Dr Jen Swanston
All about Jen....
What is your education and work history?
- Since qualifying as a Clinical Psychologist over 10 years ago, I have worked both within the NHS as a highly specialist Clinical Psychologist and in private practice.
- I now specialise in Autism and ADHD (assessment and intervention) in private practice.
- I also support young people with a variety of complex mental health difficulties (anxiety, trauma, OCD, depression).
- I also provides parenting support, using a variety of evidence-based approaches. I provide supervision and consultation to a wide range of professionals both within my previous role in the NHS and currently within private practice.
Have you done any additional training?
- I have completed training in various Autism and ADHD diagnostic measures including the DISCO, DIVA, ADOS, WISC-V and QB Check.
- As part of ongoing professional development, I regularly attends inter-rater reliability meetings and regular refresher training and CPD events.
- I also am highly trained in many therapeutic models including Compassion Focused Therapy (CFT), Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT).
What do you do at Every Mind?
- I provide neurodevelopmental assessments, using a variety of measures, including the DISCO and Young DIVA.
- I also provide screener and feedback meetings for young people and parents.
- In addition, I carry out WISC-V and ADOS assessments.
What made you chose to work with neurodivergent children and young people?
- From my own experiences within my family system and within my working life, I have a passion for raising awareness of neurodiversity and utilising neuroaffirming approaches.
- I would like therapy and assessments to be positive and accessible for neurodivergent young people.
What is important to know about how you work with neurodivergent young people?
- I try to be as flexible and compassionate as possible in my approach to working with young people, tailoring how I do things to suit the person and family seen.
- This may mean utilising less words, using drawings or giving a young person time to process what has been said.
- The most important thing is for young people to feel safe and heard and this is my priority when I work with families.
What do you like to do outside of work?
- When I am not running around after my own children, I love running and have recently run a few half marathons.
- I also take part in an adult gymnastics class.
- I love spending time with my friends and family.
- I also love reading and listening to stories on audible.
What is unique about you?
- I have a real passion for compassion focused therapy and have recently written a book with a colleague on compassionate parenting, which is due to be published soon!
