Experts in Mental Health, Neurodiversity & Workplace Mental Health Training

I am a Clinical Psychologist with over 14 years of therapeutic experience working across NHS and private mental health services. I work with people aged 16 and over and have a particular interest in supporting individuals navigating identity, neurodiversity, trauma, and life transitions.

Throughout my career, I have worked with people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences, including those struggling with anxiety, low mood, self-esteem difficulties, trauma, shame, relationship difficulties, burnout, and questions around identity and belonging. I aim to create a therapeutic space that feels warm, collaborative, and genuinely accepting, where people feel able to explore difficulties without judgement.

Alongside therapy work, I offer gender assessments and have specialist experience working within a gender service, supporting transgender and gender diverse individuals exploring their identity and accessing gender-affirming care. I also completed specialist training through Pink Therapy and have many years of experience working affirmatively with LGBTQIA+ and Gender, Sexual and Relationship Diverse (GSRD) communities.

I have also completed specialist ADHD assessment training and will shortly be offering ADHD assessments alongside my wider clinical work. My interest in neurodiversity has developed through supporting many clients who have felt misunderstood, overwhelmed, or “different” for much of their lives, often without fully understanding why.

My therapeutic approach is integrative and evidence-based, drawing from approaches including Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT), Systemic approaches, and EMDR-informed practice. I have recently completed EMDR Part 1 training and have a strong interest in trauma-informed approaches that help people process difficult experiences safely and compassionately.

Dr Alexandra Richards (she/her) is a Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist working in private practice, offering gender assessments. She qualified in 2014 and has 15 years of experience of working in the NHS and charity sector. Her main areas of work are with gender and sexual diversity, Disability and long-term health conditions. Currently she works in private practice and is also a support group facilitator for transgender charity Not A Phase. She has completed additional training in neuropsychology, trauma-informed approaches and working with trans and gender-diverse adults.

She has worked with transgender, non-binary and gender diverse adults since 2018. She aims to be collaborative and affirmative in her approach, centering the experiences and needs of trans people within the assessment process. She is familiar with adapting her approach to support people with a diverse range of needs including those related to health conditions, cognitive difficulty and neurodivergence.

Taking the step to seek psychological support can feel daunting, and finding the right person matters. I believe that meaningful support starts with genuinely understanding the person in front of you, not just the presenting problem. With over 15 years of experience across NHS and private settings, including acute inpatient hospital care, community mental health, and Children and Young People's services, I aim to offer a space that feels both clinically rigorous and genuinely welcoming. I offer psychological therapy drawing on a variety of evidenced based approaches, alongside neurodevelopmental assessments for adults, with a particular interest in ADHD and autism, delivered with a neuro-affirming approach. I hold a Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, am a registered Practitioner Psychologist with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), and a Chartered Psychologist with the British Psychological Society.

Dr. Pipkin is a registered clinical psychologist, fully accredited cognitive behavioural therapist with the BABCP, an associate fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and a registered specialist in the field of gender dysphoria with the UK Equalities Office. 

He is an experienced diagnostic assessor of autism, ADHD, gender dysphoria and the range of mental health difficulties. He is also an experienced academic, published researcher and experienced consultant and supervisor for students up to doctorate level. 

He leads Unlock Psychology Ltd, overseeing the clinical, academic and research services provided. Dr. Pipkin provides diagnostic assessments, academic and research services.

Dr Faisal Mir is a highly experienced Clinical Psychologist offering detailed and in-depth psychological assessments of people of all ages. He currently works in independent practice and is based in Birmingham. He has been working as a Clinical Psychologist since 2009 assessing and treating mainly adults with mild, moderate, and severe psychological difficulties.

Dr Mir provides a range of psychological services including: 

• Psychological and Neuropsychological Assessments – such as intelligence testing, cognitive and capacity assessments, and personality assessments. 

• Assessments of autism (ADI-R and ADOS-2) and ADHD.

• Psychological therapies including CBT (Cognitive behaviour therapy), REBT (Rational emotive behaviour therapy), Schema therapy, Compassion focussed therapy, EMDR (Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing), and ACT (Acceptance and commitment therapy).   

He has also worked extensively in the legal field, preparing specialist reports for Civil, Family, and Employment Courts. Also, immigration tribunals. This has been to assess mental health difficulties for people involved in personal injury, medical negligence, data breach, and housing disrepair claims. Moreover, this has also included carrying out cognitive and capacity assessments, psychological assessments of complex trauma, and treatment recommendations.  

Dr Akpevwoghene Claire Wiles is a clinical psychologist who specialises in working with adults with a range of mental health difficulties, including individuals with complex emotional and relational needs, personality disorders and complex trauma. She also has an interest in working with individuals who identify as part of the global majority.

Claire’s therapeutic approach is trauma-informed and integrative. She can draw upon different models, and she primarily draws upon attachment theory, cognitive-behavioural, cognitive-analytic, and mentalisation-based therapy.