Chartered Clinical Psychologists


London | Bedfordshire | Malta | Online



Dr Angelica Attard, Clinical Psychologist



My Values



I appreciate the courage that it takes to seek therapy and I aim to create a safe therapeutic space where I embark on a therapeutic journey with you to understand your struggles, how they came about, and how to work through them. I approach therapy with a compassionate, honest, and non-judgemental approach and hope to help you develop both innate and new skills to make sustainable changes to reconnect with yourself, your relationships, and the purpose of your life.


Contact me

Who I work with?





I work with people who experience the following difficulties:


Depression | anxiety | low self-esteem |

low self-confidence | stress | burnout | organisational issues | bereavement | adjustment to physical health diagnoses| trauma | psychosis | perinatal mental health | challenges for people in caregiving roles.



Therapeutic Models





I take an integrative approach to therapy using models that are evidence based by the NICE guidelines which include:

* Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

* Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT)

* Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)

* Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing (EMDR)

* Behavioural Family Intervention for Psychosis (FIp)

* I also provide therapy in Maltese.



My Experience



In the NHS I specialised in working in Early Intervention Services with people with psychosis and schizophrenia as well as supporting family members, friends, and carers in their caregiving roles. I chose to broaden my specialist focus to support mothers, fathers and carers with perinatal mental health problems such as postnatal anxiety, depression, loss of a child, and trauma during childbirth, and to help them develop strong bonds with their babies.

In the private sector I have extensive experience working with professionals in the City of London from Financial, Legal, and Consulting sectors who are struggling with problems related to organisational pressures, stress, burnout, anxiety, depression, and relationships.

I also provide consultation, and deliver supervision to trainee clinical psychologists and qualified psychologists. I deliver teaching, training, and workshops to mental health teams, students on psychology university courses, and staff teams in organisations.



Qualifications





* Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at the University of Birmingham


* Masters in Applied Neuropsychology at the University of Nottingham


* Bachelor in Psychology (Hons) at the University of Malta



Affiliations and Memberships





* Registered Clinical Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) Registration number: PYL32378

* Chartered member of British Psychological Society (BPS)

* British Psychological Society Association for Contextual Behavioural Science

* EMDR Association UK & Ireland



Publications



O'Driscoll C, Free K, Attard A, Carter P, Mason J, Shaikh M. Transitioning to age inclusive early intervention for psychosis. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 2019;1–7. https://doi.org/10.1111/eip.12905


Attard A, Larkin M, Boden, Z, Jackson, C. (2017) Understanding adaptation to first episode psychosis through the creation of images. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 4, 73–88.


Attard A, & Larkin M. (2016). Art therapy for people with psychosis: a narrative review of the literature. Lancet Psychiatry 3, 1067-1078. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S2215-0366(16)30146-8


Attard, A. & Coulson, N. S. (2012). A thematic analysis of patient communication in Parkinson’s disease online support group discussion forums. Computers in Human Behavior; 28, 500–506. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2011.10.022


B.Psy (Hons) dissertation entitled: 'The shaking palsy: Living with Parkinson’s disease' was presented as a poster for the 7th Malta Medical School Conference and published in the Malta Medical Journal in issue MMJ 21 (2009); 99:68-127. http://www.um.edu.mt/umms/mmj/showpdf.php?article=264



I am usually based in London.
Due to social distancing measures, I am only offering psychological therapy via online platforms (Zoom/Skype) and by telephone.



Many of us think that talking about our difficulties and facing our emotional wounds is the worst idea ever! So instead we invest our time and energy into ignoring and avoiding it, in the hope that they will go away. It takes both vulnerability and courage to pause, lean into, and understand our painful feelings and thoughts, and I aim to be there alongside you throughout your journey in therapy.