherhood — the emotional experience of fathers, the role they play in the development of their children, and the impact of absent fathers. This is the focus of a book I am currently writing, as well as regular workshops and online groups that I run. I aim to support parents and carers to better understand their children and to feel more confident and emotionally resourced in their roles.
“My practice is grounded in a deep understanding of child and adolescent development, and in the belief that meaningful, lasting change comes from exploring both conscious and unconscious aspects of experience”.
How I work
My work is informed by psychoanalytical theory which focuses on how our earliest relationships shape the way we feel, think and relate to others throughout life.
From this perspective, difficulties in the present are often linked to earlier emotional experiences that may not be fully conscious, but are still active within us. These experiences can influence mood, self-esteem, behaviour, and relationships, sometimes in ways that feel confusing or out of keeping with current circumstances.
In sessions, I pay careful attention to:
how a young person feels in themselves
how they experience relationships now
how they experience the therapy relationship with me
recurring patterns in emotions or behaviour
The aim is not simply to remove symptoms, but to understand what those symptoms may be communicating about underlying emotional life. When these patterns are recognised and thought about, young people often find that troubling feelings become more manageable, relationships become less conflictual, and they have a stronger sense of themselves.
This work is often helpful where difficulties are persistent or recurring, including anxiety, low mood, self-criticism, relationship problems, and emotional or behavioural struggles that do not fully respond to short-term strategies.
Next steps
If you’d like to discuss whether psychotherapy could help your child or teenager, you're welcome to get in touch.
We can arrange an initial meeting to explore your concerns and consider what support might be helpful.