About me
Dr Catherine wikholm, CHARTERED CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST
I am a Clinical Psychologist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), a Chartered Psychologist registered with the British Psychological Society, and an EMDR Therapist.
In my private practice, I specialise in providing assessment and psychological therapy to children, adolescents and young adults. I provide online therapy via Zoom, Skype or FaceTime, according to your preference, and find that this works very well for the majority of my young clients who like the convenience and comfort of online sessions (no commute and waiting rooms!)
Before moving into private practice, I worked as a Clinical Psychologist in the NHS for several years. Since gaining my doctorate in 2015, my specialism has been in child and family work and from 2015-2019 I worked in busy London NHS CAMHS and Perinatal Mental Health teams.
As well as being a psychologist, I am also a mother of two children. I understand on a personal as well as a professional level just how important a matter your child’s wellbeing is and how their struggles affect not only them but impact you as a parent and your family life. I also appreciate how essential it is to be able to promptly access the right specialist care for them when needed - and which fits around their other commitments. I provide after-school appointments two days a week (Tuesdays & Thursdays) as well as Saturday appointments. Appointments are booked via my online booking system that allows you to choose a time and date that suits your child from my available slots.
THERAPEUTIC STYLE
In terms of my therapeutic style, I am warm, collaborative and approachable. I will take yours and your child’s concerns seriously and ensure that they feel safe, understood - and come out of our sessions feeling more hopeful about change. I am very experienced in working with adolescents (and young adults) and regularly receive positive feedback from families about my ability to engage their teenage children and put them at ease (especially where they may have struggled to open up to therapists previously). In our sessions I will work to empower your child by increasing their self-understanding and provide individually tailored effective treatment that resources them with appropriate strategies and techniques for coping with their difficulties and distress. I also often work directly with parents via parent consultation and support sessions (this is particularly useful if you have a young child or if your child is unwilling to engage in therapy themselves).
ONLINE THERAPY
Since 2020, Teddington Child Psychology has been operating as a online practice, and will be remaining online moving forwards as I have relocated to Kent. I continue to be ‘based’ in in the Teddington/Twickenham area as I am familiar with many of the local schools in the surrounding areas and receive many word of mouth recommendations from local families I have worked with previously.
In my online practice, I see children, adolescents, parents and families with a range of presenting problems from the mild to the complex. Please see the 'Difficulties I can help with' section for more information on the kinds of problems I have expertise in working with.
qualifications and professional registrations
BA (Hons, Oxon); MA (Oxon)
Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology
MSc in Forensic Psychology
Doctorate in Clinical Psychology
HCPC Registered Practitioner Psychologist (Clinical Psychologist)
British Psychological Society (BPS) Registered Chartered Psychologist
EMDR Therapist
Member of the EMDR Association UK & Ireland
TRAINING
I gained my undergraduate degree from St Peter’s College, Oxford University, before going on to do further postgraduate training, including a Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology, a Masters in Forensic Psychology, and a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology. My doctoral therapeutic training focused on cognitive behavioural therapy, psychodynamic psychotherapy, and systemic family therapy. I completed my doctoral thesis in the area of PTSD and I have a particular interest and competence in treating children and adults who have experienced traumatic events. During my doctoral training I was trained in working with clients across the lifespan and in varied NHS services including adult mental health (CMHT), child and adolescent mental health (CAMHS), older adults (65+), learning disabilities and challenging needs, and a specialist trauma service for veterans with PTSD (Combat Stress). Post-qualification, my specialism has been child and family work. I have completed accredited training in Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) and am a qualified EMDR therapist.
Beyond therapy
As a clinical psychologist, I am trained not just to be a therapist but as a scientist practitioner. I have a strong interest in research, evidence-based practice, and in contributing to my field of psychology. Over the years I have co-authored a number of articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals, as well as a book, ‘The Buddha Pill: Can Meditation Change You?’ (Watkins, 2015), which has been translated into three languages and was published as a second edition in 2019. I have been an invited speaker at national and international conferences and workshops and my work has been featured in much of the UK press (e.g. The Times, The Telegraph, The Guardian) as well as international publications and popular magazines such as New Scientist. I have been interviewed on national and international radio programmes and TV (e.g. Sky News, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio London, ABC). I am also a Mental Health Expert for US health and wellbeing video platform Grokker and film various video series with them on topics such as stress management, CBT for anxiety, improving sleep, and recovering from burnout.
