Dr Camilla Cookson is a specialist Child and Adolescent Clinical Psychologist with over 10 years of clinical experience working across various mental health settings within the NHS and private sector. She currently works as a Senior Clinical Psychologist and Clinical Lead in a London NHS Community Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) and is the Child and Adolescent Team Lead at the Fitzrovia Psychology Clinic private practice. She is registered with the Health and Care Professionals Council (HCPC).

 

Camilla obtained an academic scholarship and a First-Class degree in Experimental Psychology at the University of Oxford and went on to complete her doctoral training in Clinical Psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London. It was during this time that Camilla developed her passion for working with children, young people and their families, where she has focussed her work since and pursued further specialist training.

 

Camilla’s experience reflects the great variety that comes with working with children and young people, and includes individual, family, parenting, school-based and consultative work across a range of presenting needs, with particular interests including:

 

• Anxiety Disorders:

  • Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

  • Health Anxiety

  • Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)

  • Panic Disorder

  • Separation Anxiety

  • Social Anxiety Disorder

 

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Complex PTSD​

 

• Depression 

 

• Low confidence and self-esteem

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• Behaviours that Challenge  

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• Parenting Support

 

Camilla understands that building a trusting, supportive and open therapeutic relationship is of great importance, and enjoys working creatively and compassionately in order to engage the young person to work in collaboration towards achieving their personal goals. Camilla also recognises the value of working together with family and any other important people and systems in a child’s life, where appropriate.

 

Camilla has experience undertaking complex mental health and neurodevelopmental assessments and understands the benefit of reaching a comprehensive shared understanding of the presenting concerns in order to achieve positive therapeutic outcomes. Within her therapeutic work, she draws on a variety of evidence based psychological therapies and models to best meet the needs of her clients, including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Mindfulness-Based approaches, Behavioural and Parenting work (including Personalised Individual Parent Training, PIPT), and Family and Narrative interventions.

 

Camilla has additionally undertaken training in specialist trauma therapies, including Trauma-Focused CBT, Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Narrative Exposure Therapy for Children (KIDNET), developing her interest and experience in this area through working within a specialist NHS service supporting children, young people and their families who have been affected by trauma. She presently works as the Clinical Lead of this service.

 

She also has experience undertaking cognitive assessments and working with children with additional neurodevelopmental needs. 

 

Camilla provides clinical supervision to other health professionals.