Joanna is a Psychological Therapist and Registered Social Worker with over 25 years experience of working with children, young people and adults in assessment and therapeutic services. 

She holds a  Bachelors Degree in Psychology from The University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, A degree in Social Work from Liverpool John Moores and more recently a Masters Degree in Counselling Children and Young People at Glyndwr University. 

Joanna has worked in Local Authority, ensuring children's health, education and social care needs were supported through the provision of multiagency packages of support. 

Within her NHS career, she has worked within Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, providing the assessment of mental health needs to understand the needs of the child or young person and offering therapeutic support, using a range of modalities including Person Centred counselling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, Solution Focussed Therapy and Eye Movement Desensitisation Therapy (EMDR). 

Joanna is trauma focussed in her approach and seeks to work with the child's behaviour as a window to the communication of their needs.  

Much of Joanna's work within the NHS focussed upon autism diagnostic assessment with children from pre-school age up to 18 years old. This included as part of multi-disciplinary and multi-agency panel meetings alongside colleagues including Community Paediatricians, Educational Psychology, Specialist Teachers, Speech and Language Therapy Leads, Child Psychiatry and Psychology. 

Joanna also delivered a Post Diagnostic education programme to parent of children who had recently been diagnosed with autism. This included offering 7 session and inviting partners from the statutory, voluntary and private sector such as Education, to help develop families knowledge regarding local services and further support that was available.  

Within the private sector, Joanna has worked extensively as a clinician providing online assessments for children, young people and adults from age 7 upwards. 

She has managed a team of 9 clinicians from a range of professional backgrounds and prides herself in working collaboratively and in partnership will all professionals, to ensure that the right skills are accessed to ensure the clients needs are appropriately met throughout the entire assessment process.  

Joanna is proactive in undertaking continued professional development and has recently began to offer diagnostic assessments of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, (ADHD). With a sound understanding of differential diagnosis such as mental health issues, Specific Learning Differences (SpLD), trauma and attachment; she ensures that a integrated and comprehensive assessment is ensured.